YEP Letters: December 21

‘Stop insulting our intelligence’

Judy Goodwin, Altofts

I DO wish the politicians who voted to block the government Brexit bill would stop insulting our intelligence.

A good day for democracy? Where were all of these MPs when for over 45 years various governments were more than happy to hand over powers to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels? Not a peep. I do hope all the Labour MPs bar Kate Hoey and Frank Field (the best leader Labour never had) get their just desserts at the ballot box, or the vote of over 17 million people will amount to nothing as this will be the start of more scuppering the leaving of the EU and we can all look forward to seeing Tony Blair become the first President of the United States Of Europe.

Cameron-led UK-China trade initiative will fail

Dr David Hill, chief executive, World Innovation Foundation

The news that David Cameron has been appointed the lead-man for the UK-China investment vehicle gives me no confidence that this tax-funded initiative will provide any major benefit for the UK, but most probably a great deal of benefit for China.

I say this as Cameron has no experience of either running a large international trading company or a creative innovative institution. For in the trading world of this century and beyond, it will not be political brains that forge dynamic economies as they haven’t any idea how to achieve this prerequisite in reality and where history has continually recorded this fact, but others.

In this respect, the real deal will come from those countries that capture the high technology markets of the future. Unfortunately that is something that politicians do not understand and have not a clue about, as they do not predominantly come from the sectors that create and deal with global trade.

Whitehall is there of course, but where in reality it is ‘dead-wood’ when it comes to advising politicians on how to initiate a dynamic future economy. For history has clearly shown time and time again this fact with the continual state of our increasing debt ridden economy and where they have never had the answers in reality.

Indeed, not until politicians and Whitehall listen to ‘new’ ideas and thinking outside the confines of their own self-imposed constraints, will anything like Cameron’s remit ever succeed.

That is a fact that history has shown continually. For you see, they never look at the fundamental level and where all great technological industries are born.

In this respect it is the ‘seeds’ of a future dynamic economy that they miss consistently and basically from the prime minister down, have no idea what I am talking about here and why we shall never have a pre-eminent economy until the penny drops.

But I doubt that this will ever happen with the insular thinking mindsets of our politicians and Whitehall who only look at mundane bog standard don’t rock the boat steady-state thinking.

A dynamic future economy; I doubt that this will ever be a reality with the current establishment organ grinders in charge and that unfortunately for the British people will be seen as a fact of life.

‘God rest ye two great gentlemen’

Peter J Teal, Doncaster

I WAS very interested in Leon Wobschall’s recent article on the late great Leeds United player Billy Bremner.

It was a known fact at the time that he felt homesick and his girlfriend was still in Scotland. Don Revie, the manager, could see the obvious potential in Bremner so took it upon himself to make a lone car journey to Scotland and persuade her to come to Leeds.

They were accommodated in a semi-detached house, number 4 Plantation Avenue, Temple Newsam, which was next door to my late aunt and uncle. My aunt liked to feel they played some part in helping them both ‘settle down’ so to speak. Showing friendship, helping with household chores etc and no, neither of them went to Elland Road ever.

To move on, however, great as the little dynamo was, I have to say that in my book he came a very close second to another Leeds United icon John Charles, who in my opinion has been the greatest player to lace up football boots on this planet and still is. I say this because Charles had everything, ie height, strength, speed, superior shooting, a fantastic header of the ball when footballs were footballs and the laces could be painful on the cranium, not like today when they are like beach balls.

But Charles’ real gifting was he was equally at home playing at either centre half or centre forward. Two particular matches come to mind. John snuffing out the centre forward Derek Dooley who seemed to score every time he played for Sheffield Wednesday and two whilst playing centre forward at Wolverhampton was up against no other than Billy Wright. I think Wright met his match that day because Charles scored twice. Both of these games resulted in wins. The headlines in the old Yorkshire Evening News sports edition read “Wolf Killer Charles”. Christmas now is approaching so I close with “God Rest Ye Two Great Gentlemen”.

Firms scrape the barrel

Jeff Thomas, Huby, Leeds

YET again the energy producers are taking us all ‘for a ride’, simply because of a cracked pipeline off the Scottish coast.

Apparently we are told this event has particular significance in global energy markets. Excuse the ‘pun’ but the producers really are ‘scraping the barrel’ – surely a two to three week pipeline closure should not affect prices to such an extent as to raise prices yet even more?

So come on Ofgem and the Government, show your teeth and give us all a much-needed Christmas present!