Letters: December 3, 2016

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Where is democracy?

WE ARE all aware of the reasons behind the initial challenge regarding article 50 and the judges who sat on that “Debacle”.

We also are,( most of us anyway,) aware of the reasons they came to the conclusions that they did. I believe it to be an ill formed idea to “put politicians in their place” and show them who are the real masters of the country. A little outdated, one would have thought?

There are to my mind, reasons for two of these “Impartial” judges to disbar themselves from sitting on this case.

Lord Thomas, Lord Chief Justice, the most senior Judge in the country is a prime member of the EU Law Institute. This then begs the question as to how he can be impartial?

One of the aims of this body is to Stimulate the Development of EU law. Thus it is contrary to what is English Common Law. For this reason alone he should have debarred himself.

Lord Justice Sales has to be seen as suspect when one takes into account his close relationship with Tony Blair. There were accusations of Cronyism when he was appointed. Not only is he good friends with Tony Blair and his wife Cherie he actually worked with her in the same practice. He moreover defended Tony Blair against the call for a Public Inquiry into the Iraq War. As we are all aware his friend Tony Blair is a passionate Europhile.This is not the first decision he has made that was to say the least controversial. It was also his decision not to allow 130,000 Labour Party Members to take part in the leadership vote. Is not this judicial interference on the part of a senior Judge? In other word a judge meddling in politics. We have historically seen this sort of thing happen many times in the history of our Great Nation. It very rarely is a attitude that benefits the Country.

Now we have a further insult and which I fear is leading to the route of a total attempt to deny the citizens of this country who voted for Brexit, all 17.4 Million of them.

This case was brought by a Woman who believes she knows better than all the indigenous and immigrant Brits who voted honestly in favour of Brexit.This is Mrs Gina Miller, 51, married to Alan Miller who appears to be a hedge fund manager. She, due to her wealth and contacts, thinks she has the automatic right to overturn the will of 17.4 million British voters.

We now come to the Supreme Court sitting and the controversy it will cause.

Firstly Lady Hale one of the Supreme Court Judges was heard and reported in the Newspapers as speaking about the case whilst in Malaysia. This then breaks the basic rules of litigation. It is a judges right to respond to argument made in their court, not to introduce them before the court is actually sitting. So is she, Lady Hale, attempting to prejudice the case before it actually gets to court? Lady Hale appears to be somewhat confused to say the least of what her duties and obligations are. They are supposed to be TOTALY IMPARTIAL

We then come to the second and potentially dubious problem.Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court has heard his wife Lady Neuberger publicly attacking Theresa May and the Brexit movement on Twitter. This in umpteen tweets on Twitter. It turns out that Lady Neuberger has recently been in Burma on holiday. Could it be that she and Lady Hale met up whilst lady Hale was in Malaysia and discussed the Supreme Court Case.I ask this because if it were any one else but a Supreme Court Judge there would be hell to pay! If there is the slightest doubt regarding this then Lady Hale and Lord Neuberger should disbar themselves instantly. There is a ruling that has special significance to and I quote:Supreme Court Judges. It is as follows: judges should bear in mind that political activity of a close member of a Justices family might raise concern in a particular case about the judges own impartiality and detachment from the case! And well it might.

Although it didn’t in the High Court case so why would it in this instance? It appears that the Judiciary believe they know more about what is good for us than we do ourselves. Why then were we given a referendum in the first place? We voted the wrong way for the Prime Minister of the day.

But that is democracy. This supreme court is NOT Democratic in any way whatsoever. It is an attempt to take from the population what is rightfully theirs. We, the public must not allow this to happen.

We should also bear i n mind a very old and brief quotation.

“The Law is an Ass”

Cant remember who said it but it has a ring of truth in it.

DAVID COLLINS

Blake Crescent

Swindon

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Politics is important

AS A FAN of Strictly Come Dancing I watched the final demise of Ed Balls.

Judge Dread, Craig Revel Horwood, admitted that as the competition is regarding technical dancing he had hammered Ed on the points system. Then he admitted that he had enjoyed his efforts, from an entertainment value. I think we all did, watching an over weight middle aged man trying to keep up with the best. I thought was hilarious .I enjoyed every minute of his efforts .

My point? We all love to be entertained at the weekends after a hard days work, . On holiday after a years hard work .Everybody agreed on that one ? but politics is not show business. Every decision that is made by politicians affects people’s lives. Mortgage rates, utility bills, care for the elderly, or rather lack of it, to give a prime example. You name it, there are many more.

In my opinion there are more spin doctors, comedians and chancers running our country as well as our councils – that includes in my opinion, Swindon council – than Hollywood in the days of Fred Karno. Think of David Cameron the failed Prime Minister on his husky trip to emphasis the nonsensical mantra of climate change, not to mention the windmill on his roof, while many old people were freezing to death back on our island in the winter through lack of finances.The political correct brigade with more faces than the mythological Greek Hydra.

It is a perfect example of the multitude of farce that has enveloped our home land with blatant self-interested people lining their own pockets at our expense. I think it is time for a change in the law abiding democratic manner our island has fought centuries in blood and tears to maintain. I suspect I am not the only one.

BILL WILLIAMS

Merlin Way

Covingham

Swindon

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No good news on NHS

FOR the elderly and the sick in Wiltshire, last week’s Autumn statement from Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, is not good news. It did not mention even once the need for increased funding for the NHS and social care.

With no extra funding, hospitals including the RUH in Bath and the GWH in Swindon may topple into crisis this winter, with black alerts called where there are simply no beds available for incoming patients, when beds are being effectively blocked because there are not available care packages to allow elderly people to go home, or to be moved into suitable accommodation.

So much for the statements about £350 million a week extra for the NHS that were plastered all over the Brexit red bus, all lies which were successful in their purpose, but now look devastating to our National Health Service and our economy. The Liberal Democrats’ Norman Lamb offered a way forward during the coalition government with an integrated plan for social care and the NHS, which was not taken up and the situation, as a result, is only likely to get worse.

While the policy of the triple lock introduced by Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb under the coalition is continuing to protect the value of pensions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Office for Budget Responsibility both issued reports last week that real incomes for working people are likely to remain frozen for many more years, with falls in living standards as inflation starts to bite into the value of the pound in our pockets.

With the 20% drop in the value of the pound post Brexit, we have already seen fuel and food prices start to climb, and this situation too seems set to deteriorate, especially if Theresa May’s terms for our leaving the EU results in the UK leaving the Single Market. That is why my leader Tim Farron is demanding that the people are given a say once they know what the terms are, with an emergency ‘parachute’ clause allowing a return to the EU in a second referendum if the people are not satisfied.

Despite James Gray’s protestations to the contrary, North Wiltshire voted narrowly to stay in the EU, and if an election is called next year I will constantly remind the electorate of this.

DR BRIAN MATHEW

Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for North Wiltshire