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Where were you all?

LAST week I attended the International Holocaust Memorial Day at the Swindon cenotaph. T say I was disappointed at the low turnout is an understatement.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think either of the town’s two MPs were in attendance, likewise leader of the ruling Swindon Conservation group Mr Renard. However, it was good to see Jim Grant, leader of the local Labour party, there.

I remarked to a gentleman stood by me ‘where are the hundreds who attend the Remembrance Day service, proudly wearing their medals and poppies?’ I ask this question, where were you all?

Mark Webb, Old Town

Give them a soaking

ON Thursday, while watching the ITV evening news for the area, I was surprised to see that do gooders were up in arms about a shop in Bristol having installed a sprinkler system to try to deter anti-social behaviour’ at night, within the shop doorway.

What is wrong with that? I can imagine the messy state the doorway would be in after many sessions of anti-social behaviour, which may lead to a drop in trade for the owners.

Where is the problem? Well done shop owners, I say!

Chris Gleed, Proud Close, Purton

Treat them as adults

THERE has been some debate about lowering the voting age. I for one have no problem with that.

However, as a former magistrate, if young people wish to be treated like adults and given the vote then they must take responsibility for their actions and be tried like adults.

At present under-18s are, in my opinion, treated with kid gloves. Newspapers are not allowed to print their name, they are tried in juvenile courts, and get leaner sentences.

Being an adult comes with responsibilities. They can’t vote as a adult then expect to be tried as juveniles. If they indulge in crime they must expect to do the time and be sent to prison along side all other adults. The thought of going to prison along side all the dregs and hardened criminals is not a pleasant one, and to go there at 16 would be frightening.

Allan Woodham, Swindon

EU tenders to blame

THE huge government contracts company Carillion was destroyed by the EU wide tendering system.

All major government contracts must be advertised throughout the EU and the lowest bid must be accepted under EU law. This forced Carillion to make tenders at unrealistically low prices in order to get the contracts such as the Aberdeen bypass, a Liverpool hospital and a Manchester hospital. This led to a loss of a billion pounds on these three contracts alone.

It now seems that Capita, an even bigger company, is getting into the same financial difficulty over government contracts. It is becoming clear that the EU wide tendering system is gradually destroying some of the biggest companies in Britain.

Steve Halden, Beaufort Green, Swindon