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No to proroguing

THE constitutional point is that a prime minister is appointed and entitled to advise the monarch, the basis of that is they have the support of the House of Commons.

If a prime minister does not command a majority in the House of Commons the accepted constitutional action is for them to call a general election to resolve the situation.

Britain’s representative democracy would be very seriously undermined by the proroguing of Parliament simply so a small group can get through legislation that would not be approved by a majority in the House of Commons.

A prime minister is appointed by the monarch because they command a majority in the House of Commons. If the prime minister does not command a majority, arguably they do not have authority to ask the monarch to prorogue Parliament. The clear precedent is that the prime minister in this situation must call a general election.

Proroguing Parliament for short term political gain is a very dangerous game. It could be used by any future government that wanted to force through their own agenda, when they do not have a majority in Parliament, whether that agenda be left or right wing.

Asking a vastly experienced monarch to undertake an action which undermines the authority and power of the House of Commons, is a very dangerous tactic. The Queen has had 13 prime ministers thus far, starting with Winston Churchill.

At 93 she has little to lose in supporting her House of Commons and asking the incumbent prime minister if he has a majority in the House of Commons. If that prime minister does not, then the office is vacated and a general election triggered.

Andrew Milroy, Bellefield Crescent, Trowbridge

Plea to firms

LIKE it or not modern living is very stressful and many are living unhappy lives as a consequence.

Many companies have taken on helping their employees and talking openly about mental health and helping their workforce accordingly. A brilliant idea. However unless they give their workers the proper working environment, primarily manageable workloads, their words are merely hot air.

As a postman for Royal Mail for 35 years I always took pride in my job. The workers worked as a team and your manager you looked on as a fatherly figure.

Then privatisation about a decade ago. I was given impossible workloads, eventually having to leave a job I had dreamt of since childhood. Other poor souls are suffering or will suffer similar fates.

My former colleagues are still in the eye of the storm.

Our doctors, nurses, police force, teachers, the list goes on are likewise going through the mill as a result of staff cuts and increasing workloads.

Privatisation is all about profit for the shareholder, greed of the directors and management who invariably have never worked on the front line, work for several years, and then receive a huge pay off when things don’t work.

So what am I saying: don’t say you are the caring employer, interested in ones mental health, and then give you an environment to work in that resembles a hostile war zone.

Roger Carey, Cornbrash Rise, Trowbridge

Open to critics

ON 19th July James Bools wrote a plea for a more civilised discourse about Brexit, saying that the People’s Vote campaign only exists to call Leave voters ‘stupid bigots’.

I’ve been campaigning against Brexit since before the 2016 referendum and would very heartily welcome a more civilised discourse, as of course our purpose is to present our point of view, not to insult people. I’ve had some interesting and polite conversations with Leave voters who have approached us at street stalls and other events, but most of them seem not to want to engage.

I would be interested to hear more from James Bools about why he thinks the EU does not work and cannot be reformed. It certainly is a complicated organisation that is often open to valid criticism of particular policies, and also for lack of democracy. Indeed it works very much on compromise and trade-offs, but I find it hard to see how a union of 28 member states could function otherwise, and the EU Parliament comprises the whole spectrum of parties, including Brexit.

In my view successive UK governments have done an appallingly bad job of informing the public about how the EU does work. This is probably shown by our very poor turn-out at EU elections. Although it did increase to 39% this year the total EU average was over 50%. Politics in this country is usually presented as a never-ending argument between two parties, although of course MPs compromise and work together once elected. By the time this letter is published our next Prime Minister will have been chosen by 0.24% of the electorate, so perhaps we should also look at our own democratic deficit!

I value the EU for over seventy years of peace, for bringing in the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, for enabling people to study, live and work in each other’s countries, for good environmental standards, but above all for not being perfect and being open to criticism from within and without.

Vivienne Kynaston, Elms Cross Drive, Bradford on Avon

History matters

THE developers were given permission to convert the Baptist Chapel in Westbury Leigh into residential - what a surprise - especially when it comes to Wiltshire Council.

The developers have started work and so far they have demolished the gate piers (which have separate listed status from the church) and to my disgust, they have also removed some of the graves to the side of the church.

I contacted the planning department about this and their lack of concern was typical. The gate pier damage didn’t matter as the developer was going to replace it - missing the point completely. As for as the removal of graves, they didn’t even bother with an answer.

Actions which prove that the Tory led council couldn’t care less about anything- even the dead aren’t safe from their uncaring attitude.

Ms Stroud, Warminster Road, Westbury

We must use Civic

It is my belief that we must restore a public toilet facility in the Park at the weekend. There are increasing reports that people are going to toilet in hedges etc. within the Park.

At the last Full Town Council meeting, the Council voted against my motion to use our existing staff resources to cover the weekend opening of the Civic foyer for toilet facilities. With in excess of 50 Town Council staff, I wrongly thought that a rota (retaining the same number of staff hours and cost) could be put in place to ensure that staff (with their flexible contracts) could cover the foyer on a weekend when doing their administration work.

As this proposal failed, the other potential plan I will bring forward at the next Town Council meeting is that we now consider using the private sector and that the Civic is let or managed privately as a café or similar operation on the weekend.

As this is a multi-million-pound event facility it seems implausible that as a Town Council we consider there is not enough weekend demand.

This would solve the Park public toilet provision issue and with a business model in place, we should reduce or eliminate the amount of Trowbridge Council Tax payer’s money being spent on subsidising the unprofitable Civic.

Edward Kirk, Town & Wiltshire Councillor for Trowbridge Adcroft

Woods are good

I HAVE just discovered that the Government can put a financial value on the ecological benefits of woodland and open land.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has carried out what must have been some very detailed analyses. Woodlands are brilliant at soaking up carbon and air pollution.

For 2015, for example, the value put on this for the 3.16 million hectares of woodlands across the whole country was £1.8 billion. The total asset value was calculated as £87 billion. Even grassland makes a valuable contribution.

The around 17 million hectares in the UK are worth £1.7 billion. Less per hectare than woodland, but overall a substantial sum.

So the open green space around Trowbridge will have a substantial value and cannot be looked at as just potential development land. It has the very important function of helping to keep the population (ie you and me) healthy.

I trust that the Wiltshire Planners are now factoring this aspect in as they are reviewing the Local Plan around Trowbridge.

David Feather, Broadley Park, North Bradley

Tell us the truth

EXTINCTION Rebellion (XR) is an international apolitical network that uses non-violent direct action to persuade governments to act in the face of the climate and ecological emergency.

We do not willingly choose to disrupt the lives of citizens, as happened last week in five cities in the UK, but until our government matches its words with serious action, we will continue, with a large London-based rebellion planned for October.

I know from talking to people that very many accept that these issues are of concern but it’s also very clear that they do not appreciate the extent of the emerging crisis and the urgency required to try and reduce the inevitable societal disruption. Which is why XR’s first demand is for the Government to be serious about this and to work with others, obviously the media, to communicate the emergency so that there is understanding and support for the enormous changes that need to be made.

Water underpins all life and yet, as the world heats up and weather patterns are disturbed, loss of biodiversity and a growing population are leaving communities across the world facing the threat of their water running dry. Just two examples: Chenai, India’s 6th largest city sits on the brink of such a disaster and in areas of Australia this looming risk is being called “day zero” by the authorities.

The UN estimates that more than 140 million people might be displaced by desertification alone and years with higher temperatures are already causing spikes in asylum applications to EU countries. Then there’s sea-level rise, crop failures and more….it doesn’t take too much imagination to realise the enormous threat to social economic stability – indeed to world peace.

Jo Ripley, Hyde Lane, Marlborough

Youth need help

MANY children and young people today feel there is little or no possibility of a positive future.

Our new report Overcoming the Poverty of Hope reveals two thirds of young people believe their generation will be worse off than their parents. While 85 per cent were optimistic that their physical health and life expectancy will be better than their parents, 69 per cent fear they will have worse mental health.

They’re worried about a whole range of issues including a lack of jobs or careers, high house prices, the climate crisis, poor finances and increased knife crime.

What’s most concerning is they feel they are not being listened to. The voices of young people are missing from debates about the challenges facing the country.

These are not issues that can be put off until Brexit is solved. Their concerns are very real.

So how can we, as adults, leaders, educators, parents, decision-makers and politicians, help their generation?

We need to work together, believe in young people, nurture their talents, provide opportunities, knock down barriers, and listen to them when it comes to decisions that affect their future.

Emma Bowman, Barnardo’s regional director