We need security on energy, affordable food, and clean air Is warming going faster?
WHO is the government listening to? Not the citizens who elect them – it seems the old school tie is more important. We do need a strong economy, but one fit for the 21st century with less polluting fuels, more efficient products that use less energy, and good quality food available to everyone.
We’re never going to get this if the government only listens to old industries unwilling to change.
The oil industry is losing out to renewables, but rather than speeding up change they are cancelling green initiatives and concentrating on getting concessions from our energy minister.
The gas boiler industry has been presented with an achievable transition to heat pumps but they reacted by arbitrarily increasing the cost of gas boilers and then falsely arguing that it was necessary, blackmailing the energy secretary to grant a delay.
The car industry had a long-term plan to gradually introduce electric cars, but this has been put back, causing confusion to drivers and investors, due to lobbying by a few firms who gambled on hydrogen fuels and now find themselves at a disadvantage in the EV market.
Food companies managed to derail every recommendation by the Food Tsar appointed to advise on children’s health and reducing obesity and therefore the strain on the NHS, he resigned in disgust.
Bad landlords have successfully lobbied to avoid having to improve properties for tenants, and to retain no-fault evictions to remove those who ask for repairs, or question excessive rent rises.
It goes on and on.
We could be proud of their economy and its world-beating companies; we need energy security and falling prices; we deserve clean air, affordable food and longer, healthier lives; we deserve comfortable and secure housing.
This will become harder and harder to achieve if we allow the old vested interests to block every regulatory change that’s designed to give us a flourishing economy.
It’s time to change the record in government.
Emma Tsoneva, Littleborough
Wrong to blame Israeli arrivals
I KNOW that the issue of antisemitism is a very sensitive and hurtful topic of conversation with many of my fellow Jews. And I know that I, myself, particularly worry about this hatred of our race to a very significant degree, because I am a person who likes everyone that I meet to always like me; and I tend to take it as a failure on my part, if for some reason a person were to indicate that he or she doesn’t like me.
But, I have to also comment on the article in the M.E.N. newspaper of March 27 , which is headlined: “Border Force team in airport stop accused of antisemitism” – in that there is no logic in border officials giving an apparently severe grilling to two men who were Israeli survivors of the vicious Hamas attack of October 7 last year, because they had come to this country to mainly tell of their ordeal.
If you consider that there are good and bad people in every race, a point of view which is broadly acknowledged by a great many people, then it is very wrong to blame any one race of people as being responsible for all of the world’s ills. I stand firmly against all forms of racism, mainly because of this line of reasoning.
Howard Gardner, Sale
Westminster doesn’t work
MOST of us are proud that we live in a democratic country, but do we? Members of Parliament and the Government can be elected with less than 50% of the votes cast so how can either represent the views of the majority and the ‘will of the people’?
We have a second chamber (an unelected House of Lords) that can stifle legislation proposed by the elected Government. The basis of appointment to the Lords is open to question and is not democratic.
It has been suggested that a ‘first past the post’ voting system ensures a strong government which has no need to take account of other parties and differing views to survive. Surely with today’s technology (but don’t ask The Post Office) we can have a voting system with a transferable vote in which our second or even third choice can be taken into account if our first vote is not a winner. An elected government would then be more likely to have a majority of those voting, for them and their agenda.
If we need a second chamber then why not look to choose from those we have already ‘democratically’ elected into local government.
There are parts of our United Kingdom and not just the obvious ones who may feel they are not truly represented in a London based Westminster. The cancellation of the High Speed Rail link between Birmingham and the North of
England just one example. A second chamber made up from Regional representatives (perhaps based online) would also give Regions the opportunity to come together to support matters important to them.
Our democratic system of government (and MPs) is far better than those of many other countries but it can and should be improved. Just don’t expect whoever is in Government to lead the way.
Bob, Cheadle
Labour will put taxes up again
UNDER Blair and Brown the basic tax rate on income was 30%. It is now 20%. If Labour get back into power they will put it back to the level 30% on day one – the shock to families will be enormous, that rate makes overtime not worthwhile.
They talk of getting the NHS back on its feet. Would be nice if the X-rays and electronic images they take and tell us about over the phone could again be shown to us in a face to face meeting with it on the screen, but the NHS has gone remote from patients, in many places remote from parking.
What precisely would we get for that extra 10p in the pound income tax?
Sue Doughty
THERE’S a debate going on in climate science, and it’s not a good one. Are the predictions of global warming accurate or is the world heating faster than previously thought?
We’ve just experienced a 12-month period with a mean global average surface air temperature more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial reference period. But even more alarming is the high ocean surface temperatures. These have been off-the-scale since May last year and remain high with sea surface temperatures in February being the hottest ever recorded.
It takes a lot of energy to heat the ocean and all that water has been absorbing most of the heat that our emissions have been building up for decades.
The reason for the debate is down to things like the ongoing natural cycle, the El Niño.
But even taking this into account, the persistently high sea temperatures are concerning many scientists.
It will take some time and much analysis to come to a conclusion. But either way, the news is not great because the predictions are either accurate and we are running out of time to decarbonise or we have even less time than we thought to avoid disastrous global heating.
All this makes the UK’s failure to regulate for new homes to be properly insulated and fitted with solar panels and heat pumps crazy. As is our failure to insulate existing properties and allow wind-turbines to be built over land in England.
France is fitting many more heat pumps than the UK, even Poland is doing better than we are. In the UK, our policies are inconsistent and flip-flop for the sake of headlines meaning that the industry is not investing.
Robin Campbell
Southgate not right for Reds
THE idea of Gareth Southgate becoming Manchester United’s manager next season is ridiculous.
There is a big difference in managing a league club and international football. Southgate’s summer will be dominated by the Euros and if Erik ten Hag is relieved of the manager’s job, his successor will have to be hands-on from the get-go.
The idea that Southgate is a successful England manager is open to debate. He failed to beat an ageing Italian side at Wembley in the 2020 Euros final. That is on a par with the failure of the so called Golden Generation. Do league clubs who lose either the FA or Carabao Cup finals look upon it as success? I doubt it.
Last week England were beaten by one of the worst Brazilian sides I have seen in my lifetime by a simple ball over the top. A Brazilian team low on confidence having lost their previous three matches. Southgate’s positive post-match analysis of the match was not shared by a Sky reporter or many England fans.
England began the game with eight players that would feature in Southgate’s preferred starting line up. If success hinges on the three players that were missing through injury, we are in big trouble.
Southgate isn’t the right fit for Manchester United.
Jack Haynes, Swinton