Letters to the Canary: Tory filth and sewage, the UK’s pesticides policy, and volunteering

The Canary is excited to share the latest edition of our letters page. This is where we publish people’s responses to the news and politics, or anything else they want to get off their chest. We’ve now opened the letters page up so anyone can submit a contribution. As always, if you’d like to subscribe to the Canary – starting from just £1 a month – to support truly radical and independent media, then you can do that here:

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This week’s letters

This week we have people’s thoughts on the Tory sewage scandal, a response to a Canary article on pesticides, and a new political party needing a volunteer. 

Sewage: we’ve already paid for it

The problems with sewage pollution in our rivers and sea has being going on for decades. Why? Greed!

Whilst our rivers and sea are being polluted and beaches are unusable for swimming, surfing etc., the directors, CEOs, and shareholders get fat on the profits and bonuses, which are then hidden overseas: mega-yachts in Cannes, offshore companies, and tax havens. These monies are then lost to our economy.

This is the very money that should be (should have been) spent on the infrastructure of our Victorian system over the decades to improve and modernise the sewage system to make it fit for purpose! They knew this was coming but preferred to pander to shareholder greed rather than doing anything about it. Now they want to add this to our bills and taxes! We’ve already paid them!

The water companies should be told they cannot give another penny of profit to shareholders or bonuses until this is fixed! I would go as far as saying that the government should take back a lot of these wrongly given payouts and and ring-fence them for infrastructure improvements.

It’s alright saying that our Victorian age sewage system is at fault. At the time it was built it was state of the art and world leading – but decades (centuries even) of underinvestment has left us with the situation we have today. Shame on them for doing it and shame on us for allowing it!

The public should not have to foot the bill, they have already paid it!

Gordon McVittie, via email

Some thoughts on a Canary article on pesticides

I would like to make you aware of a few details which weren’t included in the article ‘The toxic poster child of Europe’: the UK’s controversial pesticide policies.

1. Pesticides banned for use in EU countries are still being exported from the EU, particularly to poorer countries:

Belgium, France, Germany: Pesticide giants are exporting banned chemicals through European loopholes | Euronews

Also:

The EU and UK exported 1,000 tonnes of a banned pesticide to poorer countries, investigation reveals | Euronews

2. Even when there is an EU wide ban, it hasn’t stopped individual countries from ‘temporarily’ authorising banned pesticides; France, for example:

Loi 14 décembre 2020 dérogation utilisation néonicotinoïdes betteraves | vie-publique.fr

Activists had to go to the European Court of Justice to get a judgement preventing reauthorisation this year:

La France renonce aux néonicotinoïdes dans les champs de betteraves sucrières (france24.com)

Perhaps there needs to be an EU ban on the manufacture of harmful pesticides, never mind exporting them?

I’d also be interested to know what sort of state support for farmers PAN UK envisage? After all, the main drivers for the use of these pesticides are the industry itself and of course industrial farming.

Meanwhile, the glyphosate debate continues.

Kind regards

Alison Mollett, via email

Volunteer needed

Want to help a new political party?

Dear Editor,

Seeking volunteer admin, please, for oven ready new party brand, that would make rich individuals and companies pay more tax and basic waged pay less in income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Policies include:

• Lowering low profit corporation tax to 17%, with no taper upwards.
• Richest companies paying 26% corporation tax.
• More income tax tiers.
• Return of £500 allowance increase per year.
• Starting tier halved from 20p to 10p.
• Lowering top 45p tax tier to around £80,000 a year.
• Adding two more tiers of 50p and 55p.
• Halving worker National Insurance contributions from 12% to 5.85%.
• From Upper Earnings threshold, increase from current 2% to 10%.
• From new tier of Maximum Salary threshold (new 45p tax tier), increase from current 2% to 12%.
• Various zero rating of VAT.
• Adding Winston Churchill’s Luxury Tax on high value goods and on private school fees.

Volunteer admin would need no specialist knowledge as that would be provided by a specialist law firm, already found.

No other unelected party brand has the unique policies for the over-50s, the last age group sufficiently turning out to vote, as well as policies for all ages.

So, best placed to beat Labour -which is otherwise on course to win a landslide and just give us the same Tory policies.

Please contact through website:

www.over50sparty.org.uk

Christine Williams via email

Want to get involved? Email membership(at)thecanary.co and we’ll publish your letters, too! Terms and conditions of publication apply.