Readers' letters - May 14

When is the ‘Punish the Pensioners’ witch hunt going to end? Before anyone jumps in, I know – when you die.

Last week, a spokesman for the Resolution Foundation put their idea forward that pensioners should pay more tax and young people should get a £10,000 hand-out.

Just how these people come up with their stupid ideas is unbelievable.

Pensioners have paid their dues, paying tax and National Insurance all their working life.

They often left school at 14 or 15 years of age and worked for 50 years or more. Stop attacking them and let them live their last few years in peace.

No one gave us anything, we have had to work hard for what we’ve got.

I am all for giving the youngsters £10,000 but only to those that are deserving of it, only those who are in work and attempting to save, and university students should be allowed to apply.

Have you got any idea how much alcohol or drugs £10,000 would buy?

The Government should be helping youngsters get into work. The Government must be one of the biggest employers in the country, so why are they not putting the youngsters to work?

I know that many of them are not happy about being on the minimum wage, but it would get them into work and, from there, they could be looking to improve and apply for other positions, and they would be eligible for a reference from any job they have had.

The motto should be “No Work, No Money” and Jobseeker’s Allowance should only be allowed for 12 months.

The Government should start by banning zero-hour contracts and make agencies more responsible for the people on their books.

Dave Croucher

Address supplied

roads

What’s going on with potholes?

I read with interest the letter from John Slater, of Cottam, about pothole repairs on Hoyles Lane (LP Letters, May 8).

I agree with everything he says, what is going on in the world of pothole repairs?

Is asphalt simply being thrown at the hole and not finished off properly?

Where is this new magic machine we have all heard about but not yet seen?

A dangerous pothole on Lea Lane was reported and subsequently repaired by Lancashire County Council just a few months ago.

It is now even more dangerous as the repair has crumbled. I reported this to Lancashire County Council, just before I retired from the city council.

I received the usual automated response.

I even sent a photo and exact location as we pass over this several times a week on our way to from school.

We are aware of it so we do our best to avoid this hole but a lot of motorists will not.

What are our county councillors getting paid for?

Christine Abram

Cottam

roads

Lights ignored

I refer to the letters from Pat Hastings and Colin Beesley referring to bad drivers ignoring signs and light signals (LP Letters May 9).

I drive through Broughton and automatically slow down after years of stopping at lights.

It isn’t rocket science.

I agree with Colin that drivers going through red lights is a common problem in Preston and couldn’t believe this when first moving here years ago.

Too much time is spent by speed enforcement vans placed regularly in the same spots, for example, Longsands Lane and Watling Street Road.

It is almost impossible to generate enough speed on Watling Street Road.

I could recommend hundreds of other spots where speeding traffic is a far greater risk. Try putting one near Lea Endowed School. It is near to a bad bend and is a school for small children. It is about time Preston or Lancashire councils get their act together and install cameras at lights, they would generate exceptional income.

PT

Fulwood

pollution

Easy target

Concerns by some at Westminster over the targeting of only road vehicles – cars, vans, buses and HGVs – as the main cause of air pollution are well founded.

The reality is that many more devices, not subject to any statutory controls or testing, are creating emissions.

These include railway locomotives, construction machinery, heating and cooking appliances, diesel generators supplying the National Grid at peak demand, plus of course jet aircraft, the most polluting of all!

The real reason for declining air quality is excessive human activity, contributed to by over-population.

Not many years ago, shops and offices had limited opening hours – not on Sundays as today.

Pubs shut at 10pm and there were only a few other leisure venues, for example, cinemas or theatres. Today we have 24/7 mayhem.

Tourism is now also identified as a major cause of pollution, with trivial low cost air travel a major factor.

Sadly, motor vehicles are the only group subject to either regulation or taxes, thus making them an easy target for politicians who have themselves created today’s problems in various ways over the years.

DS Boyes

via email