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Not setting an example

Walking out of Sainsbury’s store at Stratton last evening, I noticed a lady purposefully drop a wrapper of some sort out of her car window. She immediately looked at me as I approached, and I looked at the wrapper. As I walked past the car and unlocked my own the lady moved off and on turning started to scream at me in language that can only be described as abusive and colourful. Sat next to her was a young child looking most puzzled as to what was going on. She continued here tirade as she executed yet another turn all the while looking at me, presumably brought about by the fact that she had been caught deliberately littering.

As she slowed down for yet another verbal attack I mentioned the fact that she was doing all this in front of her children. That seemed to take her peculiar behaviour to another level and she continued to scream and curse all the way up to the give way line some 100 metres away. As she held up three cars behind, her screams continued and I could still hear her as she turned and headed off up to the main road.

My point here is that as a driving instructor, my colleagues and I will eventually have her children sat next to us wanting to learn to drive. We then have the task of trying to convince them that their parent’s behaviour is not acceptable and should not be considered as normal.

If the lady concerned should read this, perhaps she would be good enough to explain her behaviour and in particular how she can mitigate the damage caused to her children.

Neil Maw, Osprey Close, Covingham

Leavers are not Nazis

How very sad that supporters of the political construct that is the EU resorted to the unedifying spectacle of recently parading placards claiming that ‘17 million voted for Hitler, 17 million for Brexit, 17 million can be wrong’.

However, such an assertion is not uncommon and has even been aired in the House of Lords.

The essential difference between the somewhat absurd connection being made is that in the EU referendum a clear majority voted to leave the EU – no ifs, no buts – just leave, and yes everyone who voted was told that would mean leaving the customs union and the single market.

What no one can really understand is why the bureaucrats in Brussels are being so intransigent and are not willing to formulate a mutually beneficial trade deal with the UK. After all there is a perfectly acceptable fallback position in which we trade with the EU under WTO rules, just as the USA, Canada, Australia and China does. It is clear from statistics provided by the EU that trade with those countries is on the increase whereas trade with its UK partner is not.

I listen to business leaders berate the Government for not having a plan and for not accelerating Brexit negotiations, regrettably it takes two willing partners to negotiate and very little is possible when one side is determined to frustrate and reject any proposal put forward.

Just out of interest Hitler’s National Socialist Party didn’t gain enough seats for an overall majority and relied upon the 53 seats of the DVP to cement their power base (so perhaps we should examine the logic of allowing political coalitions).

Des Morgan, Caraway Drive, Swindon

Perfect replacement

With the forthcoming closure of the House of Fraser store in the town centre, the search will be on for another retail business to move into this huge, and still relatively new, building.

Why not invite John Lewis to move from its current Mannington base to the town centre? This would be the ideal flagship store to attract many more shoppers back to the town centre, and would complement the vibrant food area called The Crossing that has grown up nearby.

With the new electric train link to London and the south east, and thousands of new houses springing up to the east of the town, Swindon needs to compete and attract more people to the town, and a store like John Lewis in the town centre will be a major draw.

The council should encourage such a move by offering advantageous rent and business rates in order to offset the costs of relocating.

A win-win solution for John Lewis, the council, and Swindon.

Bob Harriss, Weedon Road, Swindon

Too many sinners?

Yet another forecast of the rapture for this year’s summer solstice.

But the big question is not about the disciples following their leader to the promised land but more, is there enough room below for all the sinners left behind?

Miss K Collins

Lyndhurst Crescent, Swindon

All a bit confusing

TD Reynolds latest letter fails to correct the confusion of the first and adds another.

He wants to pin the failures of the last, Blairite, Labour Government on Jeremy Corbyn. This despite Corbyn’s consistent opposition to those policies at the time and the fact that those polices of deregulation were Tory policies unopposed by the then Conservative opposition, which Mr Reynolds supported.

Then Mr Reynolds suggests the global crash of 2008 happened because “RBS tried to take over the world banks” showing, apart from other things, a complete confusion of symptoms and causes.

The RBS policy of snapping up financial institutions happened in a period where frenzied takeovers were common here and abroad. Governments, corporations and their tame media everywhere were dizzy with profits from speculative bubbles. Investing in the production of things which people need didn’t bring the profits the rich thought the world owed them, so we got either recession or speculative bubbles. Private debt also compensated for stagnating wages.

As the media and politicians told us capitalist crisis was a thing of the past finance took an ever greater role in the economy as speculation brought bigger profits for the few.

And now ordinary people have been squeezed to pay for the crisis, as wealth is shifted to the rich and the same media that supported the failed politics in the first place seek to persuade us to blame it all on immigrants.

Peter Smith, Woodside Avenue, Swindon