Passionate, assertive – and unique

IN your report about the “secret files” (Yorkshire Post, December 28) released under the 30 years rule, you used emotive terms to describe Margaret Thatcher’s reactions to the inappropriate interventions of President Reagan and President Mitterand during the Falklands War: “Thatcher fury ... PM’s anger ...”.

Not so; for that would imply a loss of self-control. On the contrary, Margaret Thatcher was remarkably self-disciplined. She was a conviction politician, passionate and assertive in her beliefs: blunt, forthright and resolute.

It was the incisive reasoning and cogency of her arguments that held sway with both Reagan and Mitterand; and served to confound the defeatists who had passively suggested that the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands should be accepted as a fait accompli.

In the absence of her indomitable presence, however, it is arguable that the rule of international law would not have been upheld; that democracy would not have prevailed; that the Falklands would not have been liberated; that the Argentinian junta would not have been vanquished; and a dangerous precedent would have been set: that a brutal aggressor could invade and subjugate a peaceful island community with impunity.

It was her finest hour. She became the foremost politician of her age, and a recognised world leader.

She defeated dictators at home and abroad only to be betrayed, brought down and broken by her own party. Such is the insidious nature of party politics, in which principle and honour are often sacrificed by self-serving politicians for self-serving reasons.

Margaret Thatcher was the exception. She was unique.

Use aid budget for flooding

From: John Fisher, Menwith Hill, Harrogate.

A RECENT letter criticising the lack of drainage maintenance simply reflects the lack of forward planning by our politicians who seem incapable of thinking beyond the electoral five-year term.

As for the lack of money to pay for repairing the national drainage systems, I would suggest the overseas aid budget is cut by at least 50 per cent and the money used on flood defences.

If the politicians are still not convinced at the next election, add a referendum question to the ballot paper asking the public if they would like to see our overseas aid budget spent on a large national drainage scheme.

Festive foxes escape harm

From: B Smith, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

STATISTICS released by North Yorkshire Police, after the Christmas season, reveal that “lovers of the country” have congregated in their local hostelries, consumed many pints of fine English ales and then have taken to their vehicles and careered around the county’s roads causing mayhem; damage to crops, fences and general carnage.

A spokesman for the coalition is thought to have said that it is unlikely, in the life of this Parliament, that a vote to restore the right of an Englishman to smoke a fine English Woodbine, quaff half-a-dozen pints of his favourite tipple and then drive a car can be won. However, he was pleased to report that no foxes were injured this year.

Apology for refuse failings

From: Coun Glen Miller, Leader of the Conservative Group, City Hall, Bradford.

THIS year both Christmas and New Year’s Day fell on a Tuesday, which is the day that my neighbours and I have our refuse collected.

It would appear that despite both of these holidays falling on the same day of consecutive weeks, the council has no plan 
in place to deal with missed refuse collections, unless you consider waiting three weeks 
for your bin emptying to be a good plan.

While this would be less 
than ideal at anytime, the 
festive season is more problematic, as most households have much more waste to dispose of.

In light of my own experience this time around, I would like to apologise to those affected, if the council’s absence of strategic thinking on the matter, has made your neighbourhoods into candidates for twinning with shanty towns.

Personally I would have 
thought that the council has had enough time, pretty much forever, to implement 
a strategy to see our bins 
emptied adequately and I can only apologise while sharing residents’ exasperation at the situation.

Patients must come first

From: Maxwell Laurie, Victoria Terrace, Cockfield, County Durham.

MR John Hodgson is right (Yorkshire Post, December 29), of course. The prime reason to select the location of a hospital is for the convenience of the patients; why have NHS planners never thought of it before?

Keep paediatric heart surgery in Leeds – and build similar new units in Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield, and Doncaster to avoid West Riding residents from having to travel too far.

Other ridings will be able to arrange similar services for patients’ convenience, and Newcastle can go ahead and do its own thing. Managers and admin staff can of course be retrained as the necessary doctors and nurses.

We could also close GPs surgeries with their germ-infested waiting rooms; GPs could simply make house calls on request. Re-open all post offices and make them double as pharmacies – for patients’ convenience.

Oh brave new world!