YP Letters: How to make Britain great once more

From: ML Cook, Parkside Close, Cottingham.
A Syrian Kurdish migrant hugs a young child after their arrival with others at Mytilene, Lesbos island, Greece, from the Turkish coast, Thursday. Migration is a key issue in the EU referendum.A Syrian Kurdish migrant hugs a young child after their arrival with others at Mytilene, Lesbos island, Greece, from the Turkish coast, Thursday. Migration is a key issue in the EU referendum.
A Syrian Kurdish migrant hugs a young child after their arrival with others at Mytilene, Lesbos island, Greece, from the Turkish coast, Thursday. Migration is a key issue in the EU referendum.

FORGET Europe, what we do need is good honest leaders to rebuild our great country instead of unpicking the services we hold dear.

The money to pay for the Health Service, the BBC, and well-staffed trusted schools instead of harmful Ofsted inspectors, has been siphoned off.

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David Cameron has taken it upon himself to welcome in cheap steel that damages our own, once prosperous, steel industry and cheap milk that has put many farmers out of business. He also gave a contract to build a nuclear power station to China – whose side is he on?

We prospered when we were in charge of our own affairs. Let’s do it again.

From: R Smithson, Ennerdale Avenue, Dewsbury.

I HAVE been voting for over 60 years from when this country was “Great” Britain with a reputation for quality goods in demand by many independent nations, not just Commonwealth countries.

Back in the 1970s the resistance to our entry was enormous and finally we were “allowed” to join – with great reluctance by many countries. But what did we join? A Common Market. Yes, we were conned as we are now part of a European dictatorship which is unable to balance its own books.

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If a union of South American countries approached President Barack Obama with a view to a merger (similar to EU) or hinted he would be last in the queue, his reply would be unprintable.

From: Mervyn Jackson, Windmill Rise, Belper, Derbyshire.

IN The Yorkshire Post last Saturday, we saw Andrew Vine’s comment in the Voices column on ‘...the shameful saga that is the Chilcot Report...’

We were reminded how Tony Blair led Britain into ‘its most disastrous policy decision since the Second World War under false pretences...’

We should all remember that Tony Blair was a poodle acting at the behest of George W. Bush. If Barack Obama is now saying that a vote for Brexit would leave us at the back of the queue, regarding trade with US, then we should be pleased to note that we will also be at the back of the queue when a future US president wishes to drag other countries into another disastrous incursion into foreign lands.

Mind you, I don’t think the queue will be very long.

From: Ian Oglesby, High Catton Road, Stamford Bridge, York.

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THE doubtful validity of David Cameron’s minimal negotiation shows the refusal of the EU to be deflected from its course to a superstate.

Previous leaders such as Attlee, Heath, Wilson and Thatcher were aware of the inevitable results of staying in the misnamed Common Market. The electorate must wake up to the fact that the political and business leaders of the Remain campaign are also fully aware that if we vote to stay in the EU, full integration will move apace.

Mr Cameron’s best efforts show how powerless we will be to resist the appalling outcome.

Why so many police forces?

From: Bob Davis, Hawkcliffe View, Silsden, West Yorkshire.

I CANNOT understand why, in this day and age, we have so many different police forces around the country. In Yorkshire alone, we have four.

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Each force employs a chief constable as well as several deputies and assistants.

This situation is absolutely ridiculous and a totally unnecessary drain on the public purse.

We are crying out for 
more policemen on the beat, 
so let’s abolish some, if not 
all, of these unwanted layers 
and spend some of the 
money saved where it is really needed.

As for the posts of 
police commissioners, these 
are an utter waste of public money and should be abandoned now.

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Furthermore, why can we not have just one police force for the whole of Yorkshire?

Yorkshire is the largest county and I am sure smaller counties could join forces.

For example, Norfolk and Suffolk could become one force under East Anglia.

I am sure vast amounts of public money could be saved and spent where it is needed. This has nothing to do with politics.

FA had role in crush disaster

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From: Philip Hellawell, Fryergate, Brighouse Wood Lane, Brighouse.

ON March 30, 1974, I attended the FA Cup semi-final between Burnley and Newcastle United at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield.

Burnley, being the smaller of the two clubs, was sensibly allocated the Leppings Lane end of the ground whilst the Kop end was reserved for the much larger fan base of Newcastle.

Since the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, I have always wondered why on earth mighty Liverpool was allocated the Leppings Lane end, whilst the more modest Nottingham Forest was given the Kop. To my mind, the FA was culpable in creating the circumstances which caused this disaster. Why choose an apparently sub-standard venue for an FA Cup semi-final, where there had been dangerous over-crowding previously? Those responsible should face serious questioning.

From: His Honour Robert Taylor, Ilkley.

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YOUR columnists Jayne Dowle and Grant Woodward catalogue the many failings by those in official positions to give justice to the families of those who died (The Yorkshire Post, April 28).

But there is at least one important exception who should not be overlooked. In the interim report of his inquiry into the causes of the disaster, published within months of its happening, Lord Justice Taylor officially exonerated the Liverpool fans and held that the police were primarily to blame.

As as barrister, Peter Taylor practised on the North Eastern Circuit, frequently appearing in Courts in Leeds and Sheffield.

He later became Lord Chief Justice.