Happy St Georges Day

Letter: Northern Echo

ST GEORGE'S DAY

PAUL RIVERS is opposed to celebrations to mark St George's Day (HAS, Apr 20), which takes place tomorrow. I wonder why?

Could it be anything to do with St George's Day being an expression of our English nationality, what with him being a campaigner for a regional assembly and all? Oh yes, he forgot to mention that in his letter, didn't he?

Perhaps Mr Rivers would prefer a National European Region Day or a Regional Patron Saint instead?

It wasn't so long ago that people who conspired against England were branded traitors. Now, they are usually called pro-Europeans or politicians.

Stuart Parr, Telford, Shropshire.

Herceptin

Still don't know what to say about this. Shropshire PCT has refused to provide Herceptin to Shropshire women despite a court ruling recently that refusing the drug for some women and not others was unlawful.

I just can't get my head around how, when North British and West British women (the latter in a Shropshire Hospital), can have Herceptin free of charge and English woman can't. This is racism but nobody seems to want to do anything about it. I emailed the CRE a while ago to complain about it and heard nothing - not even an acknowledgement.

One of the MP's in Shropshire has written to the Health Secretary asking who exactly runs the health service in this country because the Health Secretary has told PCT's not to deny the drug on the grounds of cost and they continue to do so.

No Herceptin for Shropshire

Shropshire PCT has decided against giving Shropshire women Herceptin but Welsh women will still be allowed to receive it for free at Shropshire's Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

It's too late in the day for a long commentary so check back tomorrow for something more meaningful.

Letter in the Glasgow Herald (not mine)

Parliament problems
Iain Mann's righteous indignation (April 18) seems to have caused the existence of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly to slip his mind. English MPs are already debarred from voting on all matters affecting only Scotland and most matters affecting only Wales. I don't know how Edward Higginbottom feels about it, but if he can stop Scottish MPs voting on English matters, so far as I am concerned he has a deal.
James Matthews, Flat 31, Highgate Edge, London.

English Farmers face bankruptcy over late subsidy payments

English farmers face bankruptcy over the late payment of subsidies from the Rural Payments Agency.

The UK government decided that the method of payment for English farmers should change to a complicated mathmatical sum and ordered a new computer system. Which has failed. Unsurprising really as the UK government seem incapable of getting a computer system right.

Being a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales, farmers outside of England received their subsidies in the same way they have for years without delay or major cock-ups. The farmers who will really be suffering are the ones on the borders such as Shropshire where half the farmers at their local market will have had their subsidies 6 months ago while they are racking up huge debts trying to keep afloat until the subsidies finally get paid.

Letter to Glasgow Herald

Dear Sir,

My thanks to the Herald for publishing my two recent letters and to those people who have responded adding to the debate about the future, if any, of the United Kingdom.

I believe the UK achieved great things in the last 300 years and, despite flaws, it gave the world far more positive benefits than any other ‘Imperial’ power has in the last 1000 years. I am happy with the idea of Devolution but only if it is equitably applied. If you are a good parent, you do not give one child a slice of cake, two a few crumbs and the fourth sent empty away from the table, without that leading to family problems.

Iain Mann (18th April) brings up the usual Scottish chestnut about Margaret Thatcher. Well, before 1999 there was one and the same UK Parliament and, in a democracy, you have to accept the wishes of the majority are paramount, like it or not. Just as the people of the Highlands and Islands have to accept that a Scottish Parliament will impose the wishes of the Lowlands.

He is incorrect in saying English MPs have a vote on bills relating solely to Scottish matters. Scottish matters are devolved to Edinburgh where there are no English representatives. However, Scottish MPs in the UK Parliament do have a vote on solely English matters.

Allan Johnston (18th April) claims the English took Scotland to war in Iraq, but how did they manage that? There is no English Parliament to make such a decision.

Donnie MacNeill (18th April) complains about receiving ‘housekeeping money’, how lucky you are, I wish England was so generously financed. Under the Barnet Formula, Scotland received 10% of the Great Britain spend (I use GB deliberately) but only has 9% of the population. That means Scotland receives £8 billion more funding than it would if it was financed to the same level as England – and yes, I have taken North Sea Oil Tax into account on the assumption it is all Scottish – which of course it would not be if Scotland were independent as the southern oil fields would be in English waters.

The current hotchpotch Devolutionary system is not the fault of the people of Scotland, it was simply created by New Labour for their principal benefit and a minority of Scottish people voted for it, but then that’s one of the quirks of democracy for you.

Letter: The Herald (CEP Shropshire)

Letter in The Herald

To serve the UK

Like most of the population, Dot Jessiman is mistaken (April 12). The Westminster parliament is not the English parliament but that of the UK.

Those elected to it are there to serve the interests of the UK, not England.

It is clear from the speech by Lord Falconer (the Scottish lord chancellor of England) on March 10 that Scotland was "given" a parliament simply because Labour was terrified of losing votes to the SNP, and wanted somewhere to govern if/when it lost control of the UK parliament.

The Scots already control spending in England in the shape of Gordon Brown.

He is elected by a Scottish constituency; his responsibilities - UK tax-raising and spending in England. Scotland, however, is fortunate spending is controlled by the Scottish Parliament (which Scottish people elect) and it is not controlled by Westminster.

Edward Higginbottom, Rea Bank, Weir Road, Hanwood, Shrewsbury

Letter: Shropshire Star

England deserves the same

Democracy may have been invented in ancient Greece but it was the English who spread it around the world.

The legal systems of half the developed world are baaed on English common law. the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus.

All these achievements have been sidelined by New Labour, the most dangerous thing to happen to the English since the bubonic plague.

The other day the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer (a Scottish Labour quisling), told a conference in London that the English don't want their own parliament and that we will never get one.

He had no such objections when he promoted the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly 10 years ago and it is as a direct result of this half-baked, undemocratic devolution settlement that we find the English fighting for equal rights.

The BBC ran a poll on their website asking whether England should have its own parliament. Aa I write, over 72 per cent of people have voted yes.

ITV Teletext carried out a phone poll asking the same question - the result was 95 percent in favour.

Stuart Parr
Telford

West Midlands City Region propoganda

City link-up would bring prosperity, says report

Telford & Wrekin is on the brink of joining the new "metropolitan city" of the West Midlands - a move which could secure the economic future of the borough for generations to come.

Joining forces with Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull would bring a huge jobs and investment bonanza for Telford, supporters claim.

And they insist it would not mean the borough being hit by big city crime or having its green spaces swallowed up by housing estates and Factories.

The points are made in a report to Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet on April 24 by Gerry Dawson, the borough's head of regeneration and economic development.

Councillors are being urged to press ahead with the city plan which is likely to be approved by the Government later this month.

Mr Dawson says in his report that the most successful European cities - such as booming Frankfurt, in Germany - are "decentralised and streamlined" in the way they are run.

British cities like Birmingham and Manchester, over which central government retains considerable power, currently languish near the bottom of the economic list.

But creating a new go-ahead West Midlands city, free of red tape and central control, is said to be the way forward.

Telford's strategic location, its excellent road links and potential for helping the Black Country by providing land for complementary housing and economic growth are all big factors in this.

Joining up with the West Midlands, Mr Dawson says, would avoid Telford being "squeezed out" of investment flowing to the rest of the region.

Herceptin and the NHS financial crisis

Letters sent to local newspapers.

Great news, a lady down in the South-West won her court case on 12th April to be treated with Herceptin for her breast cancer. However, everyone was quick to point out that this did not set a precedent, so other women in need must fight on.

The problem is that such NHS treatment costs around £20,000 and NHS Trusts in England have huge financial problems. Many have overspent in the last fiscal year and will have their budgets cut this year in order to recoup the ‘debts’. Staff are being sacked in an effort to balance their books. So, if woman in England are to get Herceptin then other people may have to go untreated just so the necessary money can be found.

Of course there is no such NHS financial crisis in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as we in England generously provide these regions with a subsidy of around £15 billion per year (and rising) and happily make do with poorer services for ourselves. Why? Because we sit back and let it happen.

We let the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish govern themselves but allow them to run our country through the auspices of the UK Parliament. We have no say in how they spend our money but we let them tell us how to spend what is left in the pot for us. If you want a fairer share of your tax monies you need an English Parliament that will speak up and fight for you.

Letters in the Independent

Two letters in the Independent, one about Herceptin being given free to Welsh women in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital but English women being charged £47k and the other asking a very good question about whether chargin English students at Welsh universities more than other EU citizens is actually lawful.

Blame the Scots and Welsh MPs

Sir: Your report (10 April) on the inconsistency of Shrewsbury Royal Hospital depriving patients resident in England of the latest anti-cancer drugs which are available to those resident in Wales shows up another unintended consequence of ill-thought through government legislation.

Similar inconsistencies are developing between England and the other nations of the UK in areas such as social care for the elderly, financing of students in higher education, and state subsidy of public transport.

It makes no odds to anyone working in Shrewsbury whether they commute from Telford or from Welshpool, but if you have children approaching tertiary education, parents likely to need a place in a care home, or a partner suffering the early stages of breast cancer, you would be foolish indeed not to make your residence in Wales.

The result is that house prices and rents rise in Wales relative to neighbouring parts of England, poorer people are forced out of the areas with the better social spending arrangements, and those the measures were mainly intended to support most lose out most.

It is not as if the English can do anything about this at the ballot box: most of the decisions resulting in these anomalies are made by Scottish ministers backed up by Scottish and Welsh MPs whose constituents are not affected by these measures.

DAVID BURTON.

TELFORD, SHROPSHIRE.
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Penalising the English

Sir: Q: When can you be English and not part of the EU? A: If you're an English student and applying to a Welsh university. The Welsh Assembly has reduced the fees payable to Welsh universities for all Welsh students from the standard £3,000 to £1,200. The remaining £1,800 will be paid by British taxpayers. This restricts freedom of movement of Welsh students for financial reasons, and forces others to pay more. That includes those who want veterinary studies because there is no course in Wales. And students from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU, but not England, will also only pay £1,200. Is this legal under the European Convention of Human Rights?

VERITY KALCEV

LINDFIELD, WEST SUSSEX
You can comment on this letter here.

Letter: Shropshire Star (not one of ours)

Parliament dominated by Scottish politicians
Stuart Parr recently wrote that life-saving cancer treatments available in Scotland were denied to patients by the NHS in England.

That was only one illustration of how the Scots have the advantage over the English taxpayer. A significant few extra to be added to the list of freebies in Scotland are student tuition fees, free care for the elderly, vast improvements to the rail services and new tramway schemes. In England our transport minister (a Scot) has cancelled new and projected improvements for environmentally-friendly transport schemes in Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.

We have a Government entirely dominated by Scots and a Parliament where Scottish and Welsh members can vote on entirely English matters.

Lord Baker attempted to introduce a Bill to prevent this and was talked down by Lord Chancellor Falconer (another Scot).

There is a definite attempt to wipe England off the map and impose regional Government with all its attendant bureacracy.

When will voters in England wake up and get rid of a Government that treates us unfairly? It is no wonder that many are deserting this country for France and Spain where they have Governments that fight for their interests.

John T Thornicroft
Market Drayton

Health Budget cuts to prop up other authorities

In the same day that it is announced that Welsh women will be able to travel over the border to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to receive Herceptin, it emerges that Telford's PCT will have to cut back its budget to help prop up other authorities in the West Midlands. This is before Telford joins the West Midlands City Region, what will it be like when Telford's health service is run from Birmingham? Talking about rubbing salt into the wound.

Health bosses to to tighten budget

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris
Health bosses in Telford & Wrekin have been warned to tighten their belts after being ordered to shave millions of pounds from this year's budget.

Key initiatives such as improving sexual health services and plans for cutting obesity levels are having to be put on hold for 12 months.

The borough's Primary Care Trust (PCT) which employs about 500 people, is holding vacancies open for as long as possible and reducing its contingency cash reserve in a bid to save money.

There will be no staff training unless necessary to meet mandatory requirements.

Last month it was revealed that the PCT would have to contribute £2.6 million towards establishing a new national payment system for hospital services.

Deferring

But on top of this the trust, which has just finished the past financial year in balance, must also contribute £5.3 million to the cost of setting up a regional NHS "bank" that will help balance the books of other health organisations across the West Midlands.

Despite the savings already identified, it still faces a £2,5 million gap.

A progress report will be presented to the trust board next Tuesday.

Simon Conolly, PCT chief executive, said today: "We are having to look at things such aa deferring service developments, holding vacancies open and making economies in prescribing.

"It is real belt tightening for the year ahead but we are required to release this money.

"We are trying to minimise the impact on patients.

He said existing services provided by the trust would not be cut.

Chairwoman Sue Davis said that "in theory" the money should be paid back to the PCT next year.

Kick in the teeth for Shropshire women

Cancer drug for women over border sparks fury

Breast cancer patients from Wales will jet the drug Herceptin free of charge at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital while Shropshire women are still expected to pay £47,000 for private treatment.

It is believed the women would be cared or by the same teams that would treat Shropshire patients if health chiefs agreed to fund the drug.

The move, revealed today, has angered North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson who has been campaigning for free treatment for cancer patients in his constituency.

He is demanding an explanation from Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt and claimed Shropshire patients fighting to get Herceptin on the NHS had been dealt another "kick in the teeth".

It is believed that up to fbur women from Mid Wales will be treated at their "local" Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The drug is fully funded in Wales for early stage cancer, but the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust has said it will not fund it for early stage cancer until it is fully licensed, a move expected by he summer.

This could lead to about 40 patients from Shropshire, including Telford & Wrekin, being eligible for Herceptin on the NHS at a cost of more than £1.2 million.

Julie Grant, Shropshire Bounty PCT chief executive, said today "Everyone is finding the situation difficult. The sooner we get national clarity the better."

Suzanne Digwood, of Loughton, near Bridgnorth, who has been campaigning to get Herceptin on the NHS, said the drug was being handed out in the style of a postcode lottery.

"It's unethical and not right," she said.

Letter: Shropshire Star

Our taxes should be spent on England

The Shropshire Star is now running almost daily stories highlighting the plight of those unfortunate English women who are denied Herceptin.

There are stories of fundraising events and kind donations but the actual cause and solution for the Herceptin problem never seems to get a mention.

Herceptin is available even for the early stages of breast cancer in Scotland and Wales, but not in England. The reason (jiven by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for denying this drug is that it is too expensive.

So why can Scottish and Welsh women get Herceptin? Scotland and Wales are funded from the UK Treasury using the Barnett Formula which provides for an annual subsidy from English taxes to make up the difference between the amount of tax they pay and the amount they spend.

England will never be able to afford the same level of service as Scotland and Wales while Scottish and Welsh MPs are controlling the English health service.

An English parliament spending English taxes on English people is what these women need, not sympathy.

Ask your MP what they are going to do to stop the British government discriminating against you.

Stuart Parr
Telford

Letter to Shropshire newspapers

The Campaign for an English Parliament must be hitting a few raw nerves as so-called main stream political parties appear to be campaigning against the idea. They usually claim it will break up the Union and/or create more bureaucracy. The Conservatives claim that English Votes on English Matters (EVoEM) is the possible solution.

Firstly, the Union was fatally fractured when Tony Blair and his crew created the hotchpotch Devolutionary system that they imposed on the United Kingdom. They created it solely to ensure they had somewhere to govern if they lose a General Election.

Secondly, why should there be any more bureaucracy? All that is needed is to transfer most of the current Government ministries to the English Parliament. The UK Parliament would only be left with tax raising, foreign affairs, defence and a few international matters; they would only need 2 and 2 half ministries. They might want to retain that part of the Home Office that deals with naturalisation matters but it too could be transferred as over 96% of immigrants settle in England. The UK Parliament could then be cut to 80 or so MPs.

EVoEM is nonsense, for the following reasons:

· The proposal is for the Speaker to declare an item an EVoEM. Currently, the Speaker is a Scottish MP so presumably he would have to leave the Chamber and hand over to an English Deputy. On that basis, the incumbent would be missing for about 85% of the Common’s business. So will he still get paid for NOT doing his job?
· The current Secretary of State for Transport (for example) is a Scottish MP. Does that mean he would be unable to introduce or speak about his own Bill? If so how could he be Secretary of State?
· What about a Scottish person who represents an English Constituency – might he/she not end up being accused of being biased?

At the end of the day, no man can serve two masters (neither can any woman) so the Scottish Parliament serves the people of Scotland, the UK Parliament the people of the United Kingdom and the English? Well, they have no one serving them.