Tesco scares independent petrol sellers

I WOULD like to commend Emma Brooksbank on a first- class and well-researched article which derides the local council’s decision to allow Tesco into your lovely town of Malton (Yorkshire Post, November 23).

I was born and raised in Yorkshire and have fond memories of Sunday lunch at the Talbot Hotel or the Green Man pub for an excellent pint of bitter and sandwich.

The big four supermarkets are also hitting our independent forecourt retailers, with more than 12,000 sites closing across the UK in the last 20 years.

Emma’s perspective on Castle Douglas is quite correct as we have local members retailing fuel that are desperately worried about the prospect of Tesco gaining retrospective planning consent for a filling station on appeal.

We are talking to the Office of Fair Trading to see if there is any way to prevent the hypers from killing off our members with below-cost selling (admitted on BBC radio by Justin King of Sainsbury’s earlier this year) and/or ever deeper promotional discounts.

Well said, Emma. There are vast numbers of people who fully agree with your sentiments.

Inquiry into EU needed

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

I WAS happy to read James Bovington’s letter (Yorkshire Post, December 1) and his reference to my eurosceptic nonsense. Yes, I am eurosceptic and I believe dominance, either peacefully or militarily is totally unacceptable.

However, while sometimes having to exaggerate a point to provoke debate, I would like to see more purposeful discussion on EU membership/relationship at all levels from the Government down.

It appears the issue of membership will not go away until some form of referendum is held and not I hope by using the overly simplistic question of in or out.

I hold the view of some middle ground co-operation but worded so that we retain our ability not to enter into any treaty which is contrary to the needs and wellbeing of the UK and to include repatriation of sovereignty on certain issues. The Government owes the public a clear and non-political view on our status in the EU and its benefits.

This can come about if UKIP’s Lord Pearson of Rannoch’s Bill passed by the House of Lords results in the Chancellor setting up an impartial inquiry into the economic cost and benefits arising from our membership of the EU and informing us accordingly.

Don’t fudge it, George Osborne.

Bring back Gladstone

From: John GK Wildie, Briar Grove, Sandal, Wakefield.

I WOULD like to reply to Roger M Dobson (Yorkshire Post, November 28) where he states that it is time for the Prime Minister to grow up.

I must agree with some of his statements but not all. Yes, before the General Election all party leaders promised a better way of life in this country, but we have finished up with a bigger mess.

It’s just like when Margaret Thatcher was in power, the dark days, but what the newspapers say is that it is going to get darker.

It was Tony Blair who started the war in Iraq, then Gordon Brown followed on – at what cost?

Mr Blair has blood on his hands and he said at the Chilcot Inquiry that he would kill again and now Afghanistan, so David Cameron is just doing what Mr Blair and Mr Brown have done.

I would like to know how much it is costing the taxpayers of this country. Mr Clegg and the Lib Dems voted against these conflicts; the Liberals stated in Parliament that they were against bombing Libya and to bring our troops home now and not in their coffins. But Mr Clegg and his party have been told to shut up.

Yes, we must send aid and help the other countries who suffer from earthquakes, young children starving and dying.

What this country needs is a proper Liberal Party, a William Gladstone or Lloyd George – not a lot of “yes men”.