Letters: Tuesday, January 26

I BELIEVE the vote towards leaving Europe is getting to the point where it might just happen.

Can I say to those that are thinking in this direction they had better make sure this is the right thing for Britain, as there will be no going back. Common sense tells us not only should we stay in but that we should be leading it, but that commodity is short on the ground when it comes to Europe.

Get it wrong and we are in the deep end with no life guards to get us out.

There are a dozen reasons I could give you for staying in but for now let’s take two that will matter if we leave.

If, after we have gone, the EU decides to reintroduce the 20 per cent import and export tax on British goods we will be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

It may well be goodbye Honda and that would devastate this town.

For those who think it would solve the immigration problem allow me to enlighten you.

The French will not allow British immigration officers on French soil once we have gone, which means that the trains, buses, cars, and lorries will only be checked when they reach England.

And, under international law, we could not send them back.

Even if we tried, I suspect the French would refuse to have them back.

They may well give all of them free travel passes just to get them out of France, that would be sensible from a French point of view.

Could we leave them on the ships or trains and try and return them, the French would just stop us docking the ships and they would stop the trains, yes that would hurt them but only marginally as they have dozens of other countries to trade with.

But for us, can you imagine the chaos and the cost?

Just look at the backlog of lorries on the motorway when we had a one-day stoppage, millions of pounds of goods had to be thrown away, multiply that by months and Britain would begin to starve.

Could we go via the other countries in the EU? Well, no, they would do the same. Explain that to your children when we are back to war time rationing.

I have not even mentioned the City of London finance world. Sixty per cent of the country’s wealth comes from invisible earnings, lose that and we all starve.

And why would the Americans, Japanese, etc want to exchange their currencies for sterling, paying a transfer cost, then have to pay it again to convert to Euros? They will just go straight to Bonn.

Please give this some thought before you say we are leaving.

ROY CARTWRIGHT Covingham, Swindon

Facts about flooding

REFERENCE Steve Thompson’s critical reply on Monday, January 18.

He states that flooding in Cumbria took place every 100 years or so.

How many people lived in Cumbria in the 1300s compared with today?

What he doesn’t take into consideration is the effect of massive increase of population throughout these island of ours.

It was brought down to extremely low figures by the Black Death during the Middle Ages.

Today, with the country being over populated there is so much more pressure on the environment due to ever more building, thus limiting the run-off effect that took place earlier in our history.

Furthermore, I believe that Professor Singer is somewhat better informed than Steve Thompson regarding these points.

How can he state that some parts will be colder and some parts will be hotter. Based upon what?

Surely over a long period these will balance out, maybe over a prolonged period of time.

There is, moreover, no positive proof that his so-called temperature gradient causes wilder weather.

There are many causes for wild weather, such as El Nino.

But these are a fact of nature, not, repeat not, the affect of global warming.

El Nino has always been there.

Unfortunately, of late it has become much more active.

One could always question if the so-called decline of the ice in the Arctic is caused by the actions of different nations in that area who are drilling for oil.

Moreover, Steve Thompson seems unaware of the world’s cyclic climate variations which, during our planet’s life have fluctuated.

This has been proven by archaeology.

Indeed, it was as recent as 1600-1700 that the Thames froze solid in London allowing fairs and markets to take place on it.

Therefore, I shall put more reliance in Professor Singer’s interpretation of climate variation than Steve Thompson’s.

DAVID COLLINS Blake Crescent Swindon

Reasons for moving

MAY I congratulate Mike Spry on his impersonation of Eamonn Andrews and his tribute act to This Is Your Life, Bill Williams, Adver, January 15.

Let me correct his Big Red Book on a few points, as I know Bill better than he does.

Regarding my roots in Glasgow, true.

A tough upbringing never did me any harm. Nor Sir Alex Ferguson come to think of it.

But most of my relations came from the Scottish Highlands moving to industrial Glasgow for employment.

I crossed from Northern Britain (Scotland) to Southern Britain (England). Not from Africa or the Middle East or Europe but in the front of a lorry sitting beside the driver who gave me a lift, quite legal I believe.

No-one gave me bed and breakfast by the seaside or accommodation for free, and I found immediate employment.

Regarding painting every foreigner as being anti-EU and anti-UK I have written on many occasions regarding my judging everyone by their character, not their colour or creed.

Does that apply to my dentist, the surgeons and staff who operated on me and my local friendly shopkeeper as well as the ethnic minorities I supported as a works convenor?

You owe me a profound apology on that one Mr Spry, but I won’t hold my breath.

I was not an economic migrant, I had a job and a three-bedroomed house in Glasgow.

I moved for a better outdoor environment and more work opportunities for my children.

I didn’t walk 400 miles – it is 370 miles – with my family.

But if my family and I were under threat of death, I would be glad to take sanctuary in the first country I arrived in, not cross Europe and make my family suffer more.

Finally, regarding your statement, we must all look after those who fall by the wayside, I totally agree.

But does that include the Cologne lock up your daughters brigade?

Incidentally, as you appear to be a true care-for-all character Mr Spry, have you taken in any in so far?

BILL WILLIAMS Merlin Way Covingham, Swindon

Standards are slipping

ONE-SIDED designer hand bags are causing tilts to the spine, neck and back problems for schoolgirls, as well as a list of many on-going problems to their future development They are causing young girls to develop spinal problems, such as herniated discs, scoliosis, arthritis and more.

I see so many young girls walking round schools and not being told by head teachers this is a huge problem and needs to be addressed quickly.

I feel standards are dropping in UK schools.

Schools need to push more sports and fast, with highly trained staff, to prevent injuries to children’s health and well-being.

I was told by a primary school head that their playtime 15 minutes was their physical activity.

The focus on academic grades for English and maths is failing our children’s health, lifestyles and self-worth. Having more sport in the timetable will improve children’s learning and in their future life achievements.

CHRISTINE GREGORY via email

Cost of withdrawal

NOT only is the Conservative administration at Westminster withdrawing support grants to the borough council which will require a substantial increase in council tax rates for 2016, it is also changing the rules regarding National Insurance contributions which will see employers rates rise from 10.4 per cent to 13.8 per cent.

The net effect of this change is an increased wage bill for the council which, on a conservative basis (no pun intended) will result in a charge to the Council of more than £1 million, which will have to be found at a time when Coun Renard is conducting a cost cutting exercise of gargantuan proportions.

Council employees are not immune to the changes and they will be hit with a 1.4 per cent increase in NI contributions.

Mr Osborne must have read the same book as his predecessor such has been his ability to completely and comprehensively screw up the State Pension system.

DES MORGAN Caraway Drive, Swindon

Show some respect

RE Your unpopular views (Mark Webb’s letter, Adver, January 18).

He mentions ‘undocumented’ immigrants. What a neat euphemism for illegal immigrants.

Here we finally have the measure of the man.

He clearly has no objection to illegal immigrants or, it seems, curry house owners flaunting the rule of law.

Illegals take away jobs from legal immigrants. They don’t pay taxes, and undermine both the local and national economy.

It appears Mark Webb has no respect for the law of the land. The Curry House manager knew he was breaking the law – what contempt he has for this overcrowded host country. I did indeed recommended a boycott – if customers took their money elsewhere or not that would have been their choice but for Mark Webb to accuse me of racism using the Indian restaurant as an example reflects an alarming lack of intellect.

Mark Webb seems confused regarding my comments on homosexuals. He said I was homophobic, then retracted the charge.

J ADAMS Bloomsbury, Swindon