Letters: July 18, 2016

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Clause for concern

THE final line in the lyrics of the Eagle’s Hotel California seems very relevant to the Brexit result especially as the Prime Minister has reneged on yet another ‘promise’, this time regarding the invoking of Article 50.

For those still in the dark about what Article 50 is and what it means, it is simply the formal mechanism by which the UK advises the EU hierarchy of their intention to leave; at the moment of notification the clock starts on a two year timeline.

It is during this period of two years that negotiations are conducted and hopefully pragmatism rules with an amicable decision being the end result, although in this case I wouldn’t bet the house on such an outcome.

Having decided not to invoke the clause, the prime minister has temporarily ‘stopped the clock’, much to the consternation of Mr Junkers – President of the European Commission and very much a Grand Fromage, who has lamented the UK’s decision as being unfair to the remaining 27 countries of the EU.

Wiser counsel has prevailed and the UK is being given the time to prepare its negotiating team. However, one cannot help but wonder what Mr Cameron was attempting to do by offering his resignation and reneging on his commitment to invoke Article 50 on the Friday after the referendum result was announced.

It is all well and good moaning at the Leave campaign for misusing the slogan that we give £350m to the EU every week. I wonder what happened to Mr Osborne’s emergency austerity budget which was to follow a Leave vote?

The Remain campaign having suffered a bloody nose are in no mood to roll over and let the supposed will of the people prevail – far from it. Conservative grandees can’t help themselves with their offensive comments about ill-educated and ill-informed voters making a decision they were ill-prepared and unqualified to make, after all such decisions should be made by, yes you’ve guessed it, politicians.

Labour politicians aren’t above proffering the odd insult to the electorate either. The common currency in Whitehall is that working class voters were ‘conned’ into voting Leave by the totally unscrupulous use of immigration as a nasty tool with which to frighten people. Politicians just don’t get the fears of ordinary people do they?

The apologists for the IRA Mr McGuinness and Mr Adams have reverted to type with yet another plea for the opportunity to create a united Ireland and Mrs Sturgeon threatens to enlist the support of the EU commissariat to advance Scotland’s pitch for freedom – very Braveheart and very droll.

Let’s be honest, no one loves a sore loser and those who are engaging in a behind-the-scenes battle to reverse the democratic will of the people by suggesting the rules weren’t good enough to get the ‘right result’ should in the words of the Scottish anthem ‘go home and think again’.

Amazingly plagues of locust haven’t descended and World War Three is not on the horizon and many business leaders are now trying hard to distance themselves from their pre-election claims of doom and gloom. Even Mr Junkers is not pursuing his absurd claim that the Western word as we know it is finished.

As for the absurd claim that Boris Johnson and other leaders of the Leave campaign have not got a plan for the UK following the Brexit vote, the question to be asked is ‘why would they have a plan’ after all the referendum was never about a change of Government; a point David Cameron made quite eloquently when telling journalists the outcome wasn’t a test of his premiership.

David Cameron called the vote, so it is reasonable to suggest he should have made some preparations for what happened if he lost. After all, that is the Government’s job.

No-one in the Leave camp had the authority to instruct Whitehall to make plans in the event of a Leave vote, although you may have thought the Cabinet Secretary might have understood the need for an alternate plan of action based on a ‘just in case scenario’.

What is clear is that some arrangements were in place, after all the statements made by the Bank of England Governor, and George Osborne, the Chancellor, designed to calm the markets were not the sort of things made on the hoof – or maybe they were.

Regrettably the blue touch paper had already been lit by the apocalyptic warnings made during the campaign by the Bank and the Treasury and stocked up by supposed wise heads Alastair Darling and the business Secretary to name but two.

As the next few weeks pass we will all have a clearer view of the way forward, it would be a constitutional outrage if we were to be told ‘You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave.’

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive

Swindon

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What new stadium?

I READ Alun Rossiter’s letter (Sports page, July 14) and I fully understand where he’s coming from, but to me a lot of the problem is getting people through the turnstiles, getting the revenue in to build on.

The phantom new stadium is nowhere to be seen. Not a single spade in the ground and no sign of it starting this year. That is some 7 to 8 years in the making (plans still not agreed). The general public in the 21st century want a bit of comfort and nice surroundings when they spend their hard earned wonga on a night out.

The present stadium has served its day. It’s in a poor state. The roof leaks, the windows rattle when the wind blows, the hare may or may not work and the electrics in some parts are pre-1947.

Everyone and their dog – to coin a phrase – jumped on the bandwagon to get a bit of free press and then it seems to me just walked away no longer interested. The sound barrier is built. That took all of two weeks to pile up thousands of tonnes of material from the building sites.

To build a top flight team you need to have a top flight venue to get the public in, to get the revenue in, and the only way to do that is push for the new stadium.

I am starting to lose hope of it happening. I can see a couple of new rows of houses going in where the new stadium was supposed to go so with that in mind, no stadium no Swindon Robins Speedway team, so no need to overhaul Speedway in Swindon. At the end of the day we all lose.

JOHN L CROOK

Haydon Wick

Swindon

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Sad day for the UK

THIS week an unelected Prime Minister and a Government that lacks a democratic mandate and therefore legitimacy took control of our country and is attempting to enforce an undemocratic referendum result that also lacks legitimacy as it was based upon deceit and dishonesty.

As a result this once great country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of which I am so proud, can no longer be regarded or described as a democracy.

This is a very very sad day for our country indeed.

ADAM POOLE

Savill Crescent

Wroughton

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Incinerator worries

I THINK your journalist Chris Humphrey’s article today on waste processing costs being set to rocket says something about ‘cheap waste’ about to be burnt in an incinerator with a huge unsightly chimney which produces cheap electricity and advertised in leaflets for “domestic” housing.

I refer of course to the 4.5 Mwe and 1.3MWth incinerator proposed to be built by the Rolton Group on behalf of Honda, which adjoins their Plant at South Marston Keypoint Industrial Estate.

This is virtually within touching distance of housing in Lower Stratton and Stratton St Margaret and 20,000 new houses which are soon to be built near Sainsbury’s

Using EU energy legislation which they think they can get around by fooling us into believing that their technology incinerator is not really just any old incinerator which produces foul gases into the atmosphere via a chimney. Instead they state that they have nullified emissions to within ‘safe acceptable levels’ – whatever that is supposed to mean.

If approved Honda, will be guaranteed 30% of its total annual electricity demand, with no care whatsoever for residents health and safety.

It seems they have already been given the green light, as work has already started on site last week, without even waiting for approval of their planning application.

I have brought this to the planning officer, who simply thanked me for bringing it to his attention.

I understand the Cheney Manor Incinerator Project was refused because gardeners’ allotments were being destroyed by the toxic gasses.

So if this project is approved do plants being destroyed come before peoples health?

IAN HUNT

Swindon