Readers' letters from Friday 30 Nov 2007

Tranquil moment in heated debate

IN my opinion the prayers slot at the beginning of full council meetings is an essential couple of minutes of tranquillity and thoughtfulness that braces councillors for the following few hours of debate.An exchange that is usually heated and can sometimes be bruising. Surely we can continue to find a place in the council chamber for an uplifting few words from a priest/vicar/rabbi/imam or whoever?Their universal, simple honest appeal should help us to draw fully on the better side of our human nature while making decisions on behalf of our fellow citizens.At Salford council meetings it seems to be the convention that the visiting religious leader discreetly leaves the room not long after prayers have been said and council proceedings have got under way. It’s noticeable that it’s after this point that our standards of behaviour can fall. I think that it could be for the good of all for the cleric to stick it out for the full meeting and to speak up if s/he feels that, from a moral perspective, considerate and decent treatment of one-councillor-or-another has totally, albeit briefly, gone out of the window in the heat of the moment while a strongly-held view is being argued.From the M.E.N. article (November 23), Coun Robin Parker appeared to be saying that because of the manner in which affairs are conducted in the council debating chamber, it was ‘... no place for God.’If things in Rochdale council meetings really are that bad then surely it’s a good argument for having a greater religious presence, not for doing away with it all together? I’m sure that God’s found himself in far worse places than a local authority council chamber and yet still managed to bring out the best in all those present.Let’s continue to say prayers in the council chamber and when we councillors promise, in the presence of our God (whoever that might be), to act with as much honesty, sincerity and best of intentions as is humanly possible, while representing our constituents, let us continue to mean it and try our hardest to abide by our promise. Amen.

Coun Alan Broughton, Eccles ward

Bus lane misery

I HAD to write to redress the balance after reading your article about the bus lane fines blitz raking in £500,000 a year.I am one of the ‘bus lane cheats’ who helped the council rake in £200,000 on Wilmslow Road alone. I travel along Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield daily and have found that the vast majority of these cars ‘illegally using the bus lane’ are not, as most people reading your article may think, undertaking standing traffic, they are in fact entering the bus lane a few feet before it ends (opposite The Friendship Pub) because the ignorant bus drivers refuse to let anybody in at the point where the bus lane ends. Tempers flare every single morning.During rush hour, the buses are bumper to bumper, most of them half empty and unless you are prepared to ‘illegally’ squeeze in when one pulls into the bus stop, then you can expect to sit there for a very long time! Anyone attempting to access Wilmslow Road from Edgerton Road is flogging a dead horse as the buses also come through the red lights leaving no room for any cars at all. When are the council going to start fining the buses for doing this? Wilmslow Road has been in chaos since the new road layout and having read your article on the amount of revenue it’s generated, it’s clear to me that the powers that be knew damn well that this was going to happen and that it was just an excuse to raise extra money. 

J. Bland-Moore, Stockport

It's worse now

BY introducing bus lanes all that has happened is congestion has been made worse. The fines imposed on motorists who lose patience hardly compensates for the amount of wasted fuel, time, pollutants into the air, and cost to business. The crazy thing is that the lanes are often short and buses are caught up in the traffic before the lanes. Manchester has seen a policy over the years of making traffic flow worse, by not addressing long-standing bottlenecks and placing more restrictions on car flow. Could this be for a congestion charge?Travel WearyHighway robberyI HAVE been fined a total of £120 for two bus lane penalties in a three-minute period on Wilmslow Road. At the time I was looking for St Mary’s Hospital. I must congratulate Manchester council on this enterprising way of getting more money out of the motorist, especially as I still had the 4pm starting time from the previous bus lane in my mind. How lucky Manchester council were that I am a fully taxed and insured person at a registered address who keeps within the law and was easily traced. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask. 

R. Gresty, Sale

First-class helpers

IN answer to fears raised over contracted care (M.E.N., November 16), I can only say in our experience the contracted care we receive from Age Concern is first class. They are reliable, caring and friendly. We have the same carer each day except on her rota day off. She is a gem. We cannot ask for a better service.

H. B., Manchester

Passion won the day

LITTLE Croatia played with commitment and passion, qualities that were singularly lacking in our overpaid mercenaries. Belief in one’s country is worth more than all the millions heaped on our footballing businessmen. It’s time to get back to basics in a game corrupted and awash with millions.

Disgusted, Moston

Let them work

I WAS saddened to read about the detention of three ‘illegal workers’ from a car wash (M.E.N., November 22). I don’t defend people not contributing income tax to pay for our public services. But by working outside the law such people can be vulnerable to low pay, job insecurity and dodgy working conditions. People who apparently want to stand on their own feet are criminalised for not being spongers.Asylum seekers are still not allowed to earn a living and contribute fully to our community. Many are dependent on charity and often kept in limbo for years while plans to rush through old cases threaten injustice. But people are happy to benefit from cheap labour without question. This is not justice and we may well feel ashamed at how the Immigration Agency operates.

John Martin, Manchester

Jobs worth fighting for

ANTHONY Petrie (M.E.N., November 26) wrote in with a self-confessed ‘guess’ that almost all of the 3,500 jobs which would be created by the proposed supercasino would be part-time. He guessed wrong. It would make Sportcity one of the UK’s premier visitor destinations, creating a wide range of jobs in the leisure, hospitality and catering sectors as well as those generated by its construction. Many would be full time and nearly all accessible to local people in an area of real need. Training support and advice would be available. Far from being ‘dead end jobs’ they would include posts offering real career progression opportunities. Contrary to his assertion, no decision has yet been taken by the government and we are stressing our strong regeneration case. These 3,500 jobs are worth defending.

Sir Richard Leese, leader Manchester city council