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Readers' letters – February 18-25, 2020




Let’s hope for a fairer system

The UK’s poorest regions have been falling behind the rest of Europe over the past decade, according to EU data analysed by the High Pay Centre think tank.

Voters will now be looking to see if the new government will keep its promise and direct billions of pounds of investment into the Midlands and North of England.

The research found that the number of UK regions with Gross Domestic Product per capita below 75% of the EU average increased from three in 2008 to seven in 2017, the most recent figures.

The analysis focused on how the poorest UK regions have compared to the EU average over time, and how they compared to the most prosperous EU countries in particular.

The seven regions - Southern Scotland, West Wales and the Valleys, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Lincolnshire, Tees Valley and Durham, South Yorkshire and Outer London, East and North East - are all poorer than anywhere else in North West Europe.

And the relative performance of the poorest regions has also worsened over time. The number of regions below 90% of the EU average has also risen from 18 to 23 since 2008.

The findings are considered significant, because the EU uses the 75% and 90% thresholds for allocating funding to poorer regions, meaning the UK would have been eligible for increased funding had it remained in the EU.

So living in one of the poorest regions in the country, let’s hope central government can deliver a fairer funding system for our local communities in Lincolnshire.

Rodney Sadd

Spalding

Kissing goodbye to our economy

I completely agree with Rodney Sadd on the need for our government to support our automotive sector through the challenges of Brexit on the one hand and the opportunities for “decarbonising” in response to the global climate emergency on the other.

One particular point that especially impressed me in Rodney’s letter is that, when mentioning the importance of electric vehicles, he distinguished between today’s technology, namely battery-power, and the real future for all environmentally-friendly motorised transport, namely hydrogen fuel cells.

It’s a little known fact that hydrogen fuel cell technology happens to be another great British invention.

The original idea dates back to Welsh scientist, William Grove, in 1838, and the great breakthrough came when Tom Bacon, working with Marshall in Cambridge, developed the hydrogen fuel cell that powered the extraordinary Apollo 11 moon landing module.

Indeed, President Nixon, when congratulating Tom Bacon in person, said: “Tom, without you we would not have gotten to the Moon.”

Unfortunately, as a nation, we’ve never (as yet) properly exploited this fantastic British invention.

However, the real plight of the British automotive industry is even more dire than Rodney describes in his letter. Back in 2012, Patrick Minford, Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School, head of the pro-Brexit campaign group “Economists for Free Trade” and the person who advised Margaret Thatcher to introduce the Poll Tax in 1989, told MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that: “It is perfectly true that if you remove protection of the sort that has been given particularly to the car industry and other manufacturing industries inside the protective wall, you will have a change in the situation facing that industry, and you are going to have to run it down.

“It will be in your interests to do it, just as in the same way we ran down the coal and steel industries.”

Currently, the government is committed not just to leaving the political institutions of the UK but also to leaving the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union.

Prior to the General Election, Boris Johnson went to Nissan in Sunderland and personally promised workers that his “ready-made deal” would protect their supply chains and jobs. But, earlier this week, Michael Gove formally announced that: “We will have to be ready for the customs procedures and regulatory checks that will inevitably follow.”

So, unless PM Johnson starts thinking about the best interests of our country, we can expect to kiss goodbye to huge sectors of our economy, including automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, agriculture, farming, pharmaceuticals, and so on.

Alan Meekings

via email

Thank you for publishing the article about the dangerous condition of Two Plank Bridge.

I am delighted to learn that Sir John Hayes shares my concern about this accident waiting to happen.

I have been left totally confused by your last two paragraphs.

I have reported the vandalism several times, each time ringing Welland & Deepings Drainage Board who then refer me to LCC Highways, who they say are responsible for bridges.

Now LCC are saying that they do not own the bridge & there is no public right of way across it. Do they expect us to believe that they have been repairing someone else’s bridge out of the goodness of their hearts? - I think not.

If there is no right of way across the bridge, are hundreds of people trespassing on a daily basis? Also, why then are they planning to re-route Two Plank Lane as part of their ridiculous estate road project, disguised as a relief road?

John Batterham

Spalding

Thought For the Week: Thank God that you are heard

I’m getting deaf; perhaps it is happening to other people, too. Once upon a time I could pick up bird-song and whispering at the back of the class but no longer, I regret to say. It’s a bit of a nuisance for all parties, not least anyone wanting to communicate with me.

So can I share some words of advice for the hearing majority. Firstly, do not assume the person in front of you can hear you, because deafness is invisible. “Judge not”, said Jesus. Instead, be careful to make sure you are heard and understood.

Secondly, say what you have to say as simply and clearly as possible. “Let your yes be yes and your no be no” said Jesus. We tend to wrap things up far too much, often to blur and confuse; take the risk of telling things as they actually are, in trust that they will ring true and everyone will know where you stand.

Thirdly, remember that words can often be a barrier rather than a bridge, particularly with God. "Do not babble on, thinking that by using many words you will make yourself heard; God knows what you need before you ask Him". And, if it’s true with God, it’s probably true with the people around you who care for you, too. So thank God for your hearing, but thank God that you are heard, as well.

Roger Seal

Spalding Quaker Meeting



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