Letters: Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Division is democracy

I WOULD like to thank Adam Poole for his recent contributions to the letters page. His succinct and well argued letters have unfortunately been met with derision and contempt. Those against the EU have been loudly and vehemently voicing their opinions for decades, but since the referendum any pro-EU sentiments are immediately shouted down. The real reason for this is that Brexiteers are painfully aware that most of their arguments fall apart very quickly when challenged with reason and facts, so they don’t want to have the debate.

The irony of some of the letters I’ve seen recently is that they completely fail to understand that one of the greatest things about Britain is free speech, reasoned debate and reaching compromise through listening to opposing viewpoints. Incredibly, even Theresa May failed to understand this when she called the election, citing the ‘division’ in Westminster as a key reason. Westminster is supposed to be divided, that’s a sign of British democracy working properly.

On the subject of hypocrisy, I was interested to note that Bill Williams (5th May) was upset at the use of the term ‘kippers’ to describe UKIP, which he felt showed “contempt and disrespect”. I would like to know how exactly this is more contemptuous than the term “remoaners” (used by Bill on 1st May) or “loony lefty”, which I’m sure I would not have to delve too far into the Advertiser archives to find in one of Bill’s letters.

NEIL MERCER, Maidstone Road, Swindon

Stitched up like a...

OH dear oh dear, poor Bill Williams feels insulted by Adam Poole calling members of the UKIP kippers.

In these pages Conservatives have been called Tories. Labour called socialists. Libdems called liedems. The late coalition condems. Those who want to stay in the EU remoaners. People in the Green Party bearded sandal wearing tree huggers (this is particularly hurtful to the women).

This is all part of the cut and thrust of political debate, if you can’t take it Bill don’t dish it out, otherwise it is you who is showing your “true contempt and disrespect regarding educated principal and proper reference”.

STEVE THOMPSON, Norman Road, Swindon

Our hands are tied

In reply to Steve Halden (May 6) regarding the reduced opening hours at the Cheney Manor recycling centre, he is correct that Swindon seems to be in a permanent state of austerity.

Even the creation of the new parish councils do not seem to have put Swindon Council back onto a firm financial footing.

The source of all Britain’s economic problems arise from our EU membership. The EU has cherry picked all our best industries and taken then abroad to Europe for production. The result of this is Britain’s ever growing trade deficit with the rest of the world.

State aid and support for British industry is illegal within the EU Single Market. Britain is trying to trade with the world with our hands tied behind our backs by endless EU directives.

The government has to borrow a billion pounds a week just to keep the country on an even keel and this is without giving any financial help to British industry at all.

We have cleared the war debts that we built up in WW2 but EU membership has got us into even greater debt problems with the National Debt now rapidly approaching two trillion pounds.

TERRY HAYWARD, Burnham Road, Swindon

The people matter

There is irony in Steve Jack’s ( May 6) conclusion, implying opponents of Israel’s history of crimes against Palestinians are blinkered. My letters have referred to multiple and diverse authorities. Mr Jack’s Zionist apologetics have exclusively relied, directly or indirectly, on press releases from the Israeli army.

He refers to an attack in 1929 saying “the entire Jewish community of Hebron was wiped out.” Look at the context. This was a period when even two British commissions of enquiry could highlight an escalating cycle of violence caused by a massive influx of European settlers openly bent on taking Palestinian land. Palestinians were experiencing multiple acts of Zionist violence and having produce destroyed in markets. Zionists beat up Jewish women who bought Arab eggs at those markets. It is a tragedy that the 64 who were killed, members of the long standing, non Zionist Jewish part of the community in Hebron, could become victims of a response to Zionist provocations in that way.

He asks me to quote the UN and Red Cross on Israel’s siege of Jenin, which he says happened in the 1990s but actually happened in 2002. I don’t really think he wants to draw attention there. Israel barred the UN from investigating it. Kofi Annan caved in and produced a report despite lack of access. Nevertheless it remains highly critical of Israel. It also criticises Palestinian fighters but the criticism amounts to saying they shouldn’t be there. The Red Cross argued there was enough evidence to support an enquiry into Israeli war crimes.

Hamas did, in its original charter, call for the destruction of Israel but has long accepted its existence as all serious commentators acknowledge. In any case the destruction of a state, like the destruction of the South African apartheid state or Winston Churchill’s calls for the destruction of Germany’s Nazi state, is not the same as the destruction of a people.

PETER SMITH, Woodside Avenue, Swindon

Did they pay to park?

HAVING paid for car parking at Coate Water on Friday and noticed the traffic warden diligently checking every vehicle parked for valid tickets, I did wonder if he would probably have been better employed at Lydiard Park checking the travellers’ vehicles for parking tickets!

MIKE ILES, The Buntings, Covingham