Letters: Leave this decision making to local councils

EVER heard of Localism, Mr Pickles? (Council vow over fortnightly bin rounds, Examiner, November 23)

Since the Localism Act was passed, your gaffer hasn’t mentioned it much – but that doesn’t mean that it’s gone away.

Bin emptying cycles are exactly the sort of decision that local councils should be left to make without being dictated to by central government.

Having a bee in your bonnet about collecting general refuse every week does not empower you to order local authorities to do so.

Have you cleared this with your gaffer? Probably not.

It seems to me that at the moment there are enough loose cannons among government ministers to start a war.

The Prime Minister should beware – he may find that their barrels are pointed at him one day.

William A Kirby

Netherton

Bin this idea

CAN anyone tell me which brainbox came up with the idea of going back to weekly bin collections?

Do they realise that the council will have to double its workforce, plus having to get a new fleet of wagons if they keep the recycle collections on?

Why alter a scheme that to me is working?

S EASTLAKE

Flockton

Camouflage technique

ON the controversy about wind turbines, the three destined for the Bronte Moors, surely they can be camouflaged in the same colour as army jackets to blend into the landscape.

Nobody can actually miss them for the noise they make but they would not be so unsightly to passers by.

Mrs J Smith

Honley

Parking problems

CONSTRUCTION starts on a new student village on Kings Bridge Road after closing a car park where 500/600 cars used to park at £2.20 a day.

Shortly after closing this large car park both the car parks on Colne Road raised their charges from £2.00 to £3.00 per day.

The car park on Queen Street South has raised its charges from £3.00 to £5.00 per day. These car parks are still being filled by 9.00am as before.

So where are the 500/600 people who need to park on the Kings Bridge Road site parking now?

Well a lot are parking on roads around the bottom of Newsome, such as Malvern Road, Stile Common Road, Plane Street and Malvern Rise.

Last week some idiotic parking meant that the bus was unable to take its route on Stile Common Road. Thank you very much inconsiderate parkers.

I would like to ask people who park in front of people’s houses – if someone parks opposite you, can the bus, ambulance or fire engine get through?

PRIMROSE HILL RESIDENT

Helpful MP

IN defence of Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney, (Letters, November 26) I would like to say that on several occasions I have sought his help and advice.

I have found him extremely efficient and helpful, nothing too much trouble for him.

If the rest of the MPs were as sensible as Jason, the country would be much better off.

OWD JACK

Honley

Question of politics

IN what in my view was an attempt to discredit our splendid hard working Conservative Colne Valley MP, Jason McCartney, Phil Woodthorpe (Mailbag Nov 26) poses five questions.

I have some of the same for Mr Woodthorpe.

1 Why did Gordon Brown, as Chancellor, sell off our gold reserves at a knock-down price?

2 Why, despite his claims to put an end to boom and bust, when all the indications were for a slow-down in the world’s economy, did he rack up a budget deficit, the highest in the EU, for which we all now are paying the price?

3 Why did the last Labour government give away a large proportion of our EU rebate, that Margaret Thatcher had secured, for nothing in return and agree to every rise in the EU budget?

4 Why did the last Labour government ‘dumb down’ examinations in education; pursue a policy that resulted in 40% of 11-year-olds not able to adequately read, write or do simple mathematics; oversee 17,000 teachers in England and Wales as not fit for purpose; and see the UK fall from the 7th in the world’s education league to 27th?

5 Why did the last Labour government sign up to the Human Rights’ Bill which has resulted in preachers of hate and potential evil doers not being able to be deported and costing British tax payers millions of pounds in futile appeals and delaying tactics?

6 Why did the last Labour government pursue an ‘open door’ policy on immigration that resulted in my view in Britons being deprived of jobs, welfare services being stretched to the limits, schools unable to cope with overcrowding and language problems, the NHS deluged with extra patients; doctors, dentists and local amenities and housing overwhelmed?

7 Why has the present Shadow Cabinet not learned the lessons of its past mistakes and is still advocating a borrow and spend economic policy which got us in to the mess we are now in?

It would drive up interest rates, increase everyone’s mortgage repayments, take more money out of the economy, strangle any growth, increase unemployment, and potentially put us on a par with Portugal, Greece and Spain.

I could go on with the folly of the Equalities Act, political correctness, multiculturalism etc, but readers are well aware of these.

Phil Woodthorpe should well ask himself these questions:

1. Why is unemployment coming down?

2. Why are hospital waiting lists coming down?

3. Why is crime coming down?

4. Why is inflation coming down?

5. Why are mortgage rates so low?

6. Why has council tax been frozen for three years?

7. Why is Britain moving out of recession when so much of Europe is in it?

8. Why have over one million jobs been created in the private sector?

9. Why have 2.5 million been moved off benefit and into work?

Answer, because it is the policies of this government that Jason McCartney supports.