YEP Letters: February 28

Check out today's YEP letters
Jumbo Records in the St John's Centre, Leeds, is to move to the Merrion Centre. Shop manager Adam Gillison is pictured with new Rolling Stones album  at the store...24th February 2017 ..Picture by Simon HulmeJumbo Records in the St John's Centre, Leeds, is to move to the Merrion Centre. Shop manager Adam Gillison is pictured with new Rolling Stones album  at the store...24th February 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme
Jumbo Records in the St John's Centre, Leeds, is to move to the Merrion Centre. Shop manager Adam Gillison is pictured with new Rolling Stones album at the store...24th February 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

Jumbo Records is a class act

T Maunder, Kirkstall

I WAS pleased to see Jumbo Records get some positive affirmation (YEP February 25).

Collecting second hand vinyl, particularly from the 50s, 60s and 70s, is my main hobby and although Jumbo is not officially a second hand shop, it’s always a pleasure buying from there.

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There are great CD sections for blues, jazz, reggae, folk and boxsets as well as more traditional rock selections. There are also plenty of music DVDs. I try and buy all my gig tickets from them so as to support a local shop rather than a conglomerate and their ticket section on the website is always well representative of a whole range of them, not only in Leeds but also gigs over the whole of Yorkshire. The staff are pleasant, knowledgeable and competent; I lived in London for many years and some of the staff in certain second hand vinyl shops treat you as if you’re an ignoramus, even though your age, for one thing, or choice of music (obscure LPs ) might indicate otherwise. I like chatting about music for enjoyment and I’ve found this possible on several occasions in Jumbo if it’s not too busy. So, thank you Jumbo, a class act.

Electoral system is in a dire state

N Bywater, Morley

The Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland by-elections tell us that our electoral system is in a dire state.

Whilst we have the NHS missing targets and with patients waiting in corridors for beds, the governing party won a parliamentary seat from the position Labour party.

The Labour party is in serious decline, only a few years ago people talked about the two main parties, a voting system which favours a two horse race.

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The main topics in the news are Brexit, and the poorly performing NHS, prisons, net immigration targets missed and adult social care side lined.

In the last five parliamentary by-elections the Liberal Democrats have gained votes, but their message is pro-EU and anti-Brexit. They have done very well with that message, but only time will tell how we will fair with Theresa May leading us out of the EU.

There will be a constant news media attention on the failure of Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Labour party. It’s likely that there will be another by-election in the near future. Surely another defeat would mean the end of Jeremy Corbyn.

By that time we will be able to see if the current turmoil has led to a higher or lower standard of living. We are one of the seven richest countries in the world, we can afford to care for those that our unable to care for themselves, whether young or old.

Understanding democracy

David A Fryer, Leeds 14

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We have just had Tony Blair intimating that those many millions of people who voted to leave the European Union were ill informed, and now we have another one in the form of Michael Heseltine uttering similar accusations.

The suggestion from both these people, who have admittedly been great supporters of this nation in the past, is that the electorate do not have the wit or understanding of what they voted for in the referendum, something I take great exception to, having fully and extensively studied the consequences of remaining or leaving, and made a balanced judgement.

The gall of Michel Heseltine to state “the people have spoken, but my experience stands against this argument” suggests that the electorate have no part to play in the democratic processes of this nation, and only those in privileged positions such as he and Tony Blair should have the authority to make decisions.

What part of democracy do they not understand?

More trees, cleaner air

Jaimes Lewis Moran, Member of Leeds Green Party

In response to the news that Leeds is to celebrate a National Clear Air Day (YEP, February 25), it’s all well and good having people aware of Leeds and its current poor air quality status (third worst in UK) but what we really need is formalised projects to improve this situation.

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For instance, why not a plan to phase-in hybrid buses whilst also the scrapping of their outdated purely diesel counterparts? However the main flaw in most air quality schemes is that they solely focus on reducing motor vehicle usage, this certainly makes sense in city-based locations. It’s also worth mentioning how they often forget to include ‘essential’ carbon-capture devices called - trees especially when it comes to improving toxic air quality near primary schools. More trees equals cleaner air!

Rethink how city is run

Liz Goodwill, by email

Re Neil Hudson’s article (YEP February 25), Leeds does not need more high rise developments.

More developments mean more people, something this city can well do without, its schools, hospitals, doctors etc cannot cope already.

It doesn’t need to be self governed, what it needs is fewer councillors and more that actually care about their wards instead of their own aims, a rethink of how Leeds as a city is run, for its inhabitants, instead of those who do not live here.

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As for “car free”, to touch just a few points, get rid of First Bus and you might get somewhere! It’s a city to be proud of, but not the way it’s run now, though I guess if you got rid of cars you just may be able to justify the cycle lane, at least it would get some use.

This city is great, but very badly run, and yes, central government holds some responsibility, but not all.

Local party has given support

John White and Aileen Larsen, Chair and Secetary, Garforth and Swillington Labour Party Branch

We are writing in response to the letter (YEP, Friday February 24) from Pam Dolan, concerning the resignation of Councillor Mark Dobson.

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While not wishing to enter into a long debate about what has happened, we would like to correct one specific inaccuracy in Pam’s letter.

The local Labour Party has been supporting Mark in many ways over the past months.

Price of a swim could increase

THE price of a swim at Leeds City Council-run leisure centres could be increased by almost nine per cent to £5 as part of an overhaul of charges. Council chiefs are proposing increasing leisure centre charges for single activities while cutting prices for membership packages. Here’s how our readers reacted to the proposal on Facebook..

Wendy Woo

The government should be giving people incentives to keep fit, especially the many families struggling on a ridiculously low income. If you had a fiver to swim for an hour or put a meal on the table what would you do?

Louise Bentley

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Councils up and down the country have had devastating budget cuts. We can’t have it all and and have it cheap too.

Look at the number of libraries closed down in other authorities and counties. Priorities will be going towards adult social care costs which are crippling councils. We have a fantastic, clean and busy leisure centre in Morley and I will be happy to pay a little more per visit if it keeps it well maintained and open. If you can, get a Leeds card, even better get a Leeds card extra if you qualify.

Nick Moore

As long as national government continues to cripple local funding then non-essential services are inevitably going to either cost more or disappear altogether.

James Cooper

£5 is nothing these days, you can’t buy two decent cups of coffee for £5. It hardly breaks the bank and I imagine regular swimmers have monthly memberships anyway.

Simon Lee Fawcett

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A POTENTIAL rise of 8.7 per cent on a swim, a definite rise of 4.9 per cent on council tax, does LCC, a Labour dominant council, still want to say they represent the working class? Where are people expected to find all the extra money from for these extremely high percentage increases? Not forgetting Yorkshire Water has increased rates and the gas and electricity companies are reported to do the same, along with price of fuel going up, in all honesty most families in Leeds will have to make choices, I can’t imagine paying for a swim will be high on the “let’s do” list.