We should all strive for a more peaceful world
I FIND myself in my mideighties now and I know there are far more years in my past than there will be in my future.
My greatest wish is that when my time comes to depart this life, I will be leaving behind a world that is at peace with itself. All the peoples of the world should want this peace for future generations. The political leaders of all nations can, by working together, bring about this peace, so let us all ask them to stop the senseless killing and destruction that is occurring in many nations and instead work together to turn this beautiful planet into the paradise it deserves to be for all nations.
In the words made famous by Dr Martin Luther King, “I have a dream”. Well, let’s all make world peace our dream.
EL Williams
Porthcawl
Council’s cramming five days into four
FOLLOWING Cardiff council’s decision to change the refuse collection schedule from February 22, the words of praise by Councillor Iona Gordon in this publication after the first week now seem somewhat premature.
This happens to be the first week (March 31) that here in Llandaff we have actually had all of our scheduled collections done on time. Every week prior to this some part of our refuse was left on the street and the third week of March our garden waste was actually collected on a Saturday.
I know we are not alone in this as when I walked to Canton where my elderly mother lives to do her shopping the streets were full of uncollected rubbish the day after the scheduled day. I expect Iona, who also lives in Canton, must now be aware of the problems. Both Canton and Llandaff were moved back a day under the council proclamation of rubbish spending less time on the street and a four-day programme being more effective. I cannot understand how decades of five-day refuse collection schedules can be squeezed into four days at no extra cost. Our Saturday garden waste must surely have involved overtime payments to staff. It is no surprise given that our council continues to waste money by placing cycle tracks at every opportunity and extending pavements for social distancing and then filling them with planter boxes. No wonder they are overspent. Colin Rossiter
Llandaff, Cardiff
Worrying times for the steel workers
STUCK in the middle of the ongoing discussions about the future and fortunes of Liberty Steel are the employees, who are desperately seeking news that everything that can be done to save their jobs is being done.
For the near 200 workers in Wales, mostly in Newport, it’s vital that the Welsh Government moves quickly and makes sure that no stone is left unturned in the effort to save jobs.
The only secure and sustainable future for Welsh steel plants in the long run is to return the ownership of the Welsh steel industry to Welsh hands – and ensuring that our workers and their communities have a seat at the table.
Jonathan T Clark
Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales Newport West Senedd Candidate
Our Saturday garden waste must surely have involved overtime payments to staff
Colin Rossiter Llandaff
Impoverished areas are missing out
THE Welsh Government has not been told the basis on which two local authority areas have been excluded from a list of 100 places across Britain that have the best chance of benefiting from a regional aid programme run by Whitehall.
Last week it was revealed that Bridgend and Caerphilly were not included in the list of priority areas identified by the UK Government as most likely to receive money from the £220m Community Renewal Fund. The fund is meant to replace regional aid cash that previously came from the European Union, and is a precursor to a bigger programme called the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
When the UK was in the EU, a large region called West Wales and the Valleys, which covered twothirds of the country, received billions of pounds in aid from the EU because the earnings per head of its population were less than 75% of the EU average.
The region included the county boroughs of Bridgend and Caerphilly, both of which have some of the poorest communities in Europe. Westminster’s decision to exclude the two Welsh council areas while including Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s prosperous North Yorkshire seat of Richmond has caused anger in Wales. Labour promised to fight for Wales but on this occasion, they badly failed on this occasion. Andrew Nutt
Bargoed
Centralising bid
THE report from the Lords’ Common Scrutiny Committee illustrates the problems caused by Brexit.
The Internal Market Bill means the Westminster government can impose lower standards of food safety, farming and environmental protection than EU standards. This will make our home products less competitive against produce from large countries like the US.
Our farmers will lose out as American beef is much cheaper because it’s raised by methods unacceptable in this country.
Johnson’s government is clearly intent on building a highly centralised state that makes devolution meaningless.
Margaret Phelps, Penarth
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