Thursday's Letters: Half-baked idea of co-operative for post office workers

Dig deeper into this half-baked, ill-conceived and poorly thought through bit of Tory spin and you are stuck by a simple question: "Why aren't the customers allowed a say in how the Post Office Group works?"

To give another example, take the East Coast rail franchise; this could easily be run by a rail co-operative with representatives from staff

and customers on a management board.

Season ticket holders would automatically become members of the rail franchise and therefore become eligible to become elected on to the management board. Less frequent travellers would have to buy a 1 share, as happens with the Co-Operative Group.

This concept could be extended to the utilities and other privatised, former nationalised industries, but the customer must always be

involved, unlike the Tories' half-baked policy.

From: Duncan Anderson, Mill Lane, East Halton, Immingham.

From: Peter Broadley, Stainland Road, Greetland, Halifax.

In two or three months we are likely to have a General Election. I hope we elect a new government, putting into practice some coherent

policies.

I confess that, though I would like a Conservative government, the drivel coming out of prospective front bench spokespersons, including the leader of the party, gives me little confidence that a Cameron-led government will be any better than the present lot.

Are we to cut spending or not, how quickly, and which items of expense will be cut? The message changes from day to day, if not hour to hour. Figures are provided on this prospective policy or that, and when they are challenged, the policy is quickly swept under the carpet.

Instead of sound bites from "bright young things" in the upper sixth dorm, we need people with some heavyweight experience at running a government department or business. Having run the tuck shop at Eton College does not qualify.

Staff forming themselves into co-operatives to run public services – what next (Yorkshire Post, February 16)? We used to know what the Conservative Party I belong to stood for – I'm not sure any more.

Investing in our athletes' potential

From: Liz Nicholl, chief operating officer, UK Sports Council, Bernard Street, London.

Graham Bell is fully entitled to his opinion about UK Sport (Yorkshire Post, February 12). But he is not well informed.

The situation regarding the demise of Snowsport GB is very regrettable but not something that UK Sport is responsible for. Sports are, however, responsible to their members and have to demonstrate to UK Sport their capability to govern and run themselves and manage public investment. It would have been wrong for us to invest further public money without such assurance.

But that does not mean we have no concern for the athletes. UK Sport has worked closely with the British Olympic Association (BOA) to ensure that the two athletes that are part of our World Class Performance Programme, Chemmy Alcott and Zoe Gillings, and their support teams, have been able to attend the Games in Vancouver. We have made a significant contribution to the emergency fund the BOA has provided.

London 2012 has attracted record levels of public funding because it is a home Games, but even if we discounted this uplift it is fair to say that the medal potential for the summer Games is vastly greater than that for winter, hence the differences in investment levels. We have invested 6.5m of National Lottery funds since Turin (in 2006) in the preparation of our Winter Olympic team and this is a record amount. Many athletes have also received expert support from our research and innovation team, to ensure they are at the cutting edge of their sport and able to compete with the top winter sport nations. The home countries, in particular SportScotland, have also invested in athletes, as has the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.

We believe we are giving our skiers, snowboarders, skaters and other athletes with medal potential the support they need to maximise their opportunities to succeed at Olympic and Paralympic level.

Value of green space

From: Dr K Swann, Summerdale, Gomersal, Cleckheaton.

ONE can only agree with Graham Hall's "Nibbling Away of our Green Belt" (Yorkshire Post, February 13). Our countryside is but a reflection of our country's history, culture and inheritance fashioned by nature with God's guiding hand.

The local environment provides a community with amenities and cultural benefits. The health of the community, of clean air, water and green space is beyond question. In these ways, the environment provides a foundation for the economy in enriching the quality and way of life of the community.

However, we must accept it is not inexhaustible, a fact we were

reminded of by Michael Heseltine, the former MP, in stating: "The approach I am seeking must ensure that the South East lives within its environmental means."

The sum total of discussions in the planning field as elsewhere should not deny future generations the best of today's environment under the heading of sustainable development.

Such was shown in the studies at the public inquiry in March 1999 revealing research that the areas in Kirklees with most open space were enjoying the benefit of better health for families.

The continued efforts by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in protecting the environment are to be applauded for continuing concern and the mounting of approaches and policies to protect and better the environment. Particularly at this stage in the debates on our planet following such published work as Planet Earth The Future. The book presents the works of those leaders and experts in a series of thought-provoking answers to the hugely important questions such as how climate change is affecting the Earth, why biodiversity is of value to us and what most threatens our planet today.

The forgotten 'D' factor

From: Nino Hoblyn, North Street, Caistor, Lincolnshire.

"SET a minimum price for every alcoholic drink," says health chiefs (Yorkshire Post, February 10), followed by the story of a widow of a man beaten to death by a gang of drunken youths.

Now it is all very well blaming the demon drink but where is the

other "D"? Yes, drugs.

Why do we never see drugs mentioned? Because they cannot be taxed. Sad as it is, it's the combination of drugs and alcohol that sends these youths off their heads.

This Government, or any other, does not give a fig about our health, it's just our money they want. If they are as concerned as they all make out, why don't they just raise the age for drinking? The trouble is, it doesn't fill the old coffers.

So whatever happened to the 'mild' winter?

From: Barrie Frost, Watson's Lane, Reighton, Filey.

THE Met Office predicted Britain would have a milder than average winter this year. That it has been the coldest for about 30 years led to them saying of their inaccurate prediction: "Long-range weather forecasting is still experimental."

The wrong forecast of a mild winter followed the equally wrong forecast of a hot, "barbecue friendly" summer. This poor performance didn't restrict the 200,000 salary of John Hall, the chief executive of the Met Office, who, unbelievably, defended this huge pay, claiming it reflected the success of the organisation.

The Met Office has even been forced to denounce research from the Copenhagen climate summit which suggested global warming could raise sea levels by six feet by 2100. Other experts have said the studies are flawed, their conclusions unlikely and the mathematical approach used to calculate the rise in sea levels simplistic and unsatisfactory. The planet has not been getting any warmer for the last 10 years at least, with claims saying Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 declared false.

Professor Mojib Latif, a leading member of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has even predicted global cooling.

Britain has committed the spending of unaffordable sums of money on initiatives to combat global warming when, even if this is happening, the causes are not universally agreed. A multitude of wind turbines have been installed yet, during the recent very cold weather, with power demand at its highest, the majority of our onshore ones were only working at between five and 10 per cent efficiency due to the lack of wind. Will the energy used in their manufacture, installation, maintenance and their horrendous costs ever be recovered or is there an

ulterior motive for continuing to install them?

Sceptics are asked: "Are we willing to gamble with our children's future on this planet?" This is an inappropriate question as there is only one obvious answer and as such the question could be used to solicit support for any scheme, crackpot or otherwise, and it is, therefore, meaningless.

Yes, we owe it to our children's future to protect the planet if man is responsible for causing global warming, but, if the rush to implement climate change schemes is hopelessly flawed, we should be very, very concerned as all we will be leaving them is an inheritance of insurmountable levels of unjustified debt.

If there is clear and undisputed data there should be no need for governments to ignore, hide or fail to disclose opposing views.

Wouldn't it be far wiser to hold studies and discussions, open to all, without any preconceived conclusions of doom and gloom?

Second chance at schooling

From: Eric Houlder, Fairview, Carleton, Pontefract.

I WRITE as an 11-plus failure, to remind Nick Seaton that in the old

days we failures were not partitioned for the rest of our lives.

There was an opportunity to sit a grammar school "transfer" scholarship at 12-plus and 13-plus, as well as to sit the technical college

entrance exam at 13-plus. Furthermore, even later developers could transfer directly into sixth form.

I passed the 13-plus and entered The King's School, and the rest is history – or rather archaeology.

In a pickle over Wilfred's words

From: SB Oliver, Churchill Grove, Heckmondwike.

I CAN just remember, from my childhood, listening to Wilfred Pickles on his Have a Go radio programme at lunchtimes.

However, I think David Gillion (Yorkshire Post, February 11) has misquoted Wilfred. He didn't say: "Give 'em the money Mabel."At the end of the show, they gave away some money to lucky contestants and he first asks, "What's on the table, Mabel?" After the contestant had won, he then said, "Give 'em the money, Barney" referring to dear Barney Colehan.

Cities that live by comparison

From: Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire, Bradford.

LEEDS may compare itself with Manchester but Manchester compares itself to London and any Leeds United player who has been given the chance to play at Old Trafford has jumped at this opportunity, which includes Alan Smith, who spent his schooldays on the terracing at Elland Road.