Published letters represent the views of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect those of the3towns. All letters submitted for publication should bear the name and the usual location of the writer, although, on request, details can be withheld.
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Dear Sir,
Re your story about the true cost of the North Ayrshire PPP deal (PPP schools bill soars to half-a-billion pounds – News 28/01/12).
Firstly, well done to Cllr John Hunter for uncovering this information about how much the North Ayrshire public is being ripped off for these schools.
Secondly, why are the Labour councillors who signed a contract allowing us to be ripped off not facing prosecution for wasting so much public money? Of course, that is just stupid talk. Politicians don’t get held to account. Even the MPs who were caught bang to rights fiddling their expenses only got rapped on the knuckles. Anyone else caught stealing thousands of pounds from their employers would have gone to jail for a very long time. The MPs that did get the jail were out in a few months. If I had done it I would be in for years.
I know a few of the Labour councillors responsible for this PPP fiasco lost their seats at the last election. Some are still there though. We need to make sure we get rid of them this time.
So think about that when you go to vote in May. If they are representing the Labour Party they are responsible for costing you and me half a billion pounds for four schools. Kick them out!!
Ian Muir
Ardrossan
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Dear Sir,
I see from your report in last week’s edition that the saga of the North Ayrshire Schools PPP Project continues to rumble on.
I remember your editor actively pursuing this matter in a previous career as a politician (or should that be a future career, given his candidacy for the forthcoming Council election). I also remember that two Independent candidates secured election to North Ayrshire Council the last time after also pursuing answers over why a contract was signed when there was apparently only one consortium who bid for the work. Well, only one that was capable of actually building schools.
My career before retirement was in the world of finance and I can tell you I have never been involved in any project where a contract running to a value in millions of pounds was awarded with only one bidder. I also know, however, how powerful vested interests can be.
There are undoubtedly people in positions of power who know this contract should not have been awarded in the circumstances that pertained at the time. But no one is going to speak out. Everyone involved has been well served, except the people of North Ayrshire, who apparently will end up paying in the region of half a billion pounds for four schools.
Norman Buchanan
Ardrossan
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL ELECTION
Dear Sir,
Let’s get real!
When will we stop being told, inaccurately, that today's working population are supporting pensioners? This drip-feeding reinforces the idea that older people are a burden, and leads to ‘casual indifference’ towards the elderly.
Each generation supports itself by taxes and National Insurance contributions. Many of todays over 65s worked for 50 years or more, not having benefited from almost-universal university education.
They contribute many times over to their state pension and many have a company pension too. If successive governments choose to squander such people's contributions instead of making prudent provision for a rising elderly population, that is to their shame.
The gap between rich and poor is growing wider and it is a frightening prospect that £120bn is lost to the treasury every year via tax evasion. Think what we could achieve if this money, along with a wealth tax on the richest 10%, and a so-called Robin Hood tax on City transactions - worth £30bn - were to be collected.
The All Scotland Pensioners Party would end tax havens and introduce progressive taxation to pay for the country's deficit instead of getting rid of public service workers in local councils and the NHS, which is already short of thousands of nurses and midwives.
Just look at the figures in this table, which shows where our money has gone:
Cost of last year’s riots £200m
Tax avoidance by Vodafone £6bn
Tax spent on Libyan war £1bn
Total tax evasion in 2010 by the UK’s richest people £120bn
Taxpayers’ bill for the banking crisis £131bn
Tax spent on Iraq war £4.5bn
Tax spent on Afghanistan war (up to 2009) £12bn
Total MP expenses bill (2007) £87.6m
Cost of Trident nuclear missiles £100bn
TOTAL £376.26bn
So let’s get real!
Jimmy Miller
Candidate for Saltcoats & Stevenston
All Scotland Pensioners Party
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Dear Sir,
Having had a look at the Labour candidates in the Three Towns it seems to me they are just taking people for granted (Labour selects Council candidates – News 28/01/12).
Mostly the same old faces. The same old failures more like.
We need a change at the Council to shake things up. Voting Labour has not helped us any in the past.
Anne Warner
Stevenston