READERS’ LETTERS

Calls to tax bankers

Sir, – John Miller is wrong in his representation of the Labour Party’s position (Letters, March 7).

He says on returning to Government we would not reverse any of the Conservative-led Government’s cuts. What we have actually said is that it would be irresponsible to make specific promises about government spending in 2015-2016 until we know the state of the finances that the Conservative-led government will leave behind. Given the mess Cameron, Osborne and Clegg are making of the economy this is the only sensible position to take.

The current priority in 2012 is surely to persuade the Government to adopt policies that will kick-start growth. After all, we need the economy to grow again to fund the public services we cherish. John Miller says we should be requiring the bankers to contribute towards this task. He’s right. That’s why Labour’s five point plan calls for the taxing of bankers to pay for jobs for young people, as well as a cut in VAT to help the hard-pressed families to which John refers. – Yours etc.,

GREGG McCLYMONT MP

Cumbernauld & Kilsyth

It’s great to get Kilsyth news

Sir, – Just want to let you know how much I appreciate the on-line version of the Kilsyth Chronicle.

I have lived in Christchurch, New Zealand for 35 years, in one of the areas that hasn’t been too badly damaged in the earthquakes, but it’s still great to get Kilsyth news.

I was born and brought up in Kilsyth and left to live in Stirling when I got married in 1968. We left Scotland in 1972 to go to Australia to study and then in 1977 moved to New Zealand for jobs.

My mother (Mary Jarvie) used to keep me up to date with Kilsyth news but she died a few years ago.

Kilsyth will always be a special place for me, so many happy memories.

Thanks, and keep up the great work you do. – Yours etc.,

NANCY HALL (nee Jarvie)

6 Sunningvale Lane,

Fendalton

Christchurch 8053

Is chance to see Torch meant to placate us

Sir, – While not wishing to be a ‘wet blanket’, does anybody in Cumbernauld really feel that a few minutes of seeing the Olympic Flame being carried through part of the town, apparently by non-residents, is justification for the estimated £12 billion cost to the UK taxpayer?

I think this is just another example of ‘London-centric’ thinking. In other words, that the cost of any project that brings wealth to that part of South East England is justified, no matter the money it diverts from more worthwhile schemes in other parts of the country.

In the same week that the Chancellor has seen fit to give the Scottish Government an “extra” £4 million, when Alex Salmond, in a meeting with David Cameron, gave him what he asked for, a list of “shovel-ready” projects costing £300 million which would have brought much needed jobs, and improvements, to our country. Is this “sop” of the chance to see the Olympic Torch meant to placate us? Not for me it doesn’t. – Yours etc.,

ALEX BEVERIDGE,

Carbrain,

Cumbernauld

Consider your vote very carefully

Sir, – In just a few weeks the people of Scotland will go to the polls to elect our various Councils, and your pages will be full of prospective and existing councillors soliciting our votes. As somebody who is not a member of any political party, I would like to ask the people of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth to take a few things into account before they cast their vote in May.

All I ask the voters of our little enclave of North Lanarkshire is that they consider their vote very carefully. Ask yourself if the sitting councillor has done their best for you, your family and the people of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, in particular and North Lanarkshire, in general. Are the candidates standing against the sitting councillors going to be able to do better than the person who has previously represented your ward? Two basic and simple questions, but the answers are far from simple, I agree. The days of supporting the Party your forefathers followed for years is gone, simply because the ethics of long standing parties has changed so much over recent years. So much so that when you look at their policies it’s difficult to tell them apart. Worse still is when English based parties send English based politicians to give their party colleagues support in Scottish Council elections. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to vote for the candidate who offers the best possible options for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. Somebody who is not afraid to be unpopular with their political masters, because they are prepared to take a stand on behalf of their constituents, and who isn’t on the Council just for their own gratification. We need people to represent us who actually think and care about the effects their vote on the Council will have on us, the plebs, the people who actually have to live with the consequences of the decisions councillors take.

So please think on, voters of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, and let our council representatives be under no illusion that their political lives depend on what they do for us and not which political party they are affiliated to. – Yours etc.,

JOHN LAFFERTY

Rose Street,

Condorrat

A welcome for campaign support

Sir, – I write in response to the article in last week’s Cumbernauld News in which Donald Masterton claims that Councillors were “afraid to speak out” about the loss of X-Ray facilities in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. I can assure Mr Masterton I have raised concerns over the loss of NHS facilities on many occasions including at the Local Area Partnership, directly with NHS Lanarkshire through letters to Tim Davidson, through the consultation process and directly with other healthcare professionals. I fight for residents in the area I currently represent both on individual cases and on healthcare as a whole.

I have previously been involved in the campaign to protect Cumbernauld’s out-of-hours service, Monklands Hospital A&E and the provision of a local diabetic retinopathy service. I am currently involved in a campaign to save our GP treatment rooms along with Councillors Irvine, Johnston and Grant. This campaign committee has members of political parties working alongside members of the public. Our chairperson is Andy Locke of the Scottish Socialist Party and I feel that healthcare provision is far too important an issue to be used for political point scoring. I am disappointed that Mr Masterton feels that Councillor Murray is the only councillor interested in protecting Cumbernauld. I for one have the interest of the people of Cumbernauld at heart. I would welcome Mr Masterton’s support for the campaign and hope that he will work with us in trying to achieve our goal, despite being given the task to oversee the closure as a member of NHS Lanarkshire Implementation Board. – Yours etc.,

Councillor

WILLIAM GOLDIE

A big thank you

Sir, – I wish to give a big thank you to the lady who picked up my wallet and left it with the Marks & Spencer outlet at Broadwood Farm. – Yours etc.,

J. GREER

Fleming Road

Cumbernauld

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