Criticisms can defy logic
MANY of the letters printed in the Gazette and articles in newspapers are based on political bias.
The last time I was involved in political activity was (circa 1954?) when my late father had me wandering the streets of Tilery, Stockton, singing ‘Vote, vote, vote for Mr (George) Chetwyn, here comes Lammy (anybody remember who Lammy was?) at the door... and I have no particular bias.
Sometimes I think politically biased criticisms defy logic.
Boris Johnson has been heavily criticised for ‘deserting his post,’ when he missed a Cobra meeting.
On the day he resigned, both Labour and Conservatives demanded he went straight away.
If he had, wouldn’t he have missed all meetings; there would not have been a new leader yet?
As a ‘neutral’ my overview of the country’s leadership is that I have never known a PM face such difficult situations as Boris Johnson, and thought he did a reasonable job.
After the next General Elections
I would not want Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer as PM and would have preferred Boris back to either of them.
If the choice is Sunak or Starmer, I would be looking for a credible third party.
My late dad was a steel moulder at Head Wrightsons (True working class?) and staunch Labour, but if he was still around, I think he might have said ‘How can a blinkin ‘Sir’ be leader of the flippin Labour Party! (or words to that effect!)
ALAN OSBORNE, Stockton
Labour no longer a working-class party
AS a young man, I was inspired by reading books such as, Venceremos! The speeches and writings of Ernesto Che Guevara.
I grew up in a strong Labour Party/Trade Union family. My father was a shop steward in the Transport and General Workers Union, when he worked for ICI.
Some of the older Gazette readers will remember my uncle John Yates, who was a full-time union officer in Middlesbrough.
In the 1950s and 1960s the
Labour Party was truly a working-class party, however anyone who still believes they are a workingclass party today are sadly deluding themselves.
When Tony Blair became the leader of the Party, it ceased to be a working-class movement. If Sir Keir Starmer wishes to become the next Prime Minister at the next General Election, he will need to have some charisma injections.
KEITH DEWISON, Billingham
Town hall deserves to be preserved
THREE cheers for the plans to save Middlesbrough’s old town hall after years of neglect (The Gazette, 15.07.22)
As well as being one of the town’s oldest surviving buildings, the old town hall stands right at the centre of Middlesbrough’s most historic quarter.
It’s a stone’s throw from the site of Middlesbrough’s ancient Benedictine priory and almost on top of the site of the original village of Middlesbrough, which 400 years ago had 15 houses and an inn.
When it was built in 1846 it was right in the middle of the new town that had been laid out in a neat grid pattern in the 1830s.
The town hall’s elegant tower in its prominent hilltop position is a notable landmark that showcases the most significant stages
in Middlesbrough’s history.
It really is worth preserving and being put to a new use. Let’s hope the plans are successful. GEOFF BRADDY,
Middlesbrough