Tuesday's Letters: Why I am proud not to have been a lemming in last election

Laws is clearly another Mandelson/Blunkett, and Cameron another Blair.

And we have Clegg spouting Brownisms about the record of "public service" from Mr Laws.

The only service here is the public's funding of his 40,000 nice

little earner. I am proud to have a car bumper sticker that reads, "Don't blame me: I wasn't a lemming who voted in 2010".

From: David Woosnam, Woodrow Park, Grimsby.

From: Peter Asquith-Cowen, First Lane, Anlaby, Hull.

WITH regards to the resignation of David Laws, I am deeply sorry, that this man, in this age, felt that he had to protect his private life in this manner.

I agree with everything Peter Tatchell and Sir Harold Evans said on television – homophobic attitudes still do exist, as does racism, prejudice and sexism.

Mr Laws has not only lost his high-profile political life, but also his private life is now out in the open. He still has to face his family, peers and those whose love and support he feared losing. I hope he

returns to politics, like some other ministers.

His private life should in no way affect his ability to fulfil the responsibilities of office. I wish him the best of luck for his future.

From: Andrew Mercer, Oxford Road, Guiseley.

DAVID Laws was in a no win position over his expenses.

As a Somerset MP, he was entitled – legitimately – to claim under the second home allowance. But, had he not done so, people would have asked questions about his living arrangements.

The more pertinent question is why the issue only came to light now – and not when all the details were published a year ago? Presumably, because there are people out there who are determined to destabilise the coalition Government.

From: Karen McCarthy, Stradbroke Road, Sheffield.

I HOPE the appointment of a Scot, Danny Alexander, as Chief Secretary of the Treasury, in place of David Laws, does not mean that our Celtic friends will receive preferential treatment over future spending cuts.

The Prescotts deserve their honour

From: George McManus, Norwood, Beverley.

IT'S not surprising that under our outdated and anachronistic political system, John Prescott should be given justified recognition for 40

years of service to the Labour Party, 10 of those as the country's longest serving Deputy Prime Minister.

Lord Prescott should, therefore, be congratulated for achieving a peerage and thanked for his loyal service (Yorkshire Post, May 29).

Creating Ladyships is quite another matter. While peers can be readily bestowed at the stroke of a pen, real Ladies are born not created.

Such is the case with Lady Prescott. A real lady through and through, her acquaintances will say it is right that she should now be given official recognition for what the rest of us already knew.

Congratulations Lady Prescott, a true lady in every sense of the word.

From: C Horsman, Coppergate, Nafferton, East Yorkshire.

MANY people think John Prescott is from Hull. Just to put the record straight he is Welsh, having been born in North Wales.

From: Rob Smith, Wellesley Avenue, Hull.

IN listing possible titles for the now ennobled John Prescott, Tom Richmond (Yorkshire Post, May 31) could have chosen Lord Prescott of Philandering. Or what about the most succinct – Lord Prescott of Hypocrisy?

Labour's legacy

From: D Smith, Sandhill Way, Harrogate.

MAY I quote a familiar saying: "I don't believe it." Quite honestly, after 12 years of socialist dictatorship, I am astounded that the

Labour Party has any support left.

After being handed a thriving economy they have once again plunged the nation into disrepair and debt.

Remember James Callaghan's "Winter of discontent"?

We have seen our country flooded with immigrants, our schools and services swamped and the voice of the indigenous population completely ignored, the English not even mentioned on the census form, as we are pushed to second place by a government whose only concern was "power at any cost". Let us hope we have now seen the last of them.

From: Edward Lyon, Park Avenue, Hull.

I'M bewildered that Labour does not understand why it was voted out of office at the election; namely the fact that Gordon Brown virtually bankrupted the country.

They now seem intent on opposing every policy set out by the new coalition Government (Tom Richmond, Yorkshire Post, May 29) without setting out any clear ideas of their own on how they would tackle the deficit.

As well as bankrupting the country, they now appear to be bankrupt of policies – and the party's leadership contenders do not exactly inspire confidence, do they? More of the same appears to be the extent of their message.

Poles apart on tramway

From: Malcolm Hindes, Moor Park Villas, Headingley, Leeds.

ANYONE who thinks the lighting poles in the main car park at Roundhay Park, Leeds are relics of the historic 1891 tramway (Yorkshire Post, May 27) is sadly mistaken.

This car park was opened in 1937 as a bus station for special buses to the Northern Command Military Tattoo in July of that year, although the decorated Coronation bus was displayed there the previous May. It was subsequently used for special services to many events at the park, including Children's Day.

The lamp posts were redundant tubular steel tram poles (not pylons,

please – those are stone pillars) from various locations and were only used for lighting. It is no wonder they are showing their age.

The original Roundhay Park electric tramway ended at Oakwood and was

not extended along Princes Avenue until 1923. There were never any tram tracks into the bus park, and it was certainly never a tram park.

More details about this fascinating story can be gleaned from Jim

Soper's monumental work Leeds Transport, particularly the first two volumes.

Time for a rational debate about EU benefits

From: Linda McAvan, Labour MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber.

IT is surely time for a rational debate on the EU, on the value our membership offers, and Britain's role within the EU.

Your editorial (Yorkshire Post, May 28) acknowledged "one example" of the benefits of EU regulations after water quality standards have helped to transform the bathing waters and beaches around this region's coast.

However, there are many more examples, often not widely reported in our Eurosceptic national press.

Thousands of people left stranded abroad due to the volcanic ash benefited from EU laws put in place to force airlines to provide food, drink and accommodation for passengers left stranded abroad; the EU has made mobile phone texts and calls made abroad in the EU, cheaper and EU funding is being used to develop a carbon capture scheme at Hatfield to help tackle climate change and create jobs.

I am involved with moves to improve food labelling, including the accurate labelling of British produce; the development of a new system to allow the public to report the side-effects of drugs directly to authorities to improve safety; the creation of a new minimum standard for human organs across the EU to increase the chances of people finding a suitable transplant; and just last week, new plans to levy a tax on banks across the EU were announced – something that George Osborne has praised.

A genuine, balanced debate on Britain's role in the EU is in all our interests. To achieve this, the media must play its part.

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

WE read nearly every year that the EU accounts have not been audited, and that whoever gets the job is forcibly prevented from doing so.

We should stop all EU payments until they have been audited and then only pay the current dues, and not any back ones. That should go a long way to solving our problems.

All are bound by rules of road

From: MJ Wadley, Olive Grove, Harrogate.

SURELY the mobility scooter driver (Yorkshire Post, May 26) is under a serious misapprehension if he considers he is not subject to the rules of the road just because he drives a mobility scooter.

I have always understood that anyone using the Queen's highway, and that includes the pavement, is subject to those rules. We would be in a fine mess if we all did our own thing.

Labelling young as criminals

From: Rev Neil McNicholas, St Hilda's, Whitby.

CHRIS Bond's article on children and our justice system (Yorkshire Post, May 26) ended with the question: "Do we really want children to be labelled criminals at such a young age? It makes society seem very vengeful."

The elephant in the room on this particular issue poses a further question: what is society doing to our children when 10-year-olds are committing sexual crimes and 12 and 13-year-olds are killing other children?

More fitting

From: W Ruddlesden, Upper Hoyland Road, Hoyland, Barnsley.

IN these so-called austere times, would not the Queen's Speech have reflected the significance of the occasion if she and her cortege had dressed in civilian attire and dispensed with the pantomime coach and all the other trivial embellishments?

A carbuncle

From: Mrs J Butler (resident), Headingley, Leeds.

THE other day, I walked by the new building at the Headingley cricket ground which has great green triangles of metal sticking up in the air. What a monstrosity.

This surely is a carbuncle on the face of what used to be a nice little village.