A lasting tribute

IN THE 19th century, people flooded into Liverpool from many parts of the British Isles. They left their villages and close-knit communities, but they soon created their own village community in the streets were they settled.

Scotland Road was a good example of this. The people in that area built their own schools and churches out of their hard-earned money working on the docks and the other related industries in the port of Liverpool.

Many outstanding people came out of this community, despite the terrible poverty of the early days, and Scotland Road became alive with shops and places of entertainment. One of the biggest grocery chains in Liverpool had its head office on the road until the early part of the last century, selling 60 of its shops to the fledgling Liverpool Co-op Society. The road was alive until the 1960s and the gradual decline. Now gone are the shops and most of the infrastructure that holds a community together.

It may be hard for those of us who have never lived in this community of Scotland Road to understand the feeling of its people, and why they wish to preserve its heritage.

They have lost much of the heritage and culture of their ancestors, and that’s why they are fighting to have one of the few buildings on Scotland Road, the old bank building, preserved as a heritage centre. This community, along with many others, was at the forefront in the early days of the Port of Liverpool, in helping to turn into a great city.

Mike Kelly, via email

Easy target

OH, WONDERFUL. Less than one month into our year as Capital of Culture, and the old Capital of Gun Culture nonsense is being dragged up by a TV show. This is just what we don’t need in Liverpool.

Gun crime is no worse in Liverpool than elsewhere in the North-West. I think you will probably find that it is actually much higher in Manchester – you certainly get that impression from listening to the news broadcasts.

What Liverpool is, is a soft target and it is about time we put a stop to us being used in this way.

K Twist, Wavertree

Ban his record

I AM sure I will not be the first to write to you regarding Ringo Starr. I write with particular reference to his rudeness to reporters on the night of the 2008 celebrations and for his derogatory responses when being interviewed by Jonathan Ross on his show last week.

We, as a city, have had enough bad press, but I do not expect someone as famous as Ringo to visibly turn his nose up at the mention of Liverpool.

I am 63 and was part of the Liverpool scene, going to the Cavern club in my lunch hour and evenings to see groups like The Beatles. If it had not been for people like myself buying the records, Ringo would not be where he is today. I suggest he remembers that.

I believe he only came to Liverpool to promote his record. Part of the writing in the record says “I never let you down” but as far as I am concerned he has well and truly let this city down and I hope he will never again be asked to the city.

I would also suggest record shops ban the sale of his record. Let’s give him something to turn his nose up at.

M Moss, L13

Skilled workers

ONCE again, Angela Eagle MP has not understood the concept of what is happening to Remploy, particularly the Central Cutting Unit, based in Wallasey.

The CCU is the best performing business in Remploy, called Performance Frontline and, as we speak, the unit has got plenty of work for the MOD and Police with a further 250,000 suits over the next five years, yet the company are still intent on closing it. The company talks about the offer of transferring to another site but that site is in is one of the worse performing businesses.

The company has said that all Remploy sites need to be down to a government funding of £9000 over the next couple of years. The business they are transferring us to is near £20,000 so where is the logic in that ?

The CCU is a highly skilled manufacturing unit and, if it’s allowed to close, those skills will be left to languish forever. Angela has got to stop towing the party line over this issue. We urge the new Secretary of State to halt any factories closures until a new review has taken place 1600 disabled people are counting on him.

Paul Bragg, GMB senior steward

Loss of autonomy

I WOULD like to disagree with Larry Neild’s suggestion (Daily Post, January 28) that local authorities should cease to raise any council tax. He favours an arm’s-length funding commission setting a four-year budget for each authority.

How arm’s length would this commission be? If its members were appointed by the Government, not very arm’s length I fancy. Also, the Chancellor would be keeping a very close eye on the amount of money being allocated to local government out of the national pot.

I fear it would be a recipe for a further loss of autonomy by our local councils. The amount raised locally should go up, not down, and councillors should be judged by their results.

I do agree with Larry’s proposal for all-out elections every four years and a Liverpool City Region lottery, but first we need the City Region in anything but name.

Jim Hancock, Lymm

Save our money

THERE is a lot of talk about road service repairs. Many of these are as a result of poor re-instatement after utility companies have installed cables, gas pipes, and drains. The council employ an army of inspectors, clerks of works, managers, etc so why do they allow civil engineering organisations to get away with it?

Rules exist, inspection is easy, and the manpower is present, so make the responsible companies put the road surface back in good order before they leave the site. If they fail to live up to expectation then they should be banned from disturbing existing road surfaces except in an emergency.

That would mean very large and wealthy utility companies would have to be more responsible as to who they give contracts to. If this means a dent in the profits so what? It is better than a big hole in council finances which is our money.

Name and address supplied

Under threat

WITH regards to JD Walton’s letter of January 23, in which he thanked the Labour Party’s Gerard Woodhouse for organising a petition to save City Road Post Office. I find this very strange, as it is the Labour Party that is responsible for closing the Post Office in the first place.

Let us be very clear as to why the Post Office is being closed, it is because under EU legislation no individual nation can offer subsidies to businesses.

Therefore any business that can not survive without a subsidy, will close. No matter how long the petition, no matter how many public consultations and no matter how much the government is listening, it will close.

The Labour Party has consistently passed EU legislation on to our Statute books without any debate in Parliament. And, after promising to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution in their election manifesto, have now reneged on that promise.

Mr Walton, you need to ask Mr Woodhouse why he supports a party that is closing your Post Office.

Joe Moran, UK Independence Party, Liverpool Branch

Ongoing crimes

ON SUNDAY, the Holocaust Memorial Day celebrated at Liverpool Cathedral was broadcast on BBC Radio. I listened attentively for a single mention of Palestine, particularly of the suffering people imprisoned and under siege in Gaza. There was none. This omission seems to me to be particularly reprehensible given that the Christian faith owes its very existence to Palestine.

In spite of the Rafah Wall being broken down by Gazans in a desperate bid to get foodstuffs and medications for their families, little has changed in terms of unemployment, poverty and the denial of food, medicine and fuel by the Israeli authorities. Gazan children continue to suffer from malnutrition. Sick people are avoidably dying.

How can a city and a Christian community publicly abhor the racism, militarism and genocide of the past and fail to voice its’ opposition to present crimes of militarism and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians? Holocaust commemorations are reduced to the appearance of political correctness if those attending fail to take action against present racial cruelty.

Anne Candlin, Lancashire

Flood fears

I AM writing regarding the state of Everton Cemetery, Long Lane, Liverpool. I worked there for 12 years and know from personal experience the dreadful state it gets into in the winter.

Why haven’t the pathways been looked at to stop the flooding which has a knock-on effect to the areas where loved ones are buried?

People should take a look at this before considering burying loved ones there.

People were told these areas would be a priority when the private sector took over and Glendales have been in charge for the last year but nothing has changed.

P Corke, L9

Fake Scouse

RE: ROSALIND McART (Letters, January 28) and the earlier correspondent who talked about the accent of Liverpool “gerls” hits on a serious subject. I am fed up of hearing awful Scouse accents forced on television programmes.

Nobody really talks in such a way in this city; it is done for emphasis by “professional Scousers” who should be ashamed of themselves.

A Moore, Aintree