INDUSTRY experts predict that a pint of beer will cost in the region of £6.50 within the next four years – thanks to Gordon Brown’s alcohol taxes.

The British Beer and Pub Association say the extra taxes, introduced by Gordon Brown in this year’s Budget, mean we’ll be paying a small fortune for a pint in our local – with the bulk of the money going to the Government.

Even before Gordon Brown’s latest taxes, beer is already heavily taxed. For every pint we drink, 33p is beer duty, 37p is VAT and 44p is employment taxes – a staggering £1.14 per pint.

People who want to go to the pub for a pint at the end of a hard day’s work are being unfairly hit by Gordon Brown’s tax rises. As, indeed, are people who choose to smoke. Not being able to smoke in at least one room of a public house is ludicrous. I am most disappointed with my own party in relation to their apparent blanket acceptance of the ban on smoking. Whatever happened to personal freedom and choice in this country?

Is it any wonder that 57 pubs every month are now closing down, unable to compete with the cheap booze in supermarkets and “booze cruises” which escape the higher taxes.

Cllr Martyn Barber, Conservative, Manor Ward

Let the banks fail

I HAVE never had the slightest interest in politics or writing letters to the local paper; but the announcement by the Labour Government, to bail the banks out to the tune of £50bn, has annoyed me so much. This adds up to over £100bn, with Bradford & Bingley and the Northern Rock buy-out.

These banks have allowed speculators to abuse the system at our expense, but, once those same banks are in trouble, the Government, without a mandate from the electorate, uses taxpayers’ money to save them from financial ruin.

Would the Government do the same for you or I if we got into trouble with our business? Absolutely not! Has the Government helped local authorities out, once they’ve slashed the grant to them? Absolutely not. Does the Government care about the strict rules it has imposed on local authorities and the most vulnerable in our society? Absolutely not!

Does the Government look for a scapegoat every time they make massive mistakes? Absolutely!

Please, Mr Brown, go to the country now, let the voters decide. The country is in financial ruin, companies are closing down for good or imposing short-term working, and the blame lies at your door for your sheer ignorance.

Mike Crawley, via email

No choice but to help

I KNOW it is galling that our hard-earned cash is to be spent bailing out banks and bankers who have been living the Champagne lifestyle for years, and whose risk- taking and gambling got us all into this mess in the first place. But, really, what other choice does the Government have other than to prop up the banking system?

Does anyone really want to see the entire financial system on which not only our economy but our whole society is built upon, collapse around our ears?

If banks stop loaning to each other, they stop loaning to businesses and they stop loaning to us. Where do we go then? The financial institutions have messed up, but now we have no choice but to clean up their mess and move forward. However, what we must not do is allow them to continue as they were before, and I have every confidence in Brown and Darling that they will make the banks learn from their mistakes.

L Owen, Aintree

No cash for crime

I AM frightened by the attitude of this Government regarding taxpayers’ money and safety.

I have done some research into this, and am astounded that the Government have, in fact, taken millions away from Liverpool for fighting crime, while sorting the banks out with £100bn.

This at a time when the news media are continually telling us of murders, assaults and attacks. I cannot believe this today, and am confused as to how we, as a civilised society, can accept this ignorance.

The Government have abdicated their responsibility, and left the poor chief constables and their officers to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

Sara Smith, via emai

Ludicrous vandalism

IF EVER an act of ludicrous vandalism were about to be perpetrated upon the heritage of Liverpool, Bishop Jones’s hideous plan to desecrate thousands of graves in order to build a completely unwanted and unnecessary block of flats must win the prize. Is he of the impression that Liverpool is short of “luxury apartment” for sale at present?

St James’s Church is of quite unique importance. Apart from its connection with the slave trade, with many of the graves containing the remains of slaves who settled in Liverpool, it is also a building of unique architectural importance. Built in 1775, it is the oldest surviving church in Britain to have been built with cast-iron pillars.

The Bishop may object that the church will remain, but to deprive it of its magnificent setting would be simply criminal. It would be far more appropriate for everyone if the church surrendered the property to a trust who could attempt to gain funds to refurbish the interior, as well as the grounds and the magnificent but sadly neglected entrance. I am sure the dead would prefer a garden with seating to a block of flats. It would also be helpful if the council could eventually repair the collapsed wall and railings along Parliament Street, which have been lying on the pavement for years.

In a city wishing to attract thousands of tourists to visit our cultural heritage, and has just established a world-renowned Museum of Slavery, to utterly deface this wonderful heritage would be catastrophic. It ought to be an essential part of anyone’s visit to that museum.

In the meantime, can someone moderate this Bishop before he has flats in St James’s Cemetery behind the Cathedral.

Ian Poole, Mossley Hill

Both sides to story

TWO stories on evolution appeared in your newspaper on October 7.

Evolutionists would have us believe that we are the descendants of apes and other primitive prehistoric creatures who evolved from a common ancestor that emerged from a pond billions of years ago. The latest claim is that we humans are so advanced and close to perfection now that there’s not much evolving left do! That appeals strongly to human pride, but I would argue that these evolution theories are based not on real observations and undisputed facts but more on speculation and opinion based on an evolutionary interpretation of the data.

Increasingly, people, including those with scientific qualifications, can’t take these claims about our alleged ape or pondlife ancestry seriously, and find that Biblical Creationism or Intelligent Design makes far more sense. I encourage readers to explore both sides of the debate.

Sharon Roberts, L3

Save green spaces

I NOTICED that a stretch of semi-wilderness next to Hightown station has been sold off to be developed.

When I passed it last it was a peaceful green oasis, dotted with trees, birds and people walking their dogs.

Pleasant green spaces are what make places like Hightown enviable areas to live in. Don’t get me wrong, I know there’s a housing shortage and people who live there are luckier than most in the lottery of life, and won’t get many people’s sympathy for the loss of one of their green spaces.

But the houses, or more likely apartments being built there and in places like Hightown, won’t solve the housing crisis and won’t provide solid, affordable housing for young families.

They’ll be sold at a premium for maximum profit for the developer and have the label “luxury” stuck in front of them.

We shouldn’t be giving up the country’s dwindling patches of urban green space, which provide animal habitats and a breathing space for locals, for housing which benefits very few people.

PM, Crosby

We’ve lost billions

NORTH-WEST Euro MP, Arlene McCarthy, is to be commended for making a public disclosure of all her financial interests and allowances. She even lists her attendance at a Kylie Minogue concert and a number of football matches.

Clearly, she has her accounts in order and up-to-date, so perhaps she could offer her help to her neighbours in Brussels, the European Commission.

For the thirteenth year in a row their accountants, the Court of Auditors, have been unable to approve the EU Budget. Last year, UK taxpayers contributed £60.1bn of which a “mere” £9.5bn returned to the UK, leaving us a shortfall of £50.6bn. Shouldn’t someone be sorting out these payments?

Daniel Oxley (UK Independence Party)

Two teams in city

I HAVE read your recent coverage of The Shankly Show, at the Royal Court.

How can this theatre be so ignorant to think that people are only interested in going to see a show about Bill Shankly? There are two teams in Liverpool, you know. Where is the Harry Catterick Show or The Dixie Dean Show? Are any of the staff at the Royal Court from Liverpool? If so, let’s see a show that us blues can enjoy.

Tony Higgins, disgruntled Evertonian

L1 is breathtaking

I HAVE just been to Liverpool One for the first time since the second phase opened and can I just say, wow! I was impressed with the initial opening but I was not at all prepared for how amazing the whole area was going to look when the rest was unveiled.

It really is breathtaking. Liverpool has truly been reborn.

Pat Sherlock, Seaforth