Wednesday's Letters: Wealthy Laws did not need to claim £40,000 'small change'

My lack of sympathy concerns his status as an extremely wealthy man. Let us not forget that Mr Laws had attained a highly-paid and very senior role in the City by the tender age of 22 and made so much money that he was effectively able to retire before he was 30, a state of affairs to be envied by the many pensioners in our society who struggle to make ends meet, not least because they have seen the income from their savings dwindle alarmingly as a result of low interest rates.

Mr Laws is a multi-millionaire; why, therefore, if he wanted to fund his partner, did he not simply write a cheque for a lump sum, or arrange a regular monthly payment to him?

Given his means, the sum of 40,000 would effectively have been small change, and a small price to pay to avoid the embarrassment of what has happened, as well as preserving the privacy of his domestic arrangements upon which Mr Laws plainly placed a premium.

I wonder if I am alone in contemplating why it is that the wealthiest in our society are so often the keenest to chisel everything they can out of the state, whether it be via tax avoidance, the claiming of parliamentary expenses or complex business arrangements that see money moved offshore.

From: Mrs Hilda Claxton, York Road, Leeds.

From: Dennis Baxter, Derbyshire Lane, Sheffield.

THERE seems to me to be a profound sadness at the heart of the David Laws affair, and it is that a talented individual was essentially ashamed to admit to being in a homosexual relationship.

I am surely not alone in thinking that in this day and age, the electorate is sufficiently enlightened not to care about a person's sexuality, but is simply interested in whether that individual has the intellectual capacity and integrity to do a job. We are living in 2010, and not the middle 1960s before homosexuality was decriminalised.

Same-sex relationships have been part of the realities of life since time immemorial, and it is high time that politicians – as well as everybody else – felt comfortable in declaring themselves to be gay if that is what they are.

Openness, whether about private lives or policy, is a virtue to be prized in our politicians. Secrecy, as Mr Laws can doubtless testify, leads to unhappiness.

From: Andrew Flint, Otley Road, Guiseley.

SO much for "the new politics" promised by Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

His party's David Laws has to resign from the coalition Government, after 17 days, because he was less than straightforward over his Parliamentary expenses. As you said in your Comment (Yorkshire Post, May 31), it was the lack of transparency – rather than his sexuality – that was the issue.

In his place is appointment Danny Alexander, a young Scot and another Liberal Democrat, who finds himself accused of dodging rules on capital gains tax – the very tax that the Government intends to raise to help sort out the budget deficit.

Previously, Mr Alexander was Mr Clegg's chief-of-staff. Why did the Lib Dem leader not seek to undertake an audit of his MPs' expenses when the scandal first broke?

At least David Cameron did so – which begs the question whether the country can trust the judgment of the new Deputy Prime Minister?

From: Douglas John, Newbegin, Beverley.

CAN anyone explain how Danny Alexander's work as PR chief for

Cairngorms National Park Authority qualifies him to be the next Chief Secretary to the Treasury following the resignation of David Laws (Yorkshire Post, May 31)?

Surely, the coalition Government should appoint the best candidate for the job – irrespective of whether they are Conservative or Liberal Democrat – rather than trying to stick to the quota of having five Lib Dems in the Cabinet?

This would, of course, not have happened if there had been proper scrutiny of the expenses of Lib Dem MPs last year. At least we would have known about the records of David Laws and Mr Alexander before they entered the Cabinet.

From: Graham Brennan, Huddersfield.

YOU couldn't make it up. Tax workers have been staging a protest outside the Treasury to complain about cuts in opening times of their offices.

The Public and Commercial Services union said 58 tax inquiry centres across the UK were having their hours cut, sometimes to just one or two days a week.

The union claimed the cuts coincided with errors with tax codes sent out for the new tax year because of problems with a new computer system.

Wouldn't it be better if these staff worked proper hours – if only to collect the billions of unpaid tax that is exacerbating Britain's recovery from recession? Doesn't common sense exist in Whitehall any more – or am I the only person to think so?

Nothing has changed at Westminster

From: DS and Mrs SA Boyes, Rodley Lane, Leeds.

YET another so-called Labour working class hero makes a fool of himself by accepting a peerage (Yorkshire Post, May 29).

I refer, of course, to the former MP for East Hull, John Prescott, who follows the example set by Neil Kinnock.

Against this background, is it any wonder that the Tory party is back in control of this country and set to unleash all kinds of hell on the poor and disadvantaged, as people realised that Labour politicians and union leaders are only out for themselves?

However, with the expenses scandal miring the Government before George Osborne has even delivered his emergency Budget, it is obvious nothing has changed at Westminster.

My wife and I did not even bother to vote at the last election. What was the point?

From: David Wright, Uppleby, Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

THE latest honours appointments must surely reinforce the need to finally end this archaic charade of perpetuating the mockery of awards for failed or retired politicians, and hangers-on, by continuing their membership of the cosy Westminster club.

The House of Lords must finally be reconstituted to become a wholly elected chamber and to end this undemocratic relic of the past.

To award the likes of John Prescott with a peerage is not only

laughable but an abuse of taxpayers' money, particularly at this critical stage of the UK's recovery from the broke status exacerbated by the past regimes of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

From: ME Wright, Grove Road, Harrogate.

DESPITE the media's endless and avid portrayal of John Prescott as a duplicitous buffoon (Tom Richmond, Yorkshire Post, May 31), I suspect that there is more to him than that. One thing is certain, with him and Ian Paisley in the Upper House, nodding off will no longer be an option.

I wish him and Lady Pauline well, and hope that the Yorkshire Post might capture the first sighting of him in knee-beeches and ermine, scoffing a bag of chips.

From: Diane Coleman, Harrogate.

JOHN Prescott said on the Today programme that he accepted a peerage so that he can continue his work on the environment. Assuming that this statement is accurate, what difference will it make if Prescott is a lord or not?

I assume, therefore, that he will not be claiming a single penny in expenses for attending the House of Lords.

From: Steve Chamberlain, Hawksworth Road, Horsforth, Leeds.

THE vilification of John Prescott actually masks a far greater outrage with the recent award of seats to the House of Lords – the peerages given to the three former Defence Secretaries John Reid, Des Browne and John Hutton.

These men epitomised the arrogance of New Labour. They totally failed in their basic duty; namely to ensure that our Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq had proper equipment. All three of them singularly failed to secure extra funding from Gordon Brown who was controlling the nation's purse-strings at the time.

They were so bad that, at times, they made John Prescott look competent as Deputy Prime Minister. I do wonder how the families of the fallen feel about these three career failures taking up their seats in the House of Lords?

From: Mrs P Richards, Knaresborough.

FLOELLA Benjamin was a very good children's television presenter, but how does this qualify her to sit in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat and, presumably, prop up this coalition Government?

What next? Lords Ant and Dec?

From: Robert Beaumont, Boroughbridge.

WHAT a superb article by Tom Richmond on the hypocrisy of John Prescott and New Labour (Yorkshire Post, May 31). It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Magic moment at resort's open-air theatre

From: Brian Howe, Thompson Avenue, Castleford.

IN the letter headlined "Theatre of memories" (Yorkshire Post, May 26) JN Duckitt certainly succeeds in awakening nostalgic memories of Scarborough's open-air theatre, with particular reference to the production of Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha.

I, too, was thrilled at the sight of Indians paddling their canoes around the island-stage; I was fascinated by the tepees and camp-fires dotted among the dark woodland background and the orchestra tidily moored landside in its floating pontoons.

It's a long time ago, but I do believe that Frank Sale was the fine tenor who sang Onaway Awake in that production.

My magic moment was of the sea fret which most appropriately rolled up the valley to swirl across the stage and around the trees during the Famine scene, and then to clear off miraculously before the brilliant grand finale.

I remember asking: "How did they do that, dad?"

I will never visit Haworth again

From: Colin Cawthray, Elmete Drive, Roundhay, Leeds.

REGARDING the letter "Unhappy day in Haworth" (Yorkshire Post, May 27), I was clamped there 15 years ago.

I parked my car in a large public car park, and payed the correct

tariff. My big mistake was arriving back two minutes late. The car park was empty, apart from my car but there clamping my car was a man you would not have argued with. It cost 32 to have my car released.

Your correspondent C Cartwright asks whether the local council and trading standards are happy for this to happen? Well, they have not done anything about it in the last 15 years. Needless to say, I have never – and will never – visit Haworth again.

Enthusiasm call

From: Keith Chapman, Custance Walk, York.

LISTENING on the radio to the tailbacks on the A64 to Scarborough, why don't the train companies put on extra rolling stock and services so people don't have to use the car?

There could also be some cheap fare specials and a 10.30pm service for people returning at night. We do need some enthusiasm from those who promote rail travel.