Romans way ahead of us on road blocks
Correspondence on Liveable Neighbourhoods will no doubt be a regular feature in the coming months- they are the ‘wheelie bin introduction’ of 2021!
In that vein I came across this great snippet of information. In the photo below (from Youtube channel ‘Just not bikes’) there can be seen a large stone block in the road to stop wheeled carts from entering an area of Pompeii.
As they say, “there is no such thing as a new idea”. But it also turns out restricting certain vehicles to certain areas in is the best tradition of a Roman city.
Guy Hodgson (Aquae Sulis)
I am writing to you as my MP to express my disgust at the behaviour of this government in its relentless stoking of divisive culture wars, all in pursuit of votes and power.
The last five years has seen a deplorable degradation in our public discourse, prompted in large part by the current resident of Number 10 and his band of acolytes.
The events of the last few weeks, and particularly the past 48 hours have shone an even harsher light on the impact your party has had on this country.
The enormous outpouring of support for the England football team and their vocal support for diversity and minorities stands in such stark contrast to the racism of Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, yourself and others.
For our Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons to knowingly inflame racism through your earlier criticism of the team’s taking the knee is the most appalling abuse of office – and as I’m sure you are aware, subsequent denials and U-turns are fooling no-one.
Tyrone Mings (England player) summed it up here: https://twitter. com/officialtm_3/status/14146553 12074784785?s=21.
Because of this group of brave young men and their actions, for the first time in years I have felt genuinely proud of my country, rather than ashamed at the shredding of our reputation as a tolerant and open-minded nation by the group of vandals that calls itself the Conservative Party.
The comments by your colleague Natalie Elphicke about Marcus Rashford sums up the sneering attitude of your party perfectly.
Not to mention your own defence of all those so-called fans who boo the England players for taking the knee, claiming it’s part of a ‘pushback against wokeness’ in Britain. Wrong.
It’s a committed and sustained attempt to educate and change minds like those captured by Cephas Williams in this tweet: https://twitter.com/56blackmen/ status/1414362342796759043?s=21.
As Matthew d’ancona puts it “We have a hooligan governing class and a national football squad composed of philanthropic gentlemen.”
I sincerely hope that you, as a Conservative MP and an active participant in this, find a way to make peace with your conscience.
It doesn’t need to be like this, our country deserves so much better.
Matthew Pover By email