Letters, February 16, 2019

Wednesday February 13, 2019 will go down as a landmark day in the history of Blackpool Football Club following the decision by the High Court to allow formal receivership proceedings to commence with the associated companies.

It would seem Owen Oyston has been the author of his own downfall.

The curse of portraying an obnoxious combination of greed and power has come back to haunt him late in life.

It cannot be argued or denied during his 84 years, he has gained remarkable business success and enjoyed tremendous financial wealth. If you are placed in such a fortunate position,

why allow such level of greed to be your downfall?

Good health, contentment and happiness are much richer qualities in comparison to developing an obsession with money.

Stephen Pierre

Campaigner for social justice

Fracking

Unfelt above ground - but not below...

The existing traffic light system is part of the gold standard monitoring proudly publicised by the government whilst forcing fracking on unwilling communities.

It was proved effective after multiple seismic events caused by Preese Hall fracking damaged well integrity and fracking was halted.

Although mostly unfelt at ground level, below ground cumulative low level seismic events can build up to provoke serious problems to property and infrastructure.

Several faults are known to traverse the Fylde peninsula and these will provide the conduit for structural problems unless the existing limits are strictly adhered to. This was highlighted in the presentation at Ribby Hall last weekend.

Peter K Roberts

Warton

Brexit

I would pay to keep EU benefits

To T May and J Corbyn, I’ve just got my tax bill for 2017-18. It says I paid £34 to the EU.

On March 30, this year, the day after Brexit, I will be going abroad. The advice from the Government is to take out additional insurance because the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) may not then be valid. Last year, it cost me an extra £400, on top of my annual risk sport annual insurance, to go to Canada. I want to remain an individual member of the EU. I can do the sums so I’m happy to pay by direct debit directly to Brussels if a payment to HM Government is too difficult for you to arrange.

I’m sure there are many other millions of people willing to pay such a small amount to retain not just the EHIC, but also all of the other benefits of the EU.

Please make arrangements for all of us who can see the benefits of the EU to retain our individual current benefits. I’m happy for all the leavers to have to pay a huge amount of additional funds to insurance companies etc.

But I want to remain a European.

Richard Toon

via email

Brexit

Lack of gratitude from the French

As we try to secure a decent exit deal from the EU, what angers me most of all is the French Government and its President Macron, who is doing all he can to delay or help to thwart Brexit, as it will have a disastrous effect on the French economy.

All this from a country which is gripped with the yellow vests demos.

The French, I believe, have never forgiven Britain for liberating them twice from German occupation.

They don’t want to lose the right to fish in our waters at the expense of our own British fishing industry, not to mention the farming subsidy issue.

Here’s a reminder of France’s gratitude to the thousands of British and allied soldiers, who gave their lives in the Second World War, for liberating them... (again!)

In 1944, their ‘Great’ General, Charles De Gaulle at the outbreak of the war, fled to England and spent the entire length of the war in a cushy hotel somewhere in England, paid for by the British tax payer.

What does anger me is that, at the end of the war, he returned to France, marching proudly down the Champs-Élysées with his head held high as if he had personally liberated his country.

When later he became President of France, he personally blocked our request to join, as it was then, the Common Market, repeatedly saying “Non Non”. That’s gratitude for you.

How I wish he’d succeeded in keeping us out of the Common Market. It would have been a nice way to say thanks to us for twice liberating his country.

Leaver

Address supplied