VERY soon our MPs will be casting their votes on whether to offer an EU referendum for the people.

All three major party whips have been threatening and cajoling MPs for a No vote, which is against many people’s wishes.

A referendum vote on the EU has been pressure-driven by a groundswell of public opinion – pressure which should never have had to be used, because all three parties have in the past told the electorate that an EU referendum would be forthcoming.

Once again these people have shown the utter contempt that they have for us when time after time we are lied to and misled for our vote.

If this referendum vote is vetoed, I for one shall never cast a vote for these parties again.

As for asking my MP to vote yes to a referendum, there is little to no chance as my MP is under the illusion that change to the EU can be affected from within. You have to love his optimism.

Lastly, do you really think that we shall get a fair vote in a referendum?

I am pretty sure that if a referendum were to happen the voting paper would be loaded as to reach the vote which suited the government, a little bit like asking ‘Would you prefer execution by hanging or lethal injection’?

It will be the same result, whichever way you look at it.

R J Bray

Shelley

Ask the people first

AS a Tory loyalist I am reluctant to open wounds on Europe as it seemed, under the last Labour government, we were more intent on kicking lumps out of each other and letting the Labour party get away with ruining the country’s finances.

I do believe, however, something has to be said over the latest budgetary requirements of the European Commission.

At a time when we are asking for savings in nearly every department and everyone is feeling the effects of such, the European Commission is asking for a rise of approximately 6% in its budget.

They must be told that this is totally unacceptable. At least they should be looking at a standstill budget.

It is a bit rich for MP Barry Sheerman to decry the idea of a referendum on our future membership of the European Union.

After all, his party gave us referendums on devolution for Scotland and Wales, mayors and regional assemblies as well as the original referendum on Europe in 1975, when I was too young to vote.

The original concept has been expanded from an economicŠCommon Market, or free market, which all Tories cannot fail to support, to an outright political union that, as Enoch Powell warned, has removed and will continue to remove legislative powers from our Parliament, giving them to the European Parliament.

This has been done without asking the British people what they think.

The Liberal Democrats in their election manifesto actually said they wanted a referendum on membership of the European Union.

Now, as theŠHouse of CommonsŠ prepares to discuss the proposal for said referendum, there is talk of Nick Clegg imposing a three line whip opposing it.

So, when it comes down to it, Parliament will vote for the status quo when they know there is a cry for change, after taking into account the Conservative and Labour leaderships opposing a referendum.

Where is the democracy in that?

ŠBernard McGuin

Marsh

Letter to the PM

DEAR David Cameron, as a third year university student, I would like to thank you so much for raising tuition fees and stopping me applying for a Post Graduate Certificate of Education because I can’t afford.

Thank you so much for allowing the energy companies to create a monopoly so they can charge whatever they want.

Thank you so much for cutting the job market back. And, finally, thank you so much for the Big Society and the ‘we are all in this together’.

Michael Jenkinson

Milnsbridge

Power struggle

THE beleaguered peasantry of this once great country, huddled and cold in their over-mortgaged hovels, are looking to our gallant team of old Etonian multi-millionaires to ride into battle with the power barons.

This band of chivalrous knights will gallop under the streaming banner bearing the words We Feel Your Pain.

The opposing power barons’ team feel quietly confident. As grand as our team is looking, their track record isn’t good.

The power barons on the other hand, who are mainly based abroad, seem to be the bookies’ favourites.

Let battle commence. At the end of this bloodless skirmish both sides emerged victorious. The power barons claimed that prices will rise again because for some reason it is the fault of the Japanese earthquake or perhaps the Chinese.

Our Old Etonians also claimed a great win, but one that entails a trip to your local charity shop for extra clothing.

There may be a chance that you could get extra insulation for your hovel, but the main advice from our Old Etonians seems to be shop around for the baron who charges least.

Edward Livingstone

Newsome

Poppy campaign

I AM asking the public of Kirklees to once again show their generosity in supporting the 2011 Poppy Appeal.

The 2010 appeal raised an amazing £36m across the country and this year the Royal British Legion is hoping to once again raise substantial funds to assist members of the armed forces and the ex-service community.

The appeal is run by the British Legion, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. It aims to improve the welfare and support provided for veterans, serving personnel and their dependants of all ages.

The focus of this year’s Poppy Appeal will once again be help for those in the armed forces who have been affected by the ongoing Afghan conflict and the appeal will start on October 29. I hope you will join me in lending your support to this vital and worthwhile campaign in Kirklees.

Clr Eric Firth

Mayor of Kirklees

Ban isn’t the answer

SO Kirklees want to ban dogs from playing fields.

Are they also going to ban spectators, who leave their wrappers, cans and bottles, and the spectators’ cars and vans, which churn up the playing field surface?

Why should it be one rule for one and one for another? Rubbish is just as dangerous as dog dirt, often leaving us with large vet bills because of other people’s carelessness.

Not allowing us to use the playing fields to walk the dogs would be a crime – our local playing field gets used once at a weekend and once during the week for training – so if you ban dog walkers, who is actually going to use the green space?

Nobody, so you might as well build houses on it!Š

How are the elderly and infirm supposed to get to a park to walk their dogs? Normally people walk their dogs in a routine – it gives us a chance to keep an eye on those less able and to intervene if we think there is something amiss.

I agree something should be done to ensure owners pick up after their dogs, but banning them altogether is not the answer.

If they don’t pick up after their dogs on a field they won’t on a street either and even more people will be affected, plus if the dogs are not exercised they will become aggressive and there will be more reports of people being bitten.

A quick fix is not always the answer.

Kirklees – look at the bigger pictureŠ and think again.

Extremely annoyed dog owner

Milnsbridge

Right to question

RESIDENTS near Shelley (Weekend Examiner October 22) are right to question the worthiness of wind turbines in their neighbourhood – and elsewhere.Š

These devices are uneconomic – they need constant back upŠ from other energy sources – and make tooŠ small a contribution to the country’s energy needs, that’s why taxpayers are already bailing out theŠ fledgling turbine industry.

ŠLook overseas. Do you think even a few hundred inefficient, high-tech windmillls in every county will negate the massive expansion of Špetrol vehicles, coal-burning stationsŠ andŠ other CO2-belching industries in India and China?

ŠTC

Huddersfield

One rule for the rich

IF the residents of Dale Farm in Essex been millionaires instead of Irish travellers, then maybe Basildon Council would have merely passed retrospective planning applications and saved a lot of heartache and millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

Ian Brooke

Springwood

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