Letters: August 8, 2016

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Brexit risks are not lies

IN HIS letter of August 4, Des Morgan once again demonstrates his disingenuity regarding the recent referendum by claiming that he was countering “fibs” told by the Remain camp with “facts”, as yet again he is attempting to conflate warnings of risks associated with quitting the EU and telling a lie.

Frankly, I find it difficult to believe that someone who writes as eloquently as Mr Morgan does not understand the difference between the two.

A risk is a risk, not a lie, even if one considers it to be exaggerated or scaremongering.

Despite his assertions in his letter that all is well with the UK economy, billions of pounds, particularly money that had been invested in commercial property, have been removed from this country over recent weeks.

And thousands of people are sadly in the process of losing their jobs as a direct result of the vote, as was demonstrated by the announcement of further redundancies by Lloyds Bank earlier this week.

Furthermore, there are growing indications of a considerable slowdown in the economy as a result of the vote, which could have implications for future government spending on such things as pensions and the NHS.

Additionally, while an emergency budget has not been held, I noted today that the Bank of England has committed a further £70bn to supporting the economy as a direct result of the referendum vote. That amount of money would keep the NHS running for just over six months, or indeed pay our net EU membership fees for about a decade.

So much for the quitter lie of saving £350m a week and spending that money on the NHS.

Mr Morgan then proceeds to further demonstrate his disingenuity with his comments concerning the outbreak of World War Three, a remark attributed to David Cameron by the quitters and the likes of Mr Morgan.

David Cameron did not state quitting the EU would cause a war, let alone World War Three. This is in fact yet another example of the deceit and dishonesty of the quitters during the campaign.

Mr Morgan goes on to conclude his letter with, for the fourth time, a gross misrepresentation of my remarks concerning the risk of job loses associated with quitting the EU.

Once again Mr Morgan has chosen to omit two thirds of the words that I wrote, and in doing he has not only deliberately twisted the meaning of my words out of all recognition, but yet again demonstrated his disingenuity.

ADAM POOLE

Savill Crescent

Wroughton

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Privatisation ruins UK

IT IS very interesting sometimes to look back in time, and in this case to what I regularly called the “Hateful 80s” when, during the Thatcher administration, the “banking and speculating monsters” were well and truly let out of the box so as to plague us all relentlessly ever since.

At the time the obscene “loads of money brigade” began the feeding frenzy off of state assets that we all as tax payers had contributed to.

I often have referred to it as being the biggest theft in human history.

However, far worse was to follow when Blair and Co went one better in this respect by accelerating the process that Thatcher and the adherents that she surrounded herself with had began.

It seems to be little realised but Blair and Co flogged off more state assets than Thatcher and cabinet, who had shied away from things that they considered that the public held dear to its heart like the NHS and hence PFI was born.

However, Cameron had no such inhibitions or sensitivities, as it is currently being sold off in a piecemeal fashion which no doubt will continue under newly unelected PM incumbent, Theresa May.

It will not have escaped anyone’s notice there is a challenger for the Labour leadership called Owen Smith. His claim to fame seems to be having held an £80,000 a year job at Pfizer, a company synonymous with the manufacture of Viagra.

He has also gone on record as saying that he believed our NHS should be privatised, or parts of it to start with, which is of course happening as we speak.

He also held a high-profile job at the BBC afterwards. The salary he received whilst there has not been disclosed however one would expect that it bears little relationship to his stated socialist principles, being a rather rich fellow somewhat!

After Thatcher was evicted from Number 10 over the iniquitous Poll Tax fiasco, and having suffered a humiliating drubbing in the House Of Commons from her own cabinet minister Sir Geoffrey Howe which was at the time was likened to having been savaged by a dead sheep, Thatcher was asked what she considered that her greatest achievement was, and promptly answered: “Tony Blair and new Labour.”

This rather says it all I think, as the Blair “red Tory party” that resulted was firmly to the right of Thatcher, and further accelerated the attack on working people, while flogging off state assets which she and her cronies had instigated while feeding the public lies that these state-run industries were inefficient and too costly.

We all now know that we are expected to pay through the nose for essential services and rail travel at the hands of the privateers.

GA WOODWARD

Nelson Street, Swindon

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Jump in to air academy

FOR more than 60 years, the Defence Academy and Swindon Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society has delivered high-quality lecture programmes featuring aeronautical, science and engineering related topics.

Commencing with our 2016/17 programme, we are very keen to improve the service we offer to young people by adopting a holistic and consistent approach to their involvement in branch activities. To achieve this, and to encourage youth engagement in aeronautics, engineering and science, we are offering free access for under-18s (and their guardians) to our lectures.

As a guide, our lectures are set at the same complexity as the BBC Horizon programmes and provide a unique viewpoint of aviation-related operational, engineering and developmental issues.

Our 2016/17 programme includes a diverse range of subjects, including: the experiences of a Concorde test pilot; behind the scenes of the Red Arrows; aircraft crash investigations; Photon Power – the rise and rise of laser technology; the Clean Sky JTI – the next generation of civil aircraft; and the RAF’s procurement of the Boeing P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Interest in and regular attendance at our Royal Aeronautical Society extramural activities will enhance both CVs and job/university applications.

We look forward to meeting you in the fantastic surroundings of our Defence Academy venue.

For further details please contact the Defence Academy and Swindon Royal Aeronautical Society at raeswindon@gmail.com or call 07740 136609.

COLIN IRVIN

Swindon Royal Aeronautical Society

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Give more to the needy

ASIDE from the rights and wrongs of the Brexit campaign, since nobody has a monopoly on either, there is one person who might rescue us. The Queen does not have to give her agreement. She is above politics and a shining example to all Christian people.

Let’s just think about enlightened self-interest also.

If we wish to trade with even those most obnoxious of regimes, are we not under some obligation to befriend those who are then persecuted by those most extreme governments?

Christian Aid, in its objectives, aims to assist people in need, for whatever reason, to continue to live and thrive wherever they may be.

Poor communications cannot be blamed for not knowing of war, famine, disease or natural disaster nearly anywhere in our world.

It follows that one day these same people, living in difficult circumstances now, may be of necessity our trading partners of the future.

We can and should do more to promote good mental health as well, both at home and abroad through education.

This implies giving more, even in the UK.

PAUL B GODWIN

Chippenham

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Thanks on rail survey

CAN I say a big thank you to all the passengers who completed our passenger surveys on TransWilts line trains from Westbury and Trowbridge via Melksham and Chippenham to Swindon during late July, and also to the 18 volunteers who helped distribute and collect forms and answer questions from six in the morning until mid-evening.

The response rate was excellent, with everyone taking time and trouble to answer accurately.

Analysis will take some time, but preliminary results are already helping to inform planning.

Although the service only runs every two hours and serves just five stations, passenger journeys have risen from 20,000 a year three years ago to around a quarter of a million at the survey time.

On just the first day, passengers were connecting to and from more than 40 different stations. Already, community and train operator discussions have been steered by this data as we look together to plans for future service development.

More from the survey will be available by the next meeting of the West Wilts Rail User Group (Railway Inn, Westbury, 7pm on September 9) and the Melksham Rail User Group (Melksham Town Hall, 7.30pm on September 30), and thereafter on the TransWilts website (www.transwilts.org) and Facebook page.

GRAHAM ELLIS

Community rail officer

TransWilts Community Rail Partnership

Spa Road, Melksham

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Go wild on TV show

MY NAME is Samantha and I am an assistant producer currently working on the new series of Britain’s wildest and funniest prime-time, physical game show.

Sky1’s Wild Things is back for series three.

We are looking for couples and relations who don’t hold back when it comes to telling each other what they think.

They will need to overcome a series of obstacle courses in order to have the chance of walking away with the cash.

We are trying to spread the word as far and wide to give applicants the opportunity to win a massive cash prize and have great fun along the way.

For an application form e-mail wildthings@zodiacmedia.com and visit youtube.com/watch?v=21Ot--OHdLs for more information.

SAMANTHA HEELER

Assistant producer

Wild Things, Sky1