Spalding Guardian letters to the editor

We should all be served equally

The recent correspondence concerning car parks and possible charges has caused some heartache and concern, especially in the eastern end of our district.

Despite denials, the notices displayed clearly indicate a suggestion that charges be introduced to many other car parks.

Was the letter prepared in Spalding or Dereham we have to surmise?

The revaluation of business rates hit Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge disproportionately heavily, the next nearest similarly impinged community being Southwell in Suffolk.

The money to district from government to alleviate this peculiar discrepancy was improperly 'spread' across the district, and not especially spent in the communities affected.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. The same notice refers to Kings Road in Sutton Bridge, which does not exist.May we be entitled to guess that our local affairs are now being run from Kensington and Chelsea rather than Dereham?

One's heart sinks, yet again, at the thoughtlessness and lack of empathy shown to the smaller communities in South Holland and by an authority which should be serving all equally.

Coun Chris Brewis (LCC and SHDC)

Sutton Bridge

Successful year of fundraising

Spalding Lions would like to say a big thank you to all the residents of the villages that we recently visited with Santa. We have had one of the most successful years of raising money and it would not be so without your kind donations. We would also like to say thank you to Morrisons and Sainsbury supermarkets for supporting us. Thank you to all those businesses that offer support, either helping the sleigh run smoothly or giving produce that we give to our elderly residents. The money that we raise is to help our community in Spalding and the area.

This is the busiest time of the year for Spalding Lions, joining together to bring some festive cheer to the community. Santa is warmly welcomed by all on his visits, he makes sure that those that wish to speak to him are given the opportunity to let him hear their Christmas wish. Volunteer helpers join us on this mammoth task, making it possible that a wide area of the district is visited.

All these organisations will receive a donation from Spalding Lions. When not with the sleigh, Spalding Lions visit some of the elderly residents of Spalding, giving them a musical evening with carols and songs from their era. These evenings are received with much enthusiasm from the elderly residents.

Once again, a big thank you to all of those involved with our Christmas activities. We will be doing various fundraising events during 2019 and we hope to see you all there.

Spalding Lions

via email

As easy as breaking into a box of cornflakes

And so it goes on (Illegal immigrants story, Spalding Guardian, January 10).

Whether it’s jumping out of a dingy or falling out the back of a lorry, it’s about as difficult to enter Britain illegally as it is to break in to a box of cornflakes.

This has been going on for years with the government failing to take decisive action to secure our borders and in fact overseeing the run down of the border security force.

What has the ‘legend’ Sir John Hayes, a former security minister, got to say about this? I won’t be holding my breath.

Rick Stringer

Sutton St James

Sir John remains a stalwart defender of Brexit

During the EU referendum, I had the immense good fortune to occupy a senior position on the Leave campaign that afforded a superb vantage point of what was going on politically. Since then, I have helped run two major Brexit think tanks that have continued to provide key insight.

In recent weeks, perhaps inevitably, there have been some London diarists’ mutterings that perhaps our local MP Sir John Hayes was going wobbly on account of getting his knighthood. However, having witnessed at first hand his boldness during the campaign as the most senior Home Office figure to support leave, and his persistence since then in speaking up for the delivery of the referendum result, I personally have never been in doubt.

On Monday, his passionate speech during the Brexit debate in Parliament confirmed all this publicly. Sir John was ‘gongified’ for his successful work in several ministerial posts. But he remains a battler for his constituents, and a stalwart defender of the Brexit vote.

Dr Lee Rotherham

Formerly Director of Special Projects, Vote Leave

Director, Red Cell think tank

Executive Director, Veterans for Britain