Peace dividend now a thing of the past

INFLATION went from below 7% in March to 13.7% after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Banking practice indicates interest rates ought to be above this at around 15% merely to avoid negative real interest rates making sustainability more difficult. Now we appear doomed to a recession and becoming poorer.

Yet some wish us to believe we have high interest rates.

If our purpose was to increase inflation further then we would force down the pound to make imports higher.

This is being quickly achieved by these lower interest rates.

Never have we seen such an unsustainable mismatch of interest rates.

That half of the nation which earns its keep despite being highly taxed to support our dependant half is being taken as gullible by our mis-leaders.

When challenged by aggressive dictators bent on expanding their empires, we really ought to focus on the most urgent important issues.

The peace dividend is lost and we urgently need to resume an ability to defend our borders and our streets from those whose greed is not limited by morals, ethics or ideals.

When Hitler’s Nazis invaded Europe he used Lord Haw Haw to broadcast his anti-british propaganda against us. When

the Japanese Empire brought war to Pearl Harbour, Singapore, India and Australia, they used Tokyo Rose to similarly try to undermine our resolve to defend ourselves.

We know Russia and China use cyber crime and their fake news to mislead their own people and ours.

Like every salesman’s sweet talk, we need to be aware of what is in it for them.

We will all be worse off as foreign produce is delayed by lockdowns and lost or diverted by war and invasion.

We know we must now produce our own food and weapons just to survive.

Ethics requires survival or you have the invader’s painfully awful ethics.

Divisive claims about our own empire hundreds of years ago pervert our present need to focus and resume sustainability in the face of armed aggression.

Rail employees’ first duty is to their passengers who pay them and then to all the taxpayers who subsidise them.

Their strikes are selfish and greedy at a time when their passengers expect to be worse off - their claim is patently more than they have earned, earns them little sympathy but undermines our movement of food, fueland defence industries.

It adds difficulties for the rest of the country hoping to earn its own inflation-matching wages - but they enjoy British freedom to learn from their unpopular mistake.

Similarly, the governor of the Bank of England has confused his short-term advantage with long -term sustainability.

GEORGE BRITTAIN

Water firms will be held to account

REPORTS of sewage discharging into rivers in your area has caused a lot of distress.

We all expect wastewater companies to treat sewage properly and play their part in protecting rivers and wildlife.

At the water regulator Ofwat we’re pleased to see companies setting out their plans to tackle this important issue.

Northumbrian Water has committed to reducing its storm overflow spills to an average of 20 per year by 2025.

We will be keeping the companies on their toes, calling for them to be more ambitious and making sure they deliver on their promises.

We also encourage you to read Northumbrian Water’s plans and engage with them on local issues that matter to you. Our full response to their plans is on our website – ofwat.gov.uk DAVID BLACK,

Ofwat CEO