YEP Letters: March 1

Perils of teaching your child to drive

Sandra Lambert, Morley

Re ‘Parents ‘petrified’ of supervising learners’ (YEP, February 26), I remember well taking my daughter out driving to assist her driving lessons after my husband was so nervous with her that he refused to take her any more.

As we approached the massive Ring Road roundabout at Lawnswood I told her she needed to change gear.

She promptly took both hands off the steering wheel, looked down at the gearbox and changed gear with her right hand!

I’m glad to say she did pass her test and, now, 27 years later is a very competent and careful driver.

Help needed to look after dogs for homeless

People across Leeds are being asked to step in and help look after dogs for homeless people - so that they can access vital shelter during extreme weather. Leeds Council says it people in the past have experienced issues because their dogs have been ‘a barrier to accommodation’. Now the authority is offering a foster scheme with Leeds Housing Options where the council will pay for kennels or vaccinations for rough sleepers’ dogs or find volunteer pet fostering placements. We asked YEP readers for their views and here’s what some of them said on social media..

Rick Poppa

They shouldn’t have dogs, half of them can’t even look after themselves never mind an animal as well.

Debbie Simon Bowman

So homeless people shouldn’t have pets? Nobody knows their circumstances, they may have lost their homes and who are you to judge? Help re-home the pets. Would fit the council better to find homes for the poor souls living on the streets. Then their pets would have homes too.

Andrew Nash

Maybe it’s time that the overall cost of housing was questioned and brought down to a realistic level then maybe, just maybe, some of these folks without somewhere to live might be able to afford somewhere on whatever income they have.

Sam Mu

It’s not as simple as that. Many people are offered homes but would rather be on the streets for whatever reason, maybe to fund a habit, or it’s easier to beg than get a job etc.

Carol Mordey

If they let dogs into hospitals and hospices why on earth can’t homeless shelters do the same?

Julie Ann Scott

We are all God’s creatures, and their dogs should be allowed to stay with them.

There is a homeless guy with his dog walking round Canada protesting about dogs not allowed in homeless shelters.

Joanne Morley

Maybe it’s about time there was somewhere for them to go with their fur babies as a lot of them won’t want to be separated from their best friend.

Michelle Karasiewicz

Leeds City Council let them take their pets, it’s probably only thing they have in their lives.

Michelle Wilton

Let them in the shelter with their owners.

Dominic Hill

What happens when the dogs don’t get on? A lot of dogs don’t socialise well with others.

Better to temporarily house them elsewhere.

Rachael Courtnell

Why not let them in shelter with their owner? Much safer and happier for both.

Dawn Michelle

That’s not right. If they look after the homeless, they should look after the dogs too.

Joanne Webster

They should let the dogs in too, what have they done wrong?

Party politics hasn’t helped the workers

Jim Smith, Whitkirk

re Dr David Hill’s letter (‘Reconstruct our political system’, YEP Letters, February 27) I totally agree with his comments.

The party system has given the working man nothing,

All we seem to do is lurch from left to right, there is no forward planning whatsoever.

One party puts forward a scheme and spend millions of pounds, then when the other party gets in, it is scrapped..This happens on defence spending all the time.

We sell off the family silver, transport, power station, the National Grid, gas, water, then we find that this does not work, because the taxpayer has to subsidise profits for the transport and power generation companies, all or mostly foreign-owned.

So we vote the other party in. They are going to buy all the family silver back? Who pays again? Yes, it’s the working man. One big merry-go-round.

There should be a ten-year, 20-year and 30-year plan on capital spending, agreed by all parties, and adhered to. This way money should be spent more wisely. But what other system is out there? Proportional representation? No big swings from left to right? As for lobbyists, they should not be allowed anywhere near an MP or councillor. It has taken over 30 years to get a plain packet of cigarettes on to the market and it took even longer for asbestos to be banned.

And who pays? Again it’s the working man. Party politics was a good idea at the time, but not any more.

Rare sprinkling of grit on road

Bob Simpson, Leeds 7

on Monday morning when I opened my curtains I was amazed to see that a light sprinkling of grit had appeared down the middle of our road.

This is a very rare event indeed. We don’t see this usually, even when the road is covered in hard packed snow and ice . It wasn’t icy or covered in snow. Would it be because we are having local elections in May, where all the seats are voted for by any chance?

Or is this just me being too cynical?

Let us know what you think

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