September 11: Poorest will bear cost of Syria migrants

From: AJA Smith, Wainmans Close, Cowling, Keighley.

WHEN the chattering classes and fellow liberal travellers indulge in one of their periodic frenzies of outrage and conscience cleansing, as in their demand that Britain takes yet more of the Syrian exodus of refugees and economic migrants, the poor of this country had better look out.

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For it is most assuredly they, who will shoulder the burden of the costs of yet more migration to these shores through wage compression and the increased demands on already overstretched social services, schooling, health, housing and employment in low-income areas – not the liberals and their families.

From: Bob Watson, Baildon.

JOHN Dawson raises some very pertinent questions about the current migrant crisis (The Yorkshire Post, September 8). No doubt, however, we will not be able to obtain the sort of answers that we should have a right to expect. This matter has now become far too emotive, and common sense seems to have been cast aside. The Prime Minister is absolutely right to only accept a certain number of refugees direct from camps near Syria. As Europe prevaricates, more and more will be encouraged to try and enter that area. This is, quite frankly, totally unsustainable.

From: JG Riseley, Harrogate.

AIRSTRIKES against ISIS in Syria are to be welcomed (The Yorkshire Post, September 8). Parliament’s earlier block on strikes there was specifically aimed at stopping a foolhardy plan of going to war against the Assad regime. MPs wisely concluded that, as with Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi before him, the likely alternatives to Bashar-al-Assad are liable to be worse. There is no such objection to the current action and indeed we were already hitting ISIS in Iraq.

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Concern has been expressed over the legitimacy of killing “British” as opposed to Syrian or Iraqi adherents of ISIS. In fact local people may be serving ISIS under duress and Iraqis Sunnis may have been driven to do so by the tyranny of Shia rule imposed upon them by the West. Those who have freely travelled to join the conflict present a much easier moral case for lethal intervention. Arguably we have a particular responsibility to protect the local population from the violence of ISIS members raised in this country.

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor, East Riding of Yorkshire.

THE Government was right to authorise the drone attack on the two jihadi terrorists in Syria, if only to prove to the extremist rabble over there that they are not invulnerable .

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What is annoying is the uproar from those self-righteous politicians who now demand an inquiry into the situation, no doubt pushing the human rights angle and ignoring further time and costs involved in doing so? We are fighting a war of stealth with these terrorists, yet these mealy-mouthed objectors expect the Government to do it with one hand tied behind their backs.

From: Miss SI Forbes, Market Weighton.

WITH reference to the migrant situation – it has been stated that Britain is grossly over-populated and, therefore, cannot accommodate any more people.

This is not quite accurate, England is over-populated, Scotland is not. It would appear that Scotland is very sympathetic to the migrant cause.

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Nicola Sturgeon has announced that she is open to putting up a migrant family in her own home.

She goes on to say that she has been overwhelmed with messages from people across Scotland saying that they personally would be happy to give a home, temporarily or for a longer period of time, to somebody fleeing from Syria.

So – we English ought not to be selfish and keep all these people in our country.

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We could bring joy to thousands of Scottish hearts by sending them all North of the border.

Problem solved.

Magic of the theatre

From: Pauline M Ireland, Temple Newsam, Leeds.

RE the request for memories of the Theatre Royal, your picture certainly struck a chord with me.

My mother was an ardent thespian who, naturally, wished her children to follow in her footsteps, and so my education began at this most beautiful theatre. At the age of six, I was told that instead of a Christmas present, I was to be given a surprise (I hasten to add Father Christmas still provided his present). My mother and I set off for the Town Hall, by train from Osmondthorpe Halt to Leeds New Station, from where we walked along Boar Lane and up Albion Street, gazing as we did so at all the displays in the brightly lit up shop windows.

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My mother put her hand over my eyes and told me not to peep, then she guided me up a flight of steps which suddenly became soft and warm and I guessed that I was walking on carpet. On reaching the top she told me to open my eyes. What a surprise indeed, surrounded by crimson and gold, I really did feel as if I was in a royal building. On buying a programme, I was helped to read “Theatre Royal”, and “Humpty Dumpty”. I had hardly taken all this in, when the orchestra began to play and the scarlet velvet curtain disappeared and at the back of the stage was a wall on which balanced a very large egg. Naturally it fell off and broke and out came Humpty Dumpty (Wee Georgie Wood).

As a young teenager, I progressed to being taken to see the Repertory Company and I fell for the handsome Francis Matthews. My joy had no bounds when my mother presented me with a signed photograph of him.

Those were the days.