YP Letters: Pensioners have paid their dues

WHEN IS the ‘Punish the Pensioners’ witch hunt going to end? Before anyone jumps in, I know – only when you die.

Earlier this week a spokesman for the Resolution Foundation put their idea forward that pensioners should pay more tax and young people should get a £10,000 hand-out (The Yorkshire Post, May 8).

Pensioners have paid their dues, paying tax and National Insurance all their working life, they often left school at 14 or 15 years of age and worked for 50 years or more. Stop attacking them and let them live their last few years in peace. No one gave us anything, we have had to work hard for what we’ve got.

I am all for giving the youngsters £10,000 but only to those that are deserving of it, only those who are in work and attempting to save, and university students, should be allowed to apply. Have you got any idea how much alcohol or drugs £10,000 would buy?

The Government should be helping youngsters get into work. They must be one of the biggest employers in the country, so why are they not putting the youngsters to work?

I know that many young people are not happy about being on the minimum wage, but it would get them into work and from there they could be looking to improve and apply for other positions, and they would be eligible for a reference from any job they have had.

The motto should be “No Work, No Money” and JobSeekers Allowance should only be allowed for 12 months. The Government should start by banning zero hour contracts and make agencies more responsible for the people on their books.

Resignation is welcome

From: Tom Fitton, Orpington, Kent.

SHEFFIELD COUNCILLOR Bryan Lodge’s resignation as cabinet member for ‘Environment and Streetscene’ comes as welcome news to many. His role has been untenable for a while.

His resignation statement was so similar to his many Press statements: divisive, dismissive, antagonistic, provocative and failed to take responsibility for a problem of his own causing.

Mr Lodge’s actions on the council caused and continue to cause untold stress for thousands of Sheffield residents, so, while I have sympathy for any abuse he has received (I personally have not witnessed ‘nasty and personal abuse’), I am also aware of his own abrasive rhetoric.

My sympathy for Lodge is not as great as it could be or would be, had he behaved more appropriately during his time on the cabinet.

Lords meddle at own risk

From: Valerie Wilkes, Barwick-in-Elmet, Leeds.

I WRITE to express my disgust at the House of Lords. Their interference in the bill to exit the EU is nothing short of scandalous. Their suggestion that they are only trying to improve the bill is laughable.

It is quite clear from all their amendments they seek to keep us in the EU which would mean accepting the four freedoms – all of which were rejected by the vote to leave. It will in no way help to improve any deal offered by Mr Barnier. He is just sitting back waiting for them to do his work for him. We pay £300 per day for these Lords just to turn up. It is time for the House of Lords to be scrapped.

Also I would like to point out to the likes of Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry that their manifesto promise was to leave both the Single Market and the Customs Union. People such as Jacob Mr Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson are trying to hold the Conservatives to that promise. It is the Remoaners in this party that are stamping their feet because they didn’t get the result they wanted, not the Brexiteers.

Identity cards are pointless

From: Hugh Rogers, Messingham Road, Ashby.

ID CARDS were a wartime measure – a totally ineffectual one by the way – which were retained by the post-war Labour government because they were a useful way of exercising centralised control over the population; something always dear to a true socialist.

The point which GP Taylor (The Yorkshire Post, May 9) either misses or ignores is that, unlike other forms of identification such as driving licences, passports and credit cards, ID cards would be compulsory. Not carrying one would be a criminal offence.

Even if you were an innocent but forgetful little old lady. Not only that (which is bad enough) but they would be expensive, and ultimately useless as a way of preventing either crime or illegal immigration. If you were an illegal immigrant, a crook or a terrorist, don’t you think you might simply equip yourself with forged papers?

In this country the concept of compulsory ID cards is repugnant and of no value whatever for the purpose for which its introduction would be “sold” to law-abiding citizens. Over my dead body, GP Taylor.

Ticket split saves fares

From: Norman J Hazell MBE, Woolgreaves Drive, Wakefield.

THE MEDIA is buzzing with stories of a way to reduce the cost of buying several tickets to travel on the railway, as though this is an exciting new way to reduce cost. How ridiculous!

Fifteen years ago, I developed a fascination for supporting ‘The Clarets’, (Burnley Football Club) travelling not just to Turf Moor, but all over the country for their brand of the great game.

I was soon introduced to a great way to reduce cost of travel by train simply by splitting my tickets. So, travel to Birmingham involved tickets to Barnsley, then Sheffield and Derby, saving me about 40 per cent of a ‘through’ ticket. I passed on this legitimate process to friends and have taken advantage ever since.