Madam, – Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament was both unprecedented and undemocratic.
Usually it would take 30 years to find out the real motivation behind the decision.
However, thanks to leaks and two court cases we know that Johnson was not wholly truthful when he said it was for a Queen’s speech.
The prorogation has taken place so that Johnson can impose a no-deal Brexit without opposition.
Johnson and his clique were planning to suspend parliament two weeks before they announced it.
Johnson explicitly said during the Tory leadership debates he would not prorogue parliament. The UK is now in an unprecedented crisis where a sitting prime minister is actively trying to break the law in order to get around the expressed will of parliament.
Not having parliament sitting allows Johnson and his cronies to avoid scrutiny on every issue.
This ranges from shortages of medicine, the crisis in the NHS, plans for tax cuts for millionaires and tax rises for everyone else, raising the pension age and a litany of other issues.
Boris Johnson and his Cabinet are a band of fanatical extremists.
The newly-appointed Tory work and pensions secretary called for pensioners to be forced to pay National Insurance. Thérèse Coffey MP defended her proposals, published in a paper for the Free Enterprise Group – saying “I do not regret writing what I did about National Insurance….Why should someone beyond the age of 65 get more take-home money…”.
Chancellor Sajid Javid wants to slash corporation tax from 19% (lowest in the G20) to 12.5%. Additionally, he wants to abolish the 45% top rate of income tax paid by the very rich altogether.
Dominic Rabb, the foreign secretary, and Priti Patel, the home secretary, contributed to a Thatcherite pamphlet called Britannia Unchained.
In it they argued for deregulation of trade, tax cuts and hiking up the exploitation of working people declaring: “The British are among the worst idlers in the world. We work among the lowest hours, we retire early, and our productivity is poor.”
This band of Brexiteers are fearful however.
Come January 2020 the EU will bring in a law instructing anyone with offshore accounts and investments to disclose them to enable full scrutiny so they can no longer get away with tax avoidance and evasion.
This is the real reason the Brexiteers are so keen to leave the EU come what may on October 31.
Alan Hinnrichs.
2 Gillespie Terrace,
Dundee.
Hitting the nail on the head
Madam, – Craig Smith’s Monday Matters column about leisure centre cuts hits the nail on the head.
On the one hand, the Labour and SNP administration at Fife Council continually professes its commitment to encouraging adults and children to be more active. On the other it stands by while a trust it owns and funds cuts opening hours at local leisure centres.
Unlike fitness centres, swimming pools cannot be provided by the private sector, and these are an important public facility the council should be protecting.
This decision raises serious questions about the relationship between Fife Council and the Sports and Leisure Trust. It needs a rethink before the public loses even more services.
Cllr Linda Holt.
Dreel House,
Pittenweem.
Climate action needed now
Madam, – I am happy with regards to battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, that neither Harry Key nor I are against either option per se (The Courier, Letters, September 9).
I understand the energy batteries supply will in turn require more electricity to be generated.
Harry Key has not explained where the energy to produce the hydrogen will come from, what the cost of that infrastructure will be, or when hydrogen will arrive.
It’s important for climate change that we start making a difference now.
Unlike Harry Key, I am already living the plug-in future and enjoying it. We only need to plug in about once a week normally. Hydrogen may have advantages, but so may batteries.
Batteries can connect to the electricity grid and help to support it, with the potential of two-way flow.
This can allow us to have more variable renewable energy such as solar, to decarbonise electricity generation, and not need expensive nuclear power. That solar could be on your own roof. The batteries in electric cars should be seen as a part of the solution.
There’s also the point that they’re just so much nicer to drive. But that could apply to a hydrogen fuel cell car too.
Gordon Pay.
Eden Park,
Cupar.
‘Slap in face’ for Alesha’s family
Madam, – I am exceptionally disappointed in the Court of Criminal Appeal’s decision to reduce Aaron Campbell’s sentence by three years (The Courier, September 11, Alesha’s killer has sentenced reduced).
This decision shows the sentencing given out by courts does not reflect the level of public anger and revulsion at the crime itself, as thousands of people across Scotland are furious at this decision, if social media is anything to go by.
This must be a real slap in the face for the family of Alesha MacPhail.
He took her life brutally leaving her with no future and her family with a lifetime of pain and heartache.
The sentence should be that he remains in prison for the rest of his life, not a reduced sentence.
He will only be 40 when he can apply for parole, which I hope is never granted, and he will be able to start his life over again. The same can’t be said for his victim.
Gordon Kennedy.
117 Simpson Square,
Perth.
‘Closed’ for holiday season
Madam, – Tourism is our number one industry, yet last Sunday I visited Crieff – “The Holiday Town” – to find it resolutely and completely closed. Nothing open.
Yesterday I decided to drive through charming Pitlochry on my way north, but the main street through the town centre was being resurfaced, and a convoy system for cars and buses was causing chaos, so plans to stop and have a meal on the return journey were cancelled.
The normally busy shopping area was very quiet, and some side streets were blocked by lorries and diggers.
All this during what is still our tourist season. Quite incredible.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood.
Rolling Stone ‘taking Mick’?
Madam, – What a brass neck Sir Mick Jagger has. Speaking at Venice Film Festival he accused President Trump of “wiping out” environmental controls.
For over 50 years the Rolling Stones have flown around the world creating “nasty” emissions and the band’s fans created even more travelling to their concerts. Last year the Rolling Stones toured the world using their Boeing 767 private jet. Does the father-of-eight not realise the irony of having eight children? People cause pollution.
Clark Cross .
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.