Soldiers are the lifeblood of the Army
IN the midst of its difficult Brexit negotiations and troubled by infighting and intrigue among its leading members, the government is apparently considering defence cuts.
In its pursuit of its policy of ‘good housekeeping’ it is planning to cut the number of Royal Marines by 2,000.
Many members of the general public are only too well aware that so-called ‘productivity’ in the workplace usually leads to job cuts, sometimes on a massive scale.
This can be done with the aid of technology or by the closing of branches which are not considered to be making enough money. Either way, less people are employed.
For the government to consider reducing the Royal Marines it is the equivalent of Tesco or Sainsbury’s emptying their shelves rather than making redundancies.
Soldiers are the lifeblood of any Army – without them the Army would cease to exist.
The government seems to have no difficulty finding endless billions for the construction of aircraft carriers, as yet without the planes to go with them, and yet is considering reducing the number of boots on the ground.
The action of the government is doubly disturbing and difficult to understand when you take into account the fact that a ‘hard’ Brexit, making us more independent of our European friends and allies, will render us more exposed to the outer world and more in need of a welltrained force of men and women able to take speedy and competent action, if needed, to defend our shores or deal with threats in other parts of the world.
Rod Slater, Warrington
Reds should take priority
WHY was United’s match against Huddersfield screened almost last on MOTD? It was the nearest game to the 60th Munich commemoration and should have been given proper respect by the BBC, never mind if it wasn’t the best of games.
Arthur Regan, Manchester
Important fever facts
WITH regards to your report on scarlet fever, you left out the possible serious effects of the infection. 1) Acute rheumatic fever can lead to valvular heart disease 2) Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis – this is an acute reaction in the kidneys 3) Post-streptococcal reactive arthritis – this can affect all the body’s joints.
It is essential that the patient receives the right antibiotic and completes the course. If symptoms persist or new ones occur then they should return to the GP.
Martin Seely, Worsley
Repair roads before Metro
THERE seems to be a great deal of work being done around Trafford Park and Trafford centre to extend the Metro system.
I think a start would be to repair the road surface between the tracks on South Langworthy Road and Eccles New Road, the number of potholes is a disgrace and danger
It’s all well and good carrying out new work but not at the expense of upkeep.
Phil Meakin, Salford
We all need protection
WE need more police on our streets.
The cuts have made it impossible to police them properly.
The powers that be do not have to live in our frightening reality.
If they did, there would be changes.
We, the ordinary law-abiding public, are paying more and more and getting little back.
Enough is enough. We need protection. Crime is rising and people are frightened.
Concerned parent and grandparent
Token plan just a ‘scam’
RE Grafton Street parking: I was also fined for mistakenly believing the token and barrier system was broken – I did appeal the fine but it was dismissed out of hand.
There was definitely no signage explaining the new payment system.
Very shoddily managed by all parties involved and I too am wondering just how many other drivers have been technically scammed through no fault of our own.
Peter Bowman, Manchester