Readers' letters

I’m sure I’m not the only one to be disappointed by the attitude and behaviour of many younger voters who voted to remain in the EU. This vitriol seems to be focused on the older voter.

Cat Smith, our local MP, is quoted as making the ageist comment that “the young feel robbed”, implying some sort of ownership of the vote or entitlement to a win.

I can tell Ms Smith some of my good friends who are older voters and voted to remain in the EU also feel ‘robbed’ but have dealt with it with maturity, good grace and mutual respect, something younger voters could learn from. I would also like to remind Ms Smith that she was elected to represent the views of all her constituents, the majority of whom voted to leave.

Older leave voters have been called racist, bigots, ignorant, thick, prejudiced, mentally lacking and unable to understand the issues, with no credit given for their wisdom, experience, historical knowledge and concern for their own younger relatives rather than themselves.

Mention has even been made of not allowing older voters the right to vote at all as they don’t have a future. What next – compulsory euthanasia?

The upside to this attack is that at least we older voters have been recognised as having a voice at a time when we are increasingly being marginalised and made to feel invisible, impotent or a burden on society.

We are a powerful voice and should use it as often as we can from now on, not just at elections, but more generally when dealing with organisations such as the NHS and social services where we appear to be at the back of the queue and seen as a drain on limited resources, despite our contributions to these resources over the years. For all the older voters out there, I say continue to be politically active and go into your autumn years with a bang not a whimper.

Anna Shone, address supplied

May’s sensible over Hinkley

With the furore caused by the Government’s surprised delay in signing the recent EDF Hinkley Point £18bn Nuclear Power Station contract, this shows we now have a sensible PM in Theresa May.

She has had the courage to re-examine previously accepted proposals, which may well be financially dubious for the UK and already cited by many as ruinously expensive.

EDF is already reported to be involved in similar nuclear developments elsewhere, which have over-run on time and doubled in cost and this is highly likely to happen again here.

The proposed future costs to energy users to be levied over the next 30 years from this deal alone should be reason enough to think again.

Surely many smaller modular factory constructed nuclear power plants assembled on other sites around the UK would appear to be a more sensible solution, also from a security point of view.

Since this was expected to be a 10-years plus project before coming online and the speed in which other new alternative energy solutions are now being made available, more consideration seems sensible, particularly one which could use up our existing pile of nuclear waste.

We do seem to be provoking the Chinese to fury over this delay, but surely a compromise deal could be negotiated with them, without providing them with the means of a future nuclear challenge to our power supplies?

There are other vanity projects like HS2 which PM May could sensibly abandon, like millions of pounds already spent in settling legal objections with no track laid to date.

The £82bn scheduled cost would be far better spent on improving the existing railway track and rolling stock, than the dubious unproven economic benefits HS2 is prophesied to bring to the Midlands and North.

E J Tilley

via email

Sunday best not so important

In response to David Treacher’s letter on dress sense in church (LEP Letters, August 1), I don’t know where he gets the idea from that dressing in a suit is out of respect to God when our Christian teaching is we don’t judge a person by what they wear – and Mr Treacher should be pleased that people are actually attending church.

God won’t care a jot what people are dressed in so long as they are of one body in His name albeit under one roof.

I too was brought up in an era where Sunday best was the dress code and for men to be seen in church with anything less than a suit would have been frowned upon by the lobby of so-called ‘Christians’ sitting in the same pews for centuries and condemning anyone out of the ordinary.

Definitely a central subject at the next Parish Church Council meeting or Mother’s Union!

I was taught that good manners comes in the form of being polite, opening a door for someone, having respect for people we meet and generally being sociable. I don’t recall being taught in Sunday School to dress smart.

We did, but it was never stipulated from the pulpit!

Clifford Chambers, address supplied