Shamed by inertia

A number of your readers will recently have received a lengthy epistle about Ukraine issues from our Devizes constituency MP , Mr Daniel Kruger.

Mr Kruger acknowledges slow pace, delay, and incompetence on the part of government but it doesn't seem as if he himself has made any particular personal effort to speed up the arrival of displaced families from Ukraine. The quicker that can be done the more we are helping to relieve some of the immense pressure falling on other European countries and their Administration, Accommodation, Health and Education services.

Most of those countries are much poorer than the UK. I know we have left the European Union but we haven't left Europe. Simple solidarity demands that we act much more quickly. Why not make free (and visa -free) travel arrangements for Ukrainian people to come here, and set up temporary arrival centres for them to spend a few days before moving to their host families ? Let's crack on.

BBC Newsnight was broadcast from Poland. The Poles are taking the biggest hit, and the interviews with their government officials and political figures demonstrated levels of compassionate energy and competence that was frankly inspiring. Yet again British people are left shamed by the inertia, equivocation and bureaucratic barriers on display by our own government.

Do we have only Levites and Pharisees in power ? Did the Good Samaritan ask the injured man if he had a visa?

Bill Yates

Little Bedwyn

Marlborough

Fly flag in support

Grateful thanks and congratulations go to all those vary many individuals and communities that are collecting medical necessities, raising money, flying flags and showing support in other ways for the people of Ukraine. It's a matter of shame and sadness that the leadership of Wiltshire Council is not among them.

Our request that County Hall joins many Wiltshire Town Councils that are flying the Ukrainian flag was met with the reaction by the Leadership of Wiltshire Council that to do so was in some way ‘tokenistic’.

At this dire time for Ukraine, we must do whatever we can to help Ukranian refugees come to safe homes in Wiltshire and elsewhere in Britain, supply arms to help defend Ukranian towns, provide humanitarian support to those fleeing growing atrocities, sanction Putin and his cronies and seize their assets, and get dirty Russian money out of our democracy and publicly show our support.

I urge Wiltshire Council's leadership to relent and fly the Ukraine flag alongside the Union Flag outside County Hall, just as it is being by our sister Unitary Council North Somerset and on Town Halls across Wiltshire.

Dr Brian Mathew

Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet member for the Environment

Wiltshire Councillor for Box & Colerne

Paying twice?

I note this year's council tax increase includes four per cent from the new police crime commissioner, 19-5 per cent on the precept for Trowbridge town council, (they have said they will not increase again before the next election).

I am concerned for the residents who are already struggling with finances with the other proposed increases in other areas.

As we are already paying Wiltshire Council for the services that the town council are setting the precept for, could Wiltshire Council please explain why we have to pay twice for the same service.

Geoff Whiffen

Holyrood Close

Trowbridge

On back of tragedy

An open letter to MP James Gray: Your Leader, our Prime Minister is at it again. Lying. “When the British people voted for Brexit, in such large, large numbers…” As we know, 52 per cent for, 48 per cent against. At that time, you said that should such a small difference result, it should not count, changing your tune when the vote went minimally in your favour. Then, at the Conservative Spring Conference, for Johnson to liken the UK’s decision, in any way, to today’s tragic situation in Ukraine, is beyond crass. The EU is hardly Russia!

We did not escape a tyranny, I am sure you will agree. We were grossly misled, as to the benefits of leaving, by the likes of Johnson, Farage, Gove and others. Perhaps a checklist of benefits would now be timely. A new deal with the US?

Once again, our now side-lined PM has made us the laughing stock of Europe and beyond. Any influence we had has gone.

As with Thatcher (the Falklands War saved. temporarily, her premiership) Johnson has wriggled out of dismissal upon the back of a tragedy elsewhere. About time the Conservative Party made a move, for it’s own self-preservation.

James Saxton

Zander Road,

Calne.

Waste of money

Further to Melanie Boyle’s letter regarding the constant, 24/7 lighting in Sadlers Mead Car Park, I can say that I completely agree with her and would like to add that following a freedom of information request I have found out that Wiltshire Council have spent over £41,000 upgrading the fire alarm and bringing the lighting under control. This money has been spent after the car park opened last year, and apart from a few cars regularly seen on the lower ground floor, the facility rarely gets used.

The £14,123 spent on lighting seems to be, like the rest of the building, a total waste of tax payers money because as Melanie says, it is still constantly lit.

When will WC learn that very often local people and councils know what will work and what won’t in their local areas; the forest of unnecessary traffic lights we now have gridlocking our town being another great example, and stop wasting huge amounts of tax payer’s money on things that don’t work and that nobody wants?

Mike Blanchard

Monkton Park

Chippenham

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