I WAS saddened to read that five-year-old Sam Field from Dalton, the brother of cancer battler Oliver, is in hospital battling possible Group A Streptococcal (GAS) meningitis.
Everyone at Meningitis UK wishes Sam the best with his fight and our thoughts are with him and his family at this time. Meningitis can strike with incredible speed and the symptoms are notoriously difficult to detect, often being confused with flu.
For these reasons, we believe preventative measures are the best solution.
Our sole focus is to fund the development of vaccines and other methods of preventing this devastating disease.
In the absence of a vaccine, we distribute a range of materials to raise awareness of the common symptoms and need to act quickly, which can mean the difference between life and death.
If any of your readers would like a free symptoms information pack, including wallet-sized symptoms cards, or for more information they can call Meningitis UK on 0117 947 6320 or visit www.meningitisUK.org
Sue Davie
Chief executive, Meningitis UK and Meningitis Trust
Registering to vote
I READ with interest the Examiner’s piece on Thursday, March 28 regarding Individual Electoral Registration (IER) but would like to clarify for your readers what the Government is doing.
The Government believes that being able to vote is a fundamental democratic right. We would not do anything that would threaten to remove that right from anyone who is eligible.
Your piece was correct to say that next year we will be introducing Individual Electoral Registration to reduce the risk of voting fraud.
From summer 2014, instead of filling in a form to register an entire household to vote which happens now, people will have to register individually and provide information to identify themselves, such as their National Insurance number and date of birth.
For most of those people on the register the transition to IER will be straightforward. We will match electoral registers against DWP data and those people whose entries match – an average of 70% in independently verified tests – will be transferred to the new system automatically.
Those people who we can’t match will be invited to register, sent reminders and canvassed, both in 2014 and then again in 2015 before they run the risk of being removed from the register.
While this will be hard work and we will be working closely with local elections staff to manage this, I am confident that we will maintain our high level of electoral registration across the change into the new system.
Chloe Smith MP
Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform
Rockin’ on
DAVE Hewitt’s return to Huddersfield and the inclusion of Babe Ruth in a recent BBC4 compilation of 70s British rock bands brings back great memories of when the town had a decent alternative rock venue at Ivanhoes.
Babe Ruth made at least two memorable appearances there in the early 70s when lead singer Jenne Haan, resplendent in a pink cat, suit caused a minor sensation among the local males. Happy Times.
Bryn Mordecai
Almondbury
Danger from Europe
I’M in agreement with Bill Armer (Letters, March 28) when he says it’s ‘time to leave’ the EU.
But I very much doubt after 40 years of deceit from the pro EU-loving Lib/Lab/Con parties’ assistance in morphing the EC act (as some of us subscribed to in 1973) into a Federal European Union with the impending loss of our fiscal and political sovereignty and the right to self rule/govern that they’re going to change their spots overnight.
Lose these and all is lost to be ruled over by Brussels’ European parliament. These face changing events of new treaties are scheduled to take place in late 2014.
Mr Armer touched upon seizures of our personal assets – your savings being ripped out of your hands to pay for the reckless mistakes of past and present feckless politicians.
This is what the present government is in the process of doing and since the coalition was formed they have quietly imposed numerous new taxes. Are we in line to be ‘Cyprussed’ too? Financial repression involves government reducing its debts by all means at its disposal and that means appropriating and controlling the wealth of everyone in the country.
Put a frog into a pan of boiling water and it’ll jump straight out again, but put that same frog into a pan of cold water and steadily increase the temperature and the frog won’t perceive the danger at all – it’ll be boiled to death.
For me, personally, both the disastrous Euro – which thankfully we are not party to – and the EU are going to eventually implode.
The electorate should not perceive/be seduced that current Lib Lab Con EU sceptics are going to change anything as they are insignificant in numbers to do so.
After 1988 Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher and her supporters became opposed to further EU integration and was eventually ousted. Safe to say others would face the same fate, such is the might of the pro EU lobby and Brussels.
There appears to be only one viable consolidated party that will pave the way to an orderly exit from the EU and that’s the surging in popularity UKIP party which has got under the skins of the pro EU Lib Lab Cons, sufficiently enough to make opposition sit up and attempt to appease the downtrodden electorate while not actually deviating from their existing ideology.
Proposing something is clearly different to getting agreement.
Mr Corcoran
Lockwood
A basic need
I CAN only hope that any of the councillors who are behind the public toilet closures do not find themselves in the situation three members of my family often find themselves in.
They have medical problems that mean they can only plan outings if there are accessible toilets on route to their destination and nearby on arrival.
We have virtually given up trying to go into Huddersfield town centre because of parking difficulties and the distance between toilets.
I have tried the shop mobility scooter scheme. It’s very good if you can access the Gateway to Care or the Kingsgate centre but I have not been able to be dropped off or picked up near enough for me to be able to make use of the service more than once or twice.
People who haven’t got health problems have no idea of the pain and distress we suffer thinking that you won’t make the distance to the toilet.
I think council taxpayers ought to be able to make some rules for councillors to adhere to. My first would be to look after our well-being by providing a service to cater for our necessary basic needs.
Concerned
Almondbury
