YP Letters: Transport failures cast cloud over Leeds

WHEN I heard about Leeds City Council being told to clean up the air pollution in the city and that they then propose to charge buses, lorries and taxis large amounts to enter the city, I thought to myself is this the council’s way of using problems such as this as a smokescreen for making money.

If Leeds City Council had got its act together in the first place by organising a proper transport system instead of wasting fortunes in taxpayers’ money by not finishing these projects, it is unlikely that the problem would be anything like as bad as it is.

The council has not only wasted lots of public money – it is now about to try making more money from a problem that is partly of its own making.

If a tram or trolleybus system had been completed, I’m sure we’d have a much cleaner city by now. If the other major cities in Britain are capable of producing a transport system, why can’t Leeds do it?

If the council is as concerned about cleaner air as it claims to be, is it sure that all of its vehicles such as bin wagons and tractors are all environmentally friendly?

I have seen more than one council vehicle releasing lots of fumes. Excessive roadworks are another problem that causes massive tailbacks that create exhaust fumes. Some roadworks are necessary, but I believe projects such as the cycle lane are money-spinners for the council.

A city the size of Leeds needs a proper transport system that links the suburbs with the city centre, and another failed attempt is unthinkable, but I believe it is the only realistic long-term solution in solving pollution levels.

Vote against a failed system

From: G Cooper, Mill Street, Barlow, Dronfield.

I BELIEVE the real reason for the success of the “leave” campaign was not fear of immigration, loss of sovereignty or the promise of vast sums for the NHS, but an over-riding and deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the inequalities dividing this country.

In general, it is said, we the older voters with homes and pensions and savings, opted to leave, and we have been demonised as selfish and uncaring about the future of the young. This is nonsense. We are the parents and grandparents of these same young people.

In the 1970s, we voted to remain in the Common Market, because we were told, and believed, that trade would bring wealth, which would “trickle down”.

It has not “trickled down”, nor, as things stand, is it going to.

Big business, the wealthy and financial institutions constantly warn us of the dangers of Brexit. They prefer the status quo, which has served them well.

Were we to have a second referendum, and vote to “remain”, this would widen our divisions. How do Remainers think Europe would treat us were we now to vote to stay with them? They would regard us as ditherers, and rightly so. Any influence we ever had on their decisions would disappear.

We older voters recall a time when the NHS was created in the teeth of opposition and in a time of austerity, a time when the young could buy a home, when there were decent jobs, and zero hour contracts were unknown, when the utilities and rail were owned by us, when young people could study at university without incurring huge debts, a time without food banks and the homeless in doorways in every town. We “leavers” don’t know what a future outside the EU holds for us. We do know that the present system has failed.

Rewards of teaching

From: Jamie Chapman, Meanwood Church of England Primary School, Leeds.

AS students in our great city enjoy their last Christmas at university and consider what their future holds, I want to urge them to consider teaching.

As a graduate, I had lots of choices of potential careers, but I was drawn to teaching. Ultimately, I wanted a career that was rewarding and teaching ticks all the boxes.

I was heartened to see recent research from the Get Into Teaching campaign show that more than three-quarters (80 per cent) of current degree-level students and recent graduates in Leeds believe they would make a good teacher. Why should those students take the next step? As a teacher, I get to inspire people in a subject I’m passionate about, it is full of emotional rewards and I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile every day.

I have also found teaching to be a structured profession where I am supported and encouraged to develop my skills. I would encourage anyone looking for a truly meaningful career to find out more about teaching by visiting getintoteaching.education.gov.uk or calling the Get Into Teaching line on 0800 389 2500. Who knows, I might see 2018’s graduate class in my classroom soon.

Game’s afoot to find birds

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

I WONDER what happens 
to all the thousands of pheasants that are shot during the 
shooting season? We used to 
see them hung outside butchers’ shops. I did hear a story that they were disposed of by dumping them in a pit. Surely that cannot be true in an area where food banks are becoming the norm in most towns, although I doubt that the users of such banks would know how to prepare a bird.

Change the script, Nick

From: Ron Jevons, Muncastergate, York.

AS a traditionalist, and by no means a racist, I prefer to see appropriate casting in stage productions. I therefore find it a little tedious to read regular rants by Nick Ahad pushing the need for more leading roles for people from ethnic minorities.