YP Letters: Pensioners conned by politicians

I HAVE never had much sympathy with people who get conned. I thought it could never happen to me, but it nearly did. I listened to Theresa May’s first speech as Prime Minister and thought how genuine she sounded.

I took it all in and she nearly had me. Like most ‘con artists’, Theresa May is a very clever. Her big mistake was to publish a manifesto which so blatantly attacked working-class pensioners.

Tory politicians, like all good ‘con artists’, pray on the old, the weak, the sick and the vulnerable. Pensioners with savings are no good to the Tories. They and their business friends want spenders.

Their first attack on pensioners was to reduce interest rates – they used our savings to help the bankers pay off their mis-selling debts. They also hoped that we might spend our money rather than keep it in the bank.

Spending brings in VAT for the Government and profits for their business friends. If we have to sell our homes to pay for our care, more VAT is generated and there is more profit for businesses.

The Tory manifesto would have brought a boost to the economy by accessing pensioner savings and assets. They would either grab a share of your money if you decided to spend it, or take it if you had to go into a home.

They claimed that what they were doing was making things fair across the generations, but this isn’t the case. Given the present low-wage economy we are experiencing in this country, my wife and I were hoping that our property and remaining savings would go to help our daughter after we have gone. Tory policy would see both pensioners – and their children losing out.

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.

SIR Bernard Ingham’s warnings of problems if Jeremy Corbyn is elected may prove correct (The Yorkshire Post, May 31), but often Corbyn’s been proved correct in the long term. British governments finally talked to terrorists to end the conflict in Northern Ireland, much as Corbyn wanted.

While I shed no tears for Colonel Gaddafi, British intervention under David Cameron led to a new wave of terrorists emerging, quite likely linked to the horrific Manchester bombing.

And wasn’t Corbyn right in the Labour manifesto to call for more police officers?

Theresa May has not inspired in office. There was her decision to give the hugely expensive Hinkley Point nuclear energy contract to the French and Chinese governments. Hardly putting Britain first. We’ll pay higher energy bills for years as a result of Mrs May being easy prey for lobbyists.

There followed the budget confusion about self-employed National Insurance, a fast political about-turn as Philip Hammond was slapped down. He won’t be Chancellor if Mrs May wins. And the reversal over the “dementia tax” came close in the U-turn stakes.

Our European neighbours will note this in their strategies. Mrs May has talked a good talk about Brexit in the election for home consumption, but her track record does not inspire for future negotiations.

It’s a tough choice, but many people are realising that the former unacceptable choice may not be so bad after all.

From: Andrew Suter, Station Road, Ampleforth.

JEREMY Corbyn wants the British public to elect him as Prime Minister on June 8.

Given that last summer 172 of his own MPs balloted in favour of a vote of no confidence in him, and only 40 voted in support of him, I am intrigued.

How can he reasonably expect anybody to vote for him when three-quarters of his own Parliamentary party do not support him? A large number refuse to sully their own reputations by working with him, in even a shadow cabinet.

Perhaps Comrade Corbyn would care to enlighten us all on this inconvenient set of facts ?

‘Glue’ binds world in sport

From: David Bradley, Horbury, Wakefield.

TOM Richmond’s column snippet about Joe Root attending the launch of a new cricket facility in Bradford was absolutely spot-on (The Yorkshire Post, May 27).

I think cricket is the glue that helps to bind us all together, it’s a Commonwealth game and many teams show this with all different nationalities playing together.

The emergence of Afghanistan shows how it ought to be done.

Don’t call me very, very old

From: Malcolm Toft, Windsor Avenue, Silsden.

IN the article by Richard Sutcliffe on Huddersfield Town’s Championship play-off victory (The Yorkshire Post, May 30) head coach David Wagner is reported to have said “the last time this club was in the top division was 45 years ago. The people who can remember this are very, very old”.

I am one of the 26,340 who went to Leeds Road to see Town play Leeds United on September 25, 1971, when the Terriers scored a 2-1 victory.

As a 60-year-old, I do not regard myself as being ‘very, very old’ though.

On your bike, lycra louts

From: Jo Farrell, Leeds.

HOW much longer will motorists have to put up with those lycra-clad cyclists who believe that they are above the law?

I was driving along the A65 in Horsforth when a rider was tailgating a bus. He would not have had a chance if the driver had to apply the brakes in an emergency. The police need to make an example of the culprits. Do you agree?