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100 years of progress

As an elected councillor in Shaw Ward, I am proud to represent my community, standing up for the rights of residents, and my party.

International Women’s Day reminds me that this was a privilege denied to many women just over 100 years ago, with only a small number having the right to be elected to borough and county councils in England and Wales.

While certain women were allowed to represent their communities, it was thanks to the efforts of the suffrage movement, which finally saw women across the country get the right to vote.

It would have been hard to believe for many that 100 years later the second female Prime Minister, Theresa May, would give a speech to mark the centenary of women’s right to vote. As the Prime Minister said in her speech in Manchester last month, we have made huge progress in advancing women’s rights, but there is still a long way to go. 

In my work as a councillor, I know how important sites such as Facebook and Twitter are to interact with residents and promote the good work of councils. But it is all too common that this is accompanied by rudeness, intimidation and aggression. This is stifling public debate, deterring people from participating in politics and threatening our democracy. Democracy that women such as Emmeline Pankhurst fought hard to win. 

Coun Mary Martin, Shaw Ward of Swindon Borough Council

Honda will not be hit

It is simply incredible that anyone could give any credibility to an alleged claim by Honda UK that ‘a single 15-minute delay in getting a lorry through customs (should the EU impose restrictions on movements) would cost them £850,000 per annum’ (SA 8 March).

It’s such a silly claim I had to look at the date to see it was still March and not April 1. Let’s consider just three known variables which could affect deliveries to Honda’s suppliers.

1. A supply truck breaks down en route to Swindon and its delivery time is affected by 15 minutes, will that cost Honda £850k?

2. Bad weather closes a major route into Swindon (it happened last week) and trucks can’t get through, will that cost Honda £850k?

3. A truck carrying components leaves it European location and breaks down en route to the port or Euro Tunnel, will that cost Honda £850k?

Of course, Honda will not be hit with a cost. It may cause some logistical headaches for Honda’s network of suppliers but you can be assured that any penalties for late delivery will be charged to the supplier and not borne by Honda.

There are a number of delivery scenarios which can affect Honda’s production line efficiency – a 15-minute delay of a truck at a customs facility in Dover isn’t one of them. However, I would hope that Honda are lobbying the EU to make sure that frictionless trade between Europe and the UK is maintained post Brexit.

Des Morgan, Caraway Drive, Swindon