Country needs transparency and clarity over coronavirus

From: Kevin Dodd, Robin Lane, Hemsworth.

WHILST I agree with the point being made regarding bad politics in regard to Sir Keir Starmer’s stance (The Yorkshire Post, May 7), the Government has been devoid of any scrutiny due to the absence of a credible Opposition.

The country needs transparency and clarity from the start of the virus to present day and beyond, as to why we are in the situation we are in and the next steps.

My motto when leading any organisation was plan for the unexpected. This seemed to have happened when the pandemic simulation exercise was done, but due to austerity effective measures appear not to have been put in place. The debacle over PPE is a disgrace, the fact we did not ‘secure our borders’, a familiar phrase, when it mattered needs an explanation.

Over recent years, national leaders have proved to lack the integrity they need to govern. Yet in a crisis, it’s local leaders that always seem to shine and long may it continue. Thank you Colonel Tom Moore and many more like you, we need the likes of you now.

From: Steve Wilson, Lenton Villa, Bradford.

YOU ask a very pertinent question: why have we failed so spectacularly in comparison to other mature economies and despite our heroic workers from hospitals to supermarkets and many more (The Yorkshire Post, May 8)? Please bang this drum as loud and as long as you can. For my entire – and very fortunate – adult life, I have seen the gap between those at the top and the bottom widen and widen.

Successive governments of all colours have allowed big business to operate without a conscience and this malaise has spread well beyond boardrooms.

People have no faith in politics nor the system and we have created a selfish society, grab it while you can and lots too. I fully expect the political parties to start laying into each other again. Meanwhile, we will not get the answers, nor the future protections from this happening again.

From: Dave Croucher, Pinfold Gardens, Doncaster.

WHEN are we going to get a Government that can think ahead and not keep dropping us in the manure? Ministers have got a lot to answer for. When it comes to the end of the year, we don’t want to see any of the ‘old mates’ awards. If there are any gongs for anyone who has not gone “beyond the call of duty”, the public will not be happy.