People’s decision must be respected

Not for the first time I have been amused by Nigel Jones’ very strange perception of democracy (Letters, September 27). Mr Jones suggests the country has changed its mind on Brexit but only yesterday I sat watching highlights of dear old Jeremy Corbyn’s speech where he told Mrs May to step aside so he could negotiate Brexit. Clearly Mr Jones hasn’t noticed the two main political parties are committed to Brexit. I wonder for how much longer Mr Jones will conveniently forget David Cameron said whoever won the referendum, it would be implemented? Mr Jones seems to think only Parliament can decide yet it was implicitly said prior to the referendum the decision of the people would be final. The people - lest Mr Jones has forgotten - voted in the largest number ever seen in our history. Parliament, Mr Jones, is the servant of the people and the people directed Parliament to leave. I’m sure in normal circumstances Mr Jones wouldn’t dream of going against our age-old democracy but seems to have caught the EU form of democracy where a country is required to vote again and again until the European Union gets the vote it wants. Peter Burns Lower Weston Bath

The academic year has barely begun and thousands of University of Bath students and staff have already signed a petition condemning the First Bus decision to reroute the whole U1 service away from the city centre while imposing a substantial hike in fares on this major route – on which First now enjoys a monopoly. First Bus is well aware of the equally huge unpopularity of this move with residents of Claverton Down, Bathwick Hill and Widcombe. Apart from the inconvenience caused to the less-able and the increased congestion and pollution caused on Rossiter and Pulteney roads, the onset of winter will see long queues of students waiting in rain and snow at the remote Corn Street and Claverton Street stops, including late-night revellers who will have to find their way there to get back to campus or digs. Against this background, we read that First Bus continues to insist that this radical change was prompted by local authority officers while B&NES cabinet member Councillor Mark Shelford has categorically stated (Letters, August 16) that the change was made on commercial grounds and not at B&NES’ suggestion. Furthermore, he expects that “there would still be a link between the city centre and the university but at a lower frequency – so there would be fewer buses running through the city centre but still enough to meet demand and provide a reasonably frequent service”. So, come on First Bus, please listen to B&NES and your many loyal customers and provide an affordable service that takes passengers where they want to go – including during weekends and evenings – thus preventing many of us jumping into cars and defeating the claimed object of the exercise. Chris Beezley Chairman Beech Avenue Residents’ Association