I don’t know how today’s students can afford cars

“It’s shocking and humiliating that the Chancellor has been forced to come here to reverse a key Budget decision announced less than a week ago” - Shadow chancellor John McDonnell on the Government’s U-turn on the planned National Insurance increase for the self-employed announced in the Budget “Unless the Corbyn team actually planned for that to be a car crash the inquest should be long, hard, and honest. He just can’t do it” I REALLY can’t believe what I’ve just read in the letter from Unhappy of Netherton on March 15.

I guess it was in response to my letter of last Friday about traffic problems on Lockwood Road.

So Kirklees can’t afford to paint double yellow lines for about 100 yards? Earlier this week I walked past the steps leading up to the Piazza opposite St Paul’s Hall and they must have spent a small fortune resurfacing the pavement and creating an unbelievable, totally unnecessary very small cycle lane ... grrr.

As regards students and cars, I was lucky enough to attend university in the 1970s and I think about one in 20 of my contemporaries had a car. I also worked at the university here for 33 years and in that time saw the student car ownership increase dramatically.

You only have to look at the number of car parks that have sprung up around Firth Street and they are nearly always full. I don’t know how they do it in these days of £9,000-a-year fees. Luckily in my day Kirklees paid remember management sending a memo to one of our departments saying that staff would not be allowed to wear Dr Martens boots. After complaints management withdrew their request. I also remember one company in Leeds that wouldn’t allow men to grow a beard.

For 26 years I worked for a local authority and always wore a tie. When Tony Blair was prime minister he encouraged businesses to have a dress down day on Fridays, which many agreed to.

On the one occasion I turned up to work without a tie. I felt undressed and uncomfortable. By the time I left my place of employment hardly anyone wore a tie in my office.

While I accept workers should be clean and tidy, particularly those who deal face-to-face with