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

Stagnation of economy hidden by rosy specs

Henry Smith objects to my reference to Boris Johnson’s actual record in my response to his St Boris narrative, saying it smacks of sour grapes.

He goes on to talk about Johnson’s achievements but doesn’t mention any.

Henry then invites us to delve into the history of past Labour Governments saying “every Labour government from Ramsay McDonald … has left economic havoc…”

The word limit prevents a proper treatment of this misdirection but if we just take national debt as a measure, the figures show that every Labour Government has left the country in debt but so did every non- Labour Government.”

And, for two Labour Governments the ratio of debt to GDP actually increased (including that arising from the global crash rather than domestic policies).

But three Conservative governments increased the debt to GDP ratio, i.e Tory Governments did worse.

Incidentally the Ramsay McDonald Government was also responding to an international slump.

And from 1931 to 1935 he lead the National Government, not a labour Government but a coalition of right wing Labour dreck, Conservatives and liberals.

In any case I have never defended past Labour Governments as they have all behaved as Tory Governments would have in times of economic crisis, and squeezed workers to boost profits.

This is the real problem with Henry Smith’s view.

He abstractly muses about turning tankers but fails to realise our system is based on squeezing workers to feed profit to the entitled rich.

The continuing stagnation of the Economy, domestic and global are invisible to Henry through his tints.

Peter Smith, Woodside Avenue, Swindon

Maternity unit chaos

Slowly the background to the whole Maternity Transformation is emerging.

During the whole process the actual goal posts were changed by the government.

The Private Finance Initiative was scrapped, making the building of a new birthing unit at the Royal United Hospital much more difficult.

The BANES/Swindon/Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group did not take time to reconsider the impact of this on the transformation process, even when 62 per cent of the respondents opposed the closure of the Trowbridge Birthing Centre, (it’s large 140,000 catchment area includes Westbury, Melksham and Bradford on Avon).

So now the inflexible rigidity of the clinical commissioning group has pushed the whole maternity process into crisis.

The Trowbridge birthing unit is to close in April.

The earliest that the new Stand Alongside Birthing Unit at RUH could be ready is 2023!

A yawning three year gap in maternity provision.

Because of the scrapping of PFI the funding is not in place for the new RUH birthing unit facility - the CCG has to fund the new unit out of its own resources.

The RUH is forced into planning yet another public appeal!

Thus the capacity, capability and even the possibility of a stand alongside birthing unit in the RUH is now in question.

Is this the behaviour of a responsible public body?

Sam Selman, Church Street, Melksham, Wiltshire