Letters to the Editor - 17th June 2008

Jun 17 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

Punish, don’t reward them

I WRITE in response to the article “Asbo Teens Cash Bonus” (Daily Post, June 13, 2008).

It seems to me that more and more taxpayers’ money is being thrown at agencies to reward those people who have been given ASBOs or are behaving in a way that causes nuisance.

Instead of throwing money at the problem, let’s get back to dealing with offenders by punishing them, not rewarding them.

I understand funding is available to provide diversionary activities to those classed as less fortunate, vulnerable, and on the cusp of criminality, but this is rewarding bad behaviour.

What message does that send to the vast majority of less fortunate, vulnerable and law-abiding well-behaved children and youths, who, simply because they behave themselves, do not enjoy the same rewards and diversionary activities as those who do not?

Please don’t misunderstand me, I fully support all initiatives to deal with anti-social, criminal and bad behaviour. However, it appears to me that the many agencies (and there appears to be hundreds) that are involved with these issues have lost their way in trying to achieve the myriad of targets being set by the Government.

They need to wake up, and stop rewarding offenders, and start using the laws and criminal justice system to penalise them.

Chris Blakeley,Conservative councillor for Moreton West and Saughall Massie

Credit to the young

I WOULD like to say a big thank you to a young taxi driver who works for Botanic Cars.

On Wednesday evening, I lost a large amount of money in a money bag, so I rang the office the next day and the lady there said she would ask the driver if he’d seen it.

To my delight, he found the bag still in his cab.

He came to visit me with the money and would not take a reward. He is a credit to the young people of our city.

John E Reeve, Old Swan

A chaotic route?

HAVING travelled to work by bus into the city centre business district since 1968, I have certainly seen numerous changes.

I have to say this last change to the traffic flow seems to have worked quite well, except as to where the various bus companies are stopping in Dale Street/North John Street area.

Some mornings they pull in before North John Street, other times they turn into North John Street, might stop or just carry on to Lord Street.

Others seem to carry on to the Town Hall.

Perhaps the route managers let the drivers know where they are supposed to stop.

Name and address supplied

Taboo of ‘the poor’

I LIKE opening up taboo subjects. I try and do it sensitively, not just for shock effect. Travelling the country in writing or the spoken word, I notice “poverty” is a sort of taboo subject.

People seem ashamed of their poor areas, and all cities seem to have them.

Perhaps we have a “Sunday suit” philosophy of life, admiring the rich while demonising the poor.

It’s not very nice because, unless you know someone’s real history, you don’t know how they became poor or rich.

Max Nottingham, Lincoln

End of an era

IT IS with great regret that I have to advise your readers that Aigburth People’s Hall closed its doors for the final time on Saturday.

This social club, in Aigburth Vale, has been in existence in one form or another for 107 years, and has operated in its current form, with a bar, since 1967.

The club has almost 400 members, many of whom feel a deep affection and loyalty towards it, and will be devastated by this news.

Many have been members all their adult lives and have made lifelong friends in the club. It will also be sad for the bowling members to see the demise of what is reputed to be one of the best crown green bowling greens in the area.

Although the APH still commands a substantial turnover, it has been operating at a loss for some time.

This is because, while historically the club was the social hub of Aigburth, in recent years it has been the victim of social change, with the younger people of the area preferring to gravitate towards Allerton Road, in spite of the excellent facilities.

As a result, it has been unable to cover the very significant overheads of the substantial building – the largest of which is £19,000 per annum in rent and rates to Liverpool City Council (to whom the land will now revert).

It is extremely sad to see the demise of an organisation that has been the centre of social life for so many people in the area.

I would like to express my regret that this closure has become necessary for financial reasons, but would also like to thank the many members who have regularly used the club for their support over the years both to the club itself and to me personally.

Phil Wolstenholme,Treasurer, Aigburth Peoples Hall

Sayle did well . . .

SAY what you like about Alexei Sayle, but his programme tonight shows to all how the city has improved and shows the new scene, shape and form of our new sky line.

Good programme. Can’t wait for more.

George Gibbons, Orrell

. . . No, he didn’t

ALEXEI SAYLE is like a few other so-called “celebrity” Scouse exiles who think that bad mouthing Liverpool will help them further their careers down in the ”big smoke”.

Name and address supplied

Where’s our vote?

VOTERS in Ireland have rejected the European Union’s Lisbon reform treaty in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%.

What is deeply disturbing is why only the Irish Republic allowed its people to vote.

Labour and the Lib-Dems promised us a vote on the new constitution at the last general election, then in the House of Lords voted to prevent us having our vote.

Never mind the UK invading Iraq to restore democracy. Maybe we should ask the Irish Republic to liberate the UK to restore democracy here?

Cllr Steve Radford, President of The Liberal Party

EU must be joking

CONGRATULATIONS to those voters in the Republic of Ireland who voted “No” to the Lisbon Treaty, despite the bullying tactics used by their politicians and from business leaders with more than a little help from the EU.

In a democracy, that should be the end of the Treaty. However, the EU is neither a democracy, nor is it interested in the wishes of the electorate.

In 2005, then voters of the Netherlands and France rejected the European Constitution and all that it stood for; however; the EU never takes no for an answer so it was renamed and is now the Lisbon Treaty, the EU leaders thinking people would believe that it was different – well, they don’t.

Despite the fact that all 27 member states must ratify the Treaty for it to go ahead, the EU leaders, including our very own Gordon Brown, are so determined to force it through, even twisting their own rules, that they are plotting to ignore the wishes of the Irish voters and implement it anyway.

The fact remains that, now it cannot be ratified as it has no legal entity and should therefore be cast to the dustbin of history.

We owe a great gratitude to the Irish voters for standing up for democracy. By rejecting this draconian Treaty, they set an example that we should follow. we must send a clear message to Gordon Brown that we demand a say in the future of our country, it is not his to give away.

Philip Griffiths,UK Independence Party

Let’s be fare

CAMPAIGNERS against Mersey Tunnel fees should note that the Dartford tunnel is a mainly through route, not a mainly commuter route like its Mersey counterparts.

They raise far more funds.

Allan Kershaw, via email

A soulless result

MICHAEL HORGAN (Daily Post, Letters, June 13) expresses views on the “new” Bluecoat that seem to represent the majority of correspondents to the Daily Post and other local publications.

What a shame that so much money should produce such a bleak and soulless end result, when compared to the warm and characterful venue it used to be.

I am so sad that we no longer have local “real” artists actually working within the venue.

Instead, the new centre aims to attract exhibitions from fashionable artists who are often better at writing and marketing their art than producing works of lasting merit.

We used to have several sculptors of ability working from the old Tyson Smith workshop, at the rear of the centre.

This was sacrificed to make way for the bland new wing. It also conveniently meant that one of the thoroughfares to the “sacred” Liverpool One shopping centre would have a nice clean (sterile) building backing on to it, instead of a working sculptors’ yard.

I know which I would rather have, and I’m not alone!

Simon Taylor, Liverpool 8

Let’s finish the job

I WRITE in support of Michael Durkin’s letter (Daily Post, Friday, June 13, 2008), advocating completion of the St John’s Beacon.

The original design of the tower, as approved by the planners, included a tall lattice mast.

This was never built and the whole structure has looked unfinished ever since.

There have been various suggestions, in recent years, to add a mast or spire, either as a functional aerial or as an illuminated artistic feature.

I agree that it is time to give this further consideration and, in support of the idea, I have prepared a cartoon showing possible alternatives, which has been on display in the View Two Gallery, in Mathew Street.

Trevor Skempton, L3