Readers' letters from Friday 8 Jun 2007

Boot camp will sort it

AS a 68-year-old ex-soldier who saw service in the Middle East in the 1950s, I am distressed and appalled at the lawlessness, disregard for the police and lack of proper sentences handed out to the low-life in our society.This country is a total shambles from top to bottom, no discipline whatsoever. People are getting money for not doing a day’s work, watching and laughing at people going out to work to pay for their beer.Compared to the 1950s, the people in this country are on a different planet – kids trashing neighbours’ gardens and cars, while their mothers are sat watching the soaps, comparing themselves to the antics of the fools they are watching. The people in power in this country have got to get a grip. Listen to the people who matter, the taxpayers, stop listening to the do-gooder brigade, civil liberties groups and rubbish of their ilk. We never had this lot in the ’50s and ’60s. Look at the state of the country now. Prisoners with TVs in their cells and even getting paid for the privilege of robbing, knifing, or murdering someone. What’s going on? Two years’ National Service for both male and female parties, disregarding colour, creed, race or religion, has got to be brought in. Two years’ rough, tough discipline instilled into them all on a boot camp basis. I will be the first to apply as an instructor. It happens in Europe Mr Blair, so come on, give the taxpayers the respect they deserve. It’s the taxpayer that’s funding all the handouts to the lazy brigade, as well as the NHS etc.On some estates, because they are working, it can take taxpayers two weeks to be able to see their own doctor, whilst the lazy brigade can go in next morning and see a doctor. The priorities in this country are upside down. God help us all for the future if it goes any lower into decline. It’ll be mob rule.

Ex-Tank Driver, Manchester

Second-rate universities?

THE letters from MMU students Kate Dutton and Gary Hall rightly defend the students of MMU. The efforts of individuals to better themselves should not be undermined. However, many young people are currently enrolled on courses at what are sadly classed as second-rate universities. Many courses will be of little benefit to them or the wider community. Perhaps with the exception of the local drinking establishments. Many of the courses are surely wholly worthwhile but can in no way be classified as academic degrees.The MMU degree, Leisure Studies, for example, is probably a good vocational course but is classified as a degree. But surely everyone will agree with me, this is not an academic subject.Kate Dutton an aspiring writer suggests the students of MMU will be future doctors, although MMU does not run medical degrees. Gary Hall suggests university should be available to all no matter what their intelligence. Surely this cannot be right? This confusion and resentment has grown from a government obsession with sending everyone to university, and the reclassification of the old polytechnics as ‘universities’. Time to admit not everyone should be going to university.

R B, Fallowfield

Not kids' fault

 I AGREE with Fed-up Driver, Stockport (Postbag, June 5) that more school buses will ease congestion. However I don’t agree with his conclusion that congestion is caused by the school run. He looks back to the time when it was unheard of for school children to be driven to school. But you don’t have to go back much further to find a time when the majority of adults also travelled to work without using a car. And if businesses had synchronised holidays in the same way that schools do, you would find that congestion would be alleviated in those periods too, as currently happens during the school holidays. Car-driving commuters who use schoolchildren as a scapegoat are in denial about the fact that their choice of transport is also contributing to congestion. Why should schoolchildren be banned from travelling by car whilst adults remain free to do so? The idea for more school buses doesn’t go far enough: we need a first-class integrated public transport network, along with measures to encourage walking and cycling, providing both children and adults with an alternative to the car. And if car drivers have to pay a little more to finance these improvements, I think that is a price worth paying. And a majority of M.E.N. readers and a majority of the businesses represented at a recent Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce meeting agree.

Jonathan Whitehead, Prestwich

Campaign now

NOW that the plans for congestion charging have been published, it is clear it would be a massive extra tax. For many people it would cost more than the council tax to get to work to earn some money.Once charges are introduced they would soon increase massively (as in London) both in cost and in scope. So many people would no longer be able to afford to run a car. Other people will just have huge chunks taken out of their income equivalent to 5p or 10p or even more in the pound extra in income tax for supposed transport improvements they may not even see, let alone benefit from.We therefore need a strong campaign against congestion charging. As part of that I am organising petitioning house to house in politically critical parts of Greater Manchester to show local politicians that most people are against this. So please could anybody willing to help in this important way telephone me on 0161 798 9173.This really is a case of campaign vigorously now or pay a fortune later.

Geoffrey Berg, Prestwich

United shame

I WOULD like to reiterate totally the sentiments expressed by Nobby, Moston (Postbag, May 31) regarding Manchester United forcing all its season ticket holders to join the Automatic Cup scheme.The club appears to be treating its loyal supporters with absolute disdain with no regard for their preferences. It is tantamount to blackmail stating there are 13,000 members on the waiting list. Not satisfied with the high increase in season ticket prices for next season, they have imposed this compulsory membership of the Automatic Cup scheme. Is this legal?They seem to forget that many of their grass roots supporters are ordinary working class folk who struggle to get the money together for the season ticket. It is because of their support that the club is where it is today.My season ticket has been in the family for 55 years.My late father had it before me. My brother also has a season ticket in another part of the ground. Under the old rules we were able to purchase two seats together for the Cup games.It would appear that the fans are victims of the influence of the Glazer family who are motivated by the desire to make huge profits and to repay the vast debt they have incurred in purchasing the club.

Disgusted, Stretford