YP Letters: Sir Bernard's wise words are welcome

From: Alan Chapman, Bingley.
The columns of Sir Bernard Ingham still resonate with readers.The columns of Sir Bernard Ingham still resonate with readers.
The columns of Sir Bernard Ingham still resonate with readers.

I WRITE again to thank Sir Bernard Ingham on his outstanding and splendid contribution (The Yorkshire Post, February 15) via his regular weekly column, surely the best so far this year? How fortunate we are in God’s own county to receive repeated wisdom from such an experienced member of the Press.

Sir Bernard’s vision of both national and international affairs is truly wonderful. He glides from continent to continent, into the Commons onto the Lords. Right wing, left wing, middle wing, no wing, lost wing, they are all the same to him and must be sorted out with common sense. The range of his considered thinking, and wise predictions, are of repeated benefit to his readers.

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Thank you, Sir Bernard, may your health remain satisfactory and your pen never run dry.

From: Graham Branston, Emmott Drive, Rawdon.

THE report of Tony Blair’s pontification about Britons “rising up” and changing their minds about Brexit is an unwanted and anti-democratic personal view.

Most of us are aware of his questionable if not disasterous judgement on major international issues such as the Iraq war when he was Prime Minister.

He should stick to his post-Prime Ministerial career of pursuing substantial personal wealth, as some former politicians now do and keep headline-grabbing political views to himself.

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

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HOW dare Tony Blair tell us that we must rise up against Brexit as we didn’t know what we were voting for. His lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq ruined that country and left its people desperate and facing an even greater fear in the form of Daesh. Millions marched in the streets to protest about our involvement in 2003 and he took no regard of our opinions then. The people chose by democratic vote to leave the EU and Mr Blair should shut his mouth.

From: John Riseley, Harcourt Drive, Harrogate.

TONY Blair regards Brexit as a car crash waiting to happen. It wouldn’t be surprising if this was so. After all, David Cameron’s renegotiation and referendum was a game of chicken. Angela Merkel didn’t blink and neither, I’m pleased to say, did we.

Now, with characteristic deviousness, Blair is trying to set us up so that the EU has only to continue playing hardball for us to capitulate. He invites them to set punitive terms. He would do better using his powers of persuasion to extract from them a belated offer of basic justice on movement of people.

If, contrary to our good intentions, the Brexit negotiations go badly, it should be made clear that there will not be jobs or benefits for three million EU citizens in Britain and nor will there be any British troops on the ground in any future war with Russia.

Reinventing the role of libraries

From: Joe Clarke, Meersbrook Road, Sheffield.

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UNTIL March 2008, libraries in England were asked to meet 10 criteria in order to meet their obligations to local people.

These included targets for closeness of libraries to their customers, opening hours, access to the internet and other online catalogue services, number of books and other items purchased new each year.

The Libraries Task Force is busy promoting an agenda of reinventing libraries along the Government’s localism / austerity agenda, including replacing paid library staff with volunteers and self-service.

It seems surprising that our own council, which supposedly opposes the localism / austerity agenda being implemented by central Government, is paying for a manager from its library service to work for said task force.

Good manners cost nothing

From: JB Cross, Thixendale.

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FOLLOWING recent correspondence and your Editorial, may I recount the following exchange.

A man walking towards the closed door of a supermarket, noticed a woman making for the same door; well naturally the man stood aside and held open the door for her. The following discourse then erupted: “Sir, you do not have to open the door because I’m a woman.”

“Quite so, madam, I hold open the door because I am a gentleman!”

This altercation was witnessed by other shoppers standing by who clapped and cheered.

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The humiliated lady turned bright red in the face and dashed into the shop with all speed. Perhaps this person has learned a lesson (my comment).

I do agree; good manners and courtesy cost nothing, and will gain you many brownie points in life.

NHS needs a royal review

From: Hugh Rogers, Messingham Road, Scunthorpe.

ALONG with the bulk of the population, your columnist Jayne Dowle (The Yorkshire Post, February 16) clearly doesn’t understand how the NHS works.

She appears to believe everything the doctors’ trade union, the BMA, tells her and has seemingly forgotten the experience of the last Labour government which threw money at the NHS in the vain hope it would solve the problem.

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Not a word in her latest article about health tourism, misuse of A&E by lazy or ignorant people, ‘bed blocking’ or any of the myriad problems which militate against squaring the circle.

She “implores” the current Health Secretary to look again at the figures. I’m sure he doesn’t need her to tell him that the NHS is a badly-conceived, ill thought-out idea (initially opposed by the BMA) which needs root and branch revision to work properly at a cost the country can afford.

I suggest another Royal Commission to consider whether the NHS, as it has evolved, is truly sustainable – or whether we need to scrap it and start again.