Letters: December 21, 2016

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Britain’s wasted talent

IT CROSSED my mind recently, irrespective of my political views, that just about every government we have had since the Second World War has been almost totally useless when it has come to protecting British values and progress in just about every field we have been engaged in.

We have some of the finest brains in the world, designers and engineers who have come up with so many wonderful ideas and products, only to see them wasted because our Governments, irrespective of their political hue, have been totally useless. We have who have developed so many world-beating designs only to see them taken over by a variety of nations because our government cannot, or will not, follow them through.

Years of research and planning thrown away because our politicians are too dumb to understand the potential involved in the ideas. We have produced aircraft that are outstanding. Let’s start with TRS2 – scrapped after a brilliant start.

Then we built the only successful vertical take-off and landing jet fighter aircraft, the Harrier.

Our government then sold off all our Harriers. Was that a good idea with two new aircraft carriers being built? So we shall have two carriers and no aircraft to fly off them. Good strategic thinking?

We are awaiting deliveries of the American F35B. A so-called vertical take-off attack aircraft. This aircraft has been plagued by so many mishaps and crashes that there is very real doubt that it will ever enter service.

Incidentally. the Americans bought most of the Harriers.

We also, with the French, designed and built and put into service the only successful supersonic passenger airline – Concorde.

The Yanks couldn’t do it, but we did. The Yanks even tried to buy British Aerospace to get hold of it.

We designed and built prototypes of the Advance Passenger Train, the same train that Hitachi in Japan is building now to sell to GWR.

We designed and built all our own nuclear power stations. Yet now we are getting the Chinese and the French to design and build one for us.

We used to design and build some of the finest ships in the world. Who builds our ships now? The Germans and the Italians.

Of all the ideas we have come up with, number one is Dyson. And I believe he had to fight hard to make it work, with many obstacles put in his way. But he proved it is possible. Great design, great product.

We have many in this country like Mr Dyson. Why are our governments putting every obstacle in their way? Are they just dumb or are they only interested in lining their own pockets at the expense of the country?

We must question our MPs more and more. This is to get our country back on its feet again. I commend this to you all: worry your MP.

DAVID COLLINS

Blake Crescent, Swindon

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Cut aid bill to fund care

SOMETIMES I really do wonder if Cllr Renard, the leader of Swindon Borough Council, thinks we are all stupid. His latest pronouncement persuades me he does.

Central government has taken the making of a ‘tough decision’ out of Cllr Renard’s hands by allowing SBC to impose a further two per cent increase in council tax bills which can only be spent on ‘social care.’

Cllr Renard is frequently to be heard claiming he makes tough decisions but he shied away from asking the people of Swindon for a mandate to increase council tax, preferring to wait upon his political masters in Westminster to bail him out, which they have now done.

Cllr Renard suggests that offloading the cost of providing local services to parish councils, the borough council (which is fast becoming nothing more than a commissioning body) will be better equipped to meet social care demand (Advertiser, December 17).

What Cllr Renard and his cronies fail to state, although they know it to be true, is that the costs which SBC have ‘offloaded’ have not gone away and will still be paid by Swindon residents; the only difference is the pocket they come from.

In choosing not to present a case for substantial council tax increases to meet the real levels of expenditure and take that case to the people in a referendum demonstrates a lack of moral fibre on the part of Cllr Renard and his senior colleagues.

What they have done is played political games with the people of Swindon, the result of which will be that residents will see regular above inflation increases in council tax from SBC and increases in parish precepts as the parish councils come to terms with the costs associated with the work SBC didn’t want to do.

The saddest part is that the budget for social care will still be woefully underfunded, and yet the answer is there for all to see: reduce spending on a grossly inflated foreign aid budget by a mere 10 per cent and the social care problem can be significantly improved.

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive, Swindon

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Careless construction

HAVING read of all the problems the Great Western Hospital has coping with patients, is it no wonder they pulled down the old Princess Margaret Hospital then built a hospital with fewer beds, but did our council planners and developers ever stand up and say no to this?

We have seen this town grow in every area. There has been more and more housing and there is still more to come, including 8,000 homes in east Swindon.

The hospital cannot cope today – what about tomorrow? No more housing should be allowed until somebody gets to grips with the current situation. The developers who make thousands from building should be made to contribute to a fund to build a new hospital before given planning to build new homes.

We all blame the NHS for not coping but as long as new homes are built in their thousands What chance does the NHS and its local hospital have?

The disgrace of hospitals not coping is not the fault of the NHS but of councils, planners and developers for allowing housing without any thought to the infrastructure and how it will cope.

This is the situation in Swindon but I would bet this is a countrywide issue and why the hospitals and the NHS are not coping today.

R ELLIOTT

Merlin Way, Swindon

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Council is unreliable

CAN we rely on council records? At the informal Cabinet Forum meeting held on Wednesday, December 7, a question was raised about reporting of damage to the unlit damaged footpath between Hadrians Close and Sywell Road, in Coleview.

The questioner said that day had rung the council to remind them that, despite reporting the damage 18 months ago and the area having been marked, presumably for a repair to be made, with yellow paint on at least three occasions, no repair had been effected.

The details were logged again with the reference number 4022921 and it was said an inspection would be made within 10 working days.

The lady recording the information then searched records to see what action(s) had been taken previously.

The only record she could find was a reference number 7302 dated August 31, not this year, nor last year, nor the year before that. It was August 31, 1999.

The questioner asked the council’s chief executive to record the references for the council leader and read out the information slowly.

I hope the gentleman filming the proceedings may well be able to provide proof of this report.

What confidence can anybody have in this Conservative-run council?

BRIAN V COCKBILL

Stratton St Margaret, Swindon

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Accept democracy

MR THOMPSON (December 15) says he disagrees with UKIP policies but does not give any specific examples.

During the referendum, 17 million people voted to agree with the UKIP’s main policy, which is to take back control of our country.

Britain voted and there was a clear majority to leave the EU and we don’t need Remainers endlessly campaigning to reverse our Brexit vote.

Both sides argued their case over a period of many months. The facts were made perfectly clear to everyone.

Mr Thompson had every opportunity to argue his case at the time and he should now accept the result of the public vote.

STEVE HALDEN

Beaufort Green, Swindon

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Is UK spy base safe?

IT’S rather amusing hearing about Obama threatening Putin of Russia with retaliatory cyberspace revenge for Hillary Clinton’s loss of the presidential election to Donald Trump.

What a load of rubbish. Two teenage boys on a London council estate hacked into the CIA computer base and, having stolen top secrets are waiting for us to deport them to the States for prosecution.

So just how stupid is Obama to think that only they have the right to dictate cyberspace in this new age of computer technology?

However, this question is also important here – just how safe is GCHQ at Cheltenham?

Come on you computer buffs, please tell us!

IAN HUNT

Hill View Road, Swindon

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Selfish car parking

I HAVE noticed recently in Abbey Meads an increase in both residents and visitors selfishly parking their vehicles on grass verges.

This is not only a safety issue, as damage is now being caused to the verges, with large ruts now appearing.

Surely we can all find appropriate parking spaces within our own housing areas?

T MCATEER

Abbey Meads

Swindon