LETTERS

Fishermen cast away

I AM glad MPs refused to accept Michael Gove’s idea of a ‘great prize’ for our fishing industry at the end of the transition period.

Tory chief whip Julian Smith telling MPs with coastal constituencies to accept the deal because ‘it’s not like the fishermen are going to vote Labour’ simply showed contempt. The fishermen might decide it is not worth voting at all, thus handing the keys of Downing Street to Labour.

I hope our MPs together with the Scottish Tories manage to kick this ‘great prize’ into the long grass.

ALAN MIDGLEY, Tottington, Gtr Manchester. HOW many of the people making an issue of fishing rights being kept as present until December 2020 voted to remain in the EU?

Stop making pointless, over-blown issues about another 12 months when this situation would never have changed if we had voted to stay in the EU. KEITH JACQUES, Stafford.

Cynical EU ploy

IT IS clutching at straws to call the EU transition agreement the ‘biggest, most effective and comprehensive trade deal in history’.

No trade deal has been clinched yet with any country because this can’t happen until next year and will not be implemented until 2021.

I cannot see any meaningful concessions from the EU. The Government has not secured the status of Northern Ireland or Gibraltar.

Our fishermen are to be sacrificed and can expect only a share of our waters after 2020. A further two years of free movement will only accelerate the rate of immigration.

Why bother to pretend we will leave the EU next year? This is nothing but a cynical ploy that insults our intelligence. We’ll have to sign up to every lunacy it cooks up in the meantime and without having a voice.

Most of the advantages of Brexit are being frittered or traded away in a humiliating fashion by a weak government with barely a thought for the national interest.

MIKE HAIRSINE, Sutton Coldfield, W. Mids.

Roads to ruin

AS A professional driver for many years, I can attest that the roads are in the worst condition I’ve ever seen.

Surfaces are pitted and suspension-crunching, while tyre- bursting potholes are commonplace.

Roads are the lifeblood of this country, accounting for most passenger journeys and freight movement. However, Government spending does not reflect this.

Most of the billions raised in taxes from road users goes to the Treasury rather than to the upkeep of roads.

Road users are getting a miserable deal, because in return, they get poorly maintained, congested roads and endless traffic jams.

MIKE HAVILLE, Southam, Warks.

Zero sympathy

WHY should we feel sorry for wellpaid BBC presenters who set up private companies?

Bricklayers, plumbers and electricians have to register as subcontractors and have 20 per cent of their earnings withheld to be set against future tax returns.

I find it difficult to believe such educated people as broadcasters would enter into these arrangements without realising the pitfalls.

If they feel misled, let them sue their advisers, rather than the soft- touch BBC. As for the moans about no sick or holiday pay, self-employed people and those on zero hours contacts are only too aware of this.

I would love to have the safety net of sick pay, paternity leave and a generous pension that pays out much more than I contributed.

MARTIN HOWES, Telford, Shropshire.

Home truths

CROWDED Britain needs new cities (Letters)? No, we don’t. We need to stop the population growing so rapidly by ending all but essential immigration of genuine refugees.

Increasing the population without any controls puts massive pressure on essential services.

Think of the country as being like a three- bedroom house with one bathroom and parking for one car. With five occupants, the house is comfortable to live in.

Then one of the household gives birth to triplets. This puts pressure on the other occupants. The triplets’ parents can’t afford to pay for the increase in household bills, so the other occupants are told they must make up the deficit.

The owner of the house converts the attic into a bedroom, which takes pressure off the sleeping arrangements, but not the facilities.

Not being able to use the bathroom before going to work causes anger for those with a job. Then the parents decide to have more children and all hell breaks loose! ERIC CRAGGS, Shildon, Co. Durham.

Spring forward

EACH morning this week I have woken at 6am to welcome daylight. By 6pm it was twilight and time to draw the curtains. However, after the clocks go forward this weekend, it won’t be light until 7am.

If we need to have British Summer Time, why can’t it be delayed until it’s daylight at the proper time of morning and the weather is warm enough to make it worth having an extra hour of light in the evening?

Miss F. LATTY, East Bridgford, Notts.

Parking tragedy

HOW desperately sad that toddler Kiara Moore drowned when her mother’s car rolled down a slipway into a freezing river (Mail). Why

don’t driving schools teach the safest way to park a car?

Once the engine has stopped, slip the car into gear, preferably first or reverse, so if the handbrake fails, the car won’t move. I’ve parked my cars this way on my steep driveway for 40 years without any mishaps. This simple habit could save another child’s life.

A. FOERS, Sheffield. If A vehicle is parked on a slope, the wheels should be pointed at a 45-degree angle to the kerb. Should the handbrake fail, the vehicle will be unable to roll away.

This potentially life- saving advice is not taught in lessons for the driving test, but is emphasised in advanced driving instruction.

CRAIG LOAN, Waterlooville, Hants.

Grammar gripes

THANKS, Quentin Letts, for championing the preservation of the beauty of our language (Mail). I am afraid the majority of linguistic corruptions emanate from the U.S. My additions to the list of detested phrases includes talk us through it; any time soon; and collide into. ANDREW ROSS, Rugby, Warks. I’D RATHER stick pins in my eyes — no, you wouldn’t!

RICHARD SIROT, Deal, Kent. I BRIDLE when a shop assistant asks: ‘Are you all right there?’ Of course I’m not — I’m waiting to be served!

Mrs G. BARRETT, Bristol. THE words and expressions I find annoying include basically; I will be quite honest with you; I’ll tell you what; no problem; and Oh, my God.

Is the latter an appeal to the Almighty or an affirmation of faith? TREVOR BOLTON, Southwick, W. Sussex. WHY do some people say ‘simplistic’ when they mean ‘simple’? And ‘too simplistic’ is simply meaningless. HOWARD WILSON, Ripon, N. Yorks. MY LINGUISTIC bugbear is ‘these ones’. It’s either this one or these. SHEILA DAVIDSON,

Bracknell, Berks. THE expressions that really grind my gears are colourways and high end.

ALAN JONES, Lowton, Lancs. WHY do correspondents on the BBC begin their reports with the word ‘Well . . .’? ANTHONY BARTON, Glasgow. HE SNUCK in — no, it’s he sneaked in.

C. ALLEN, Blandford, Dorset.