Saturday's Letters: France must play fair over obeying European directives

This fine was imposed by the EU during Jacques Chirac's presidency. If one country must obey EU directives, so must another.

No country belonging to the Union should be allowed to ignore directives it does not like. Perhaps someone out there could enlighten me as to whether France in fact paid the beef fine?

From: Tony Wilding, Westfield Rise, Hessle, East Yorkshire.

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.

THE EU is now forcing us to give prisoners the right to vote. If our cowardly politicians, of all persuasions, gave us the electorate, the right to vote on capital punishment and then implement the result at least most sadistic murderers, paedophiles that abuse children as young as a few months old, police murderers and the rest would no longer be here to put their cross on any ballot paper.

We have to give these 70,000 prisoners the right to vote because it is against their human rights not to. What a load of garbage. What about the human rights of millions of Britons who have earned the right to vote?

Any criminal that has committed serious crime against society should realise they forfeight any of their rights, period. No wonder we are fast losing our British identity when we allow this European government to dictate our way of life.

An EU government we don't want, can't afford and would do much better without. Talking about voting rights how about a vote whether to stay in the EU – or would that breach our human rights?

From: David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

BECAUSE a convicted murderer John Hurst, who killed his landlady with an axe, appealed to the European Court of the EU, that all UK prisoners should be allowed to vote, our coalition Government now faces a compensation bill of about 135m.

David Cameron is said to be livid about the EU insisting through EU legislation, that it is a breach of prisoners human rights to be denied a vote. John Hurst is openly saying that he is delighted that murderers, rapists and paedophiles, along with all other prison inmates can now vote.

This move finally shatters any illusions that Great Britain is an independent sovereign state. It also confirms that being good, decent, hard-working law abiding citizens counts for nothing.

It's time for shoppers to use power

From: Linda Lawson, Mill Lane, Foston on the Wolds.

IN reply to V Platt (Yorkshire Post, October 30) regarding Waitrose buying African sugar instead of British, there really needs to be a consumer campaign – the British housewife has such power and never ever uses it.

Everything needs to be clearly marked with a Union Jack (the flag ensuring that the product is totally produced and packed in the UK). Some supermarkets seem to be able to get away with quoting British when, in fact, a lot of the products are from abroad and have probably just been packed here.

I fully appreciate the majority of shoppers do not have the time to scrutinise labels.

Until things are clearly marked, however, we are buying products and meat that may not meet our welfare and safety standards. If only we would shout and make a fuss like the French, we could ensure that we know the origins of the food and products we purchase.

I personally do not want to purchase milk where a cow is intensively reared inside and where the animal does not have access to grass and fresh air. The thought of intensive milk farms of 8,000 plus cows appals me. Come on shoppers, make your voice heard.

Letter missed the point

From: Rt Hon David Blunkett MP (Lab, Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough), House of Commons, London.

I'M afraid that your correspondent Craig Harrison (Yorkshire Post, November 4) has missed the point of my speech to the Cambrian Society last week.

I made it clear that my call for a "White Rose Parliament" was tongue in cheek – including in an opinion piece in this newspaper last Friday. I was making the point that funding to our region has now been centralised, with the abolition of the regional development agency, the closing of the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber and the fact that the two Local Enterprise Partnerships, for the Sheffield and Leeds City Regions, have been allocated no money by government and are bidding for a national pot.

I am sorry that the subtleties of my argument passed Mr Harrison by.

New focus for the future

From: Andi Lonnen, president, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Yorkshire Women's Network, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.

WITHIN the past month, the Yorkshire economy has been dealt two blows by the coalition Government. Firstly, the Browne Review of higher education and, secondly, the Comprehensive Spending Review.

The public sector is a huge employer in Yorkshire, with the higher education sector employing thousands alone. The cuts in funding to the local councils and universities will result in large-scale job losses, the effects of which will show, in stark reality, that the Yorkshire economy has become too reliant on the public sector. There will need to be a sharp refocusing to preserve the region's long-term economic health.

There is a tremendous talent base and diversity in Yorkshire, but the private sector will need help to be able to make the most of it. Banks must make finance available, the new Local Enterprise Partnerships must not get dragged down in the bureaucracy that dogged Yorkshire Forward, and quickly forge strong relationships with the business community.

A question of prudence

From: P Peel, Whitkirk, Leeds.

HOW ridiculous is it when Leeds councillor Matthew Lobley says that he is fighting to protect "frontline services", when these services turn out to be sports centre crches.

Perhaps Coun Lobley (Con, Roundhay) does not live in the real world? Of course if Matthew Lobley was a Labour councillor, then it wouldn't have been surprising that he believed in the state providing every service imaginable for local people. Does the Conservative councillor not believe in prudence and personal responsibility?

I just hope that if any Sure Start centre is struggling for funds, then Coun Matthew Lobley will be there to support them.

From: Nigel Bywater, Morley, Leeds.

HOW very strange that Coun Matthew Lobley wants to keep open sport centre crches that cost tax payers 60,000 every year, at a time when some of our local sports centres are being closed down. South Leeds sports centre has closed, and the Middleton sports centre is also struggling for its survival.

I am at a loss to know which political party is responsible for these failing sports centres, but political point scoring by Coun Matthew Lobley is not helping matters.

A degree of uncertainty

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme, Holmfirth.

NOBODY has explained where this enormous problem of university tuition fees (Yorkshire Post, November 4) has come from (my generation got its further education for free, as a matter of course), so one is left to deduce that it probably stems from the previous government's decision that a university education should be available to all.

Perhaps without giving too much thought as to how this was to be paid for?

If graduates are to emerge with debts of 30,000 (or far more, after a five-year course), then is it not possible that a substantial minority will opt for a life on the dole, in order to evade their debt?

My pride over city's improved learning services

From: Coun Lucinda Yeadon, Executive Board Member – Adult Health and Social Care, Leeds City Council, Civic Hall, Leeds.

I'M delighted Leeds City Council's executive board has approved proposals to improve day services for people with learning disabilities. This is a move that should have been made a long time ago as the existing set up, with segregated day centres, impedes the ability of people with learning disabilities to make their own decisions and separates them from wider society.

This is a bold step forward for how we provide services for people with learning disabilities in Leeds. In January 2009, the council approved a small step on the road to where we are now – the closure of the Moor End centre in south Leeds.

That closure enabled the people who attended Moor End to take part in a whole range of everyday activities that they hadn't previously been able to – like getting a job, going to college, sports, art, dance, gardening and doing voluntary work. We have rightly decided to extend the same opportunities to people with learning disabilities in every area of Leeds.

It's encouraging that what we are doing has been broadly welcomed by organisations like Leeds Advocacy and People in Action, who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in terms of working with adults with learning disabilities. The proposals will offer Leeds people with learning disabilities the chance to do a lot more with their lives than they have had chance to do in the past.

They also represent positive progress in terms of how our city integrates people with learning disabilities into everyday society. I'm proud to be a member of the council's executive board that has backed such a move.

Generous deal for the doctors

From: Brian Sheridan, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

I BELIEVE Austin Holroyd's concern at the Public Accounts Commission's suggestion that family doctors should be offered more money to work in deprived areas (Yorkshire Post, November 4) is typical of an understated but growing public dismay at the deal already handed to that section of the medical profession by the last government.

Incidentally, in the same edition as Mr Holroyd's letter, there was a report that GPs make more car insurance claims than any other profession. Hmm.

Religion and the root of wars

From: Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

AFTER so many deaths in a Catholic church in Baghdad, the canon of the church said on radio that it had become more difficult to be a Christian in Iraq after a Protestant pastor in the US had stated he intended burning copies of the Koran.

A few weeks ago, a devout Hindu friend of mine said "as long as religion is taught, there will be wars".

He would seem to be right, unfortunately.

Just the job for privileged few

From: Max Nottingham, St Faith's Street, Lincoln.

ONE unfair aspect of unemployment is that when you look around you find plenty of highly paid people with two or three jobs. Many of them seem to be women in work in broadcasting, and also other semi-professional jobs.

Is this need or greed?

Union year

From: David H Rhodes, Keble Park North, Bishopthorpe, York.

IN the interest of accuracy in my letter (Yorkshire Post, November 2), reference was made to the British Bill of Union 1706 which should of course have been the English Bill of Union 1706.