Thursday's Letters: Blunkett should look at his own party for being despicable

I think Mr Clegg chose the party which would give the Lib Dems more for their support and the best for the country, and it would also have to be agreed by the rest of the party before doing so. This I believe is democracy, which has been lacking in the Labour Party.

Mr Blunkett should look at his own party for being despicable. Two of the most despicable people ever to have been involved in politics are Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell.

Also Tony Blair, with the cash for honours debate and taking the country to war on sexed-up documents. And there's Gordon Brown lying to the Chilcot Inquiry about not cutting the budget for the Armed Forces, and then suddenly remembering that he had.

The Labour Party has done nothing but lie for the last 13 years. Every figure they have published has been proved to be wrong, from immigration to unemployment.

So, Mr Blunkett, if you want despicable, consider these in your own party.

From: Geoffrey Thorpe, Lister Avenue, East Bowling, Bradford.

From: Andrew Cooper, Ascot Avenue, Kimberley, Nottinghamshire.

LIKE millions of voters, I wasn't surprised that the outcome of the General Election was a hung Parliament. This result came about thanks to the incompetence of New Labour and the lack of a credible alternative.

The fact that we now see a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats endorses my opinion that politicians in this country are an absolute laughing stock. Thousands of Lib Dem voters in many constituencies were hoping to keep the Tories out, not to mention the Lib Dem candidates.

We now have a Prime Minister who wants to change the rules on votes of no confidence in order to remain in power for five years.

Lib Dem voters must feel disenfranchised and heartily sickened to see their leaders willingly shove their snouts into the trough.

The lure of large pay rises – don't be fooled by the five per cent pay cut for Ministers – and a seat in the Cabinet highlights the fact that principles go out of the window.

I can't wait for the next General Election when the Lib Dems will cease to exist as a party.

Unfortunately, if electoral reform goes ahead, we'll never have a situation where any one party will have an overall majority to enable it to govern.

From: Terry Wright, Bempton Lane, Flamborough, Bridlington.

INTERESTING now that our new Government is settling in that we find ourselves in a deeper financial mess created by Labour.

When outgoing Treasury ministers leave notes on their desk informing the new incumbent that no money is left in the pot (Yorkshire Post, May 18), it shows what liars have governed us prior to the election. How could anybody vote for them ever again?

From: Andrew Mercer, Oxford Road, Guiseley.

INSTEAD of gloating, in a farewell note, that there was no money left in the kitty, why didn't Liam Byrne, Labour's Chief Secretary to the Treasury, speak out when he was in office?

He clearly abdicated his responsibilities and, in doing so, showed that he is unfit to hold high office again. Just what was he doing?

From: Rodney Atkinson, Meadowfield Road, Stocksfield, Northumberland.

THE disgraceful proposal by the new Lib-Con Government that they should not be thrown out unless the Opposition can reach 55 per cent of the vote in Parliament (as opposed to the historic precedent of 50 per cent plus one) will I hope be thrown out by the votes of principled Conservatives.

The choice of 55 per cent is not a matter of principle and

constitutional justice but of sheer political calculation and arbitrary law based on the number of seats at present held by the Lib-Con coalition.

It is even more disgraceful when one considers that these two parties have supported the destruction of the British Constitution by the European Union on the basis of repeated 51 per cent votes in Parliament.

From: Dunlop Griffith, Roberts Road, Balby, Doncaster.

AT a time when broken Britain needed a leader with the singleness of purpose, we have David Cameron.

Few would have cared if an incoming Tory Cabinet was jam-packed with Old Etonians if they halted mass immigration; stopped mollycoddling thugs and scroungers; ensured that British citizens of whatever colour or ethnicity were first in the queue for jobs, education, housing and medical care; and gave us a referendum on capital punishment.

Instead of the decisive victory that straight-talking Tories could have delivered, we have a hung Parliament with the bland leading the bland.

The outcome of their shabby horse-trading will mean the continuing economic decline of Britain as the sick man of Europe and the further erosion of the cultural heritage, moral fibre and independent spirit that once made Britain great.

We are always being told that immigration enriches our culture. But the mass immigration caused by Labour's failure to police our shores has not enriched us one jot.

Plaudits for Bernard Dineen

From: William Snowden, Butterbowl Gardens, Farnley Ring Road, Leeds.

IT was with deep regret that I learnt of Bernard Dineen's retirement.

I have read the Yorkshire Post for over 40 years, and regard Bernard Dineen to be not only the best columnist at the Yorkshire Post (and the standard is commendably high) but in the country. He is unlikely, however, to receive any plaudits, accolades, or national awards from the London-centric, Left-wing, liberal dominated mass media

establishment: BD is not PC, you see.

Whenever I return home after travelling, I always leaf through back copies of the Yorkshire Post, and the first thing I read is Bernard Dineen's Monday column. He has produced a consistent and cogent body of work, that is without parallel: erudite and incisive, pertinent and forthright; and invariably well-researched, with empirical evidence to substantiate his judgments. And, above all, imbued with the virtue of good, common sense.

He is incomparable... irreplaceable! I wish him well.

From: Maureen Hunt, Woolley, Near Wakefield.

TO say I was devastated at Bernard Dineen's retirement would not be an exaggeration.

For years, Mr Dineen has exposed the lies, deceptions and idiocy of our increasingly crazy country. Somehow, by revealing the truth, he has made the world seem a safer place. Already I feel more vulnerable. He will leave a gaping hole in the Yorkshire Post which will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fill.

In his final article, Mr Dineen said of David Cameron: "The signs are that he possesses the courage, intelligence and sheer grit needed."

Perhaps it is this very optimism he feels about our new Prime Minister which has enabled him to move on. He has assuredly earned his

retirement and, as one of a multitude of faithful fans, I thank him for sharing what he calls his thoughts with us and I wish him all the very best for the future.

From: Jon Marcus, Colville Gardens, Lightwater, Surrey.

OLD soldiers never die... let us hope there is some truth in that and to wish Bernard Dineen a long, healthy and well-deserved retirement.

He will be a great loss to the Yorkshire Post and to journalism. In my view, he was one of the top columnists in the country.

It was inevitable that this Second World War officer would one day be sending his Last Dispatch, as happened on Monday, but still a sad day for us readers.

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

FOR several decades, I have always read and enjoyed Bernard Dineen's articles, agreeing with his Right-wing views about 98 per cent of the time. I disagree with him on abortion and I am not against a PR voting system, whereas he is very much against it.

Thank you, Bernard, for many years of excellent, informative, serious, clear, straight forward reporting full of common sense and enlightened logic.

From: Mrs Jackie Barber, Valley View, South Elmsall, near Pontefract.

I AM so sorry to see Bernard Dineen's last farewell column. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading his column every week for years and have nearly always agreed with him. Good luck, Bernard Dineen. I shall miss you.

From: Brian Sheridan, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

I AM going to miss Bernard Dineen. His views were generally a little too far to the Right for my liking but I always enjoyed his column. No matter how hard hitting, he frequently revealed a humanity and

underlying sense of fairness to those whose worth he recognised,

regardless of their politics, race, religion or sexuality. He was a

real pro.

From: Alan Marsden, Pledwick Lane, Sandal, Wakefield.

ONE cannot put the clock back, but I am very sorry the time has come when we shall read Bernard Dineen's articles no more.

I met him once, many years ago, when he spoke at a Wakefield

Conservative Association dinner.

May I wish him a happy retirement and say that perhaps we shall see his name on the letters page from time to time.

From: Tim Mickleburgh, Littlefield Lane, Grimsby.

I CAN'T say that I will miss the weekly rants from your columnist Bernard Dineen (Yorkshire Post, May 17). He was so predictable in his Right-wing views, without the humour of a Littlejohn or independence

of a Parris.

And to end by raking up the difficulties of the 1970s Labour Government shows it really is time for him to disappear into the sunlight.

Up and away on a beautiful day

From: RD Leakey, Giggleswick, Near Settle, North Yorkshire.

AT my old age I have just experienced the most glorious day of the year (May 18). There was just a tiny cloud in the blue sky and I stripped off to lie in the sun, read my book and listen to the birds squeaking.

Then around noon, when more slow moving clouds drifted over, there was a surprising "wow". Between me and the sun a tiny dot hung below a curved strip of cloth moving across the Yorkshire Dales from Lancashire towards Newcastle. It was a hang glider. As a one-time glider pilot myself, it must have been a fantastic journey. Who was it? Did anyone else notice?

EU cash could fund cathedral

From: V Platt, Hereford Road, Harrogate.

I READ that 2.5m is needed for urgent repairs to Lincoln Cathedral (Yorkshire Post, May 15).

As we give 1.9m every hour of every day to the EU in Brussels, to take 1 hours of their money and transfer it to Lincoln as someone suggested, would be extremely selfish, depriving the Portuguese in Madeira funding for a stretch of tarmac road or another road tunnel – don't you agree?