Your views on Spading town centre and the cost of living crisis

He takes a long view; like him, I remember late last century, when Spalding received numerous people of pensionable age who were downsizing and selling expensive properties elsewhere in the country – much like the rage directed at the eastern Europeans nowadays, the word was that Spalding was dying, turning into a town of pensioners, which some people objected to.

I support his point about large corporations diluting our sense of community. I’m afraid it goes nationwide. Did you all notice the lowering of staff morale when Norfolk Green was taken over by Stagecoach?

Did we really have to sell off our utilities and transport companies to overseas interests? What advantage has it brought us as a nation?

And as for the land and buildings that seem to belong to anonymous offices in tax havens – how did this happen, and what can be done about it?

Is there a big international conspiracy? (I’m not into conspiracy theories, but I do question assets that have not been worked for.)

As far as the Elsden article is concerned, I detect no comment on whether our woes have been caused by our membership (or not) of the EU.

Years ago there were voices among small businesses in our town centre trying to organise themselves into bodies that could improve things for us all; these collapsed in a sea of apathy.

David Jones

Spalding

We need a Labour government

Wages are flatlining while bills skyrocket. This is a wages crisis and working people deserve better. Just this week, the Office for National Statistics confirmed that the real value of average wages (once inflation is taken into account) has fallen by almost 4% since a year ago.

Just recently inflation almost hit 12%. Our bills are soaring, energy, childcare,food and fuel, but pay is flatlining. The Tories promised a high wage economy, but the reality is anything but.

This Government, distracted by its own internal warfare, is standing by while the country gets a pay cut after 12 years of austerity.

The country clapped for the key workers who put their lives on the line to keep the country going during the pandemic, but now the Government is giving public sector workers a below-inflation slap in the face.

Postal workers have had a 2% pay award (otherwise known as a pay cut) imposed on them, while the Royal Mail group made £758m profits, and handed £400m to shareholders. It’s no wonder that 97.6% of CWU members voted Yes to strike action.

Working people are standing together to say they have had enough. And when they are left with no choice but to take industrial action, we stand with them.

It doesn’t matter who wins the Tory leadership contest. The Tories have presided over more than a decade of decline, and whoever wins it will be more of the same. Neither Sunak nor Truss has a plan to make life better for working people and their families.

We need a Labour government that will raise wages and put power back into workers’ hands by strengthening individual and collective rights.

Rodney Sadd

Union delegate, South Holland & The Deepings CLP