Letters: Empty niche syndrome

The following letters appear in the 30th December edition of the Independent

Cecil Rhodes on Oriel College in Oxford (David Sandison)

If Cecil Rhodes is to be deposed to feed the egos of self-promoting Oxford undergraduates, surely the chisel, mallet and match must be taken to a multitude of other statues, memorials and national symbols stained with death and oppression?

Trinity College, Cambridge, should get rid of its statue of Henry VIII, a wife-murdering despot responsible for untold destruction of the once mighty abbeys. Thus, a huge swathe of our architectural heritage was obliterated during his bloody reign.

Parliament should topple its statue of Cromwell for his crimes against the Irish people, not to mention plunging England into puritanical misery and the regicide of Charles I.

Then there are the numerous memorials to Queen Victoria, whose reign oversaw the merciless exploitation of the colonies. Add to Victoria’s crimes the cruelty of the New Poor Law and the punitive laws against homosexuality, both of which condemned many an individual to ruin. She has to go and Victoria Station must be re-named.

Anthony Rodriguez, DPhil (Oxon)

Staines Upon Thames

Ian Bartlett suggests we employ an Isis specialist to seek out dodgy statues to destroy (letter, 29 December). Surely the first he would choose is outside the Houses of Parliament – Richard the Lion Heart, with his crusading sword raised high in the air.

Stewart Trotter

London W9

Probation service carved up

The concern expressed in your editorial (21 December) on the damage being done to the Probation Service underestimated the problem. The service is not just being privatised, it is being split – exactly the opposite of what is needed in a service which needs a co-ordinated approach to keeping track of offenders, previous offenders and potential offenders.

Anyone who read Chris Grayling’s letter to the staff at Christmas two years ago would have seen the disaster which was being planned where one part of the service would be “public” and the other “private” with minimum liaison between the two parts, and advantages to the private part to compete rather than co-operate. Couple that with the theory that “more could be done with less”, and the chances of breakdown of the staff and the system were bound to be high.

All this information was available, but MPs (both Government and Opposition) and unions and press did not respond, though they had to know of the record of failures of Grayling’s ministers. No select committee looked at the way this vital service was being broken up.

It is good that The Independent at least has woken up, but the damage may already be too serious to correct in the short term.

Professor A J (Tony) Pointon

University of Portsmouth

It is indeed a true reflection of our society, and of those who privatise public services, to see the shockingly predictable reports of jobs being cut in Community Rehabilitation Services in the Business News section of The Independent (28 December).

Kath Hall

Walk Mill, Staffordshire

Honours sham undermines Lords

For once, I agree with Alastair Campbell and his comment on the honours system.

At the higher levels relating to politics, government and business it has become a total sham, as has the way life-peerages have been handed out recently.

How confident can we be now that the Upper House will be a trustworthy and reliable agency for the thorough scrutiny of legislation proposed by today’s government?

F Goodman

London E9

Childbirth for the lower classes

I was astonished to read that the new chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust believes that its services should not be confined to expectant mothers of the middle classes. For as long as I can remember, middle-class and almost middle-aged parents have headed to the NCT, while the rest make do with the local authority sessions.

This smacks of what Sir Leicester Dedlock in Bleak House would refer to as “the opening of the floodgates”. Whatever next?

Jane Gregory

Emsworth, Hampshire

Keep these killers out of the country

Given the huge number of mass killings in the United States perhaps we should take Donald Trump’s views seriously and ban the immigration of Americans into this country until we can figure out what their problem is.

Dr Ian Robertson

Milton Keynes

The era of climate change starts here

As 2016 approaches, it is a strange feeling knowing that we are moving into the Climate Change Era.

In the past there was always a hope that humanity would finally get on and try to turn things around. But since the Paris talks this illusion has evaporated and, as runways are planned, fracking authorised and retail records broken at the sales, I realise that our society has simply decided to “let it happen”.

This is bizarre and tragic and makes the Paris agreement seem like King Canute sitting on his throne, jubilantly declaring that he has conquered the tide, just as the water laps up around his chest. This analogy is doubly poignant when we consider the tragic floods in northern England.

Alan Mitcham

Cologne

From “unprecedented” flooding in the UK and South America to deadly tornadoes in the US, to record-breaking heat in Australia, the effect of man-made climate change on extreme weather is on display across the globe as 2015 draws to a close.

Scientists have long warned that human-caused climate change increases both the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events, which include torrential rain, superstorms and droughts.

On the ground across the world, the effects have been dire. Hundreds have been evacuated in the wake of “biblical” flooding across northern England, officials were warned by the Government’s own climate change advisers that they needed to take action to protect the increasing number of homes at high risk of flooding – but rejected the advice.

The flooding showed that the debate about climate change is over. There is no doubt that the world’s climate is now different,

Heavy flooding has forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Meanwhile, in the US, heavy rains and flash floods have devastated parts of the Midwest and South.

On the other side of the globe, Perth, Australia recorded its second hottest day of the year on Monday, reaching 41.6C.

Alan Hinnrichs

Dundee

In response to the question posed by Sally Pavey about Gatwick’s expansion plans and the risk of flooding (letter, 29 December), I can assure your readers that Gatwick’s expansion plans have been designed to handle any adverse weather conditions.

Recent weather events have highlighted the importance of planning and readiness for flooding, which is why Gatwick has gone to great lengths to ensure our plans are weather-ready and beneficial to the environment. Since 2013 we have invested significantly in our own flood defence system and contributed to a region-wide flood alleviation programme.

The Environment Agency has assessed Gatwick’s proposals for a second runway and concluded that not only do they meet all statutory requirements, but provide for an improved river environment for biodiversity and flood risk. Gatwick’s plans for a second runway are designed to protect the airport from a one-in-100 year flood event, plus a further 20 per cent allowance to deal with the potential impacts of climate change.

Stewart Wingate

CEO, Gatwick Airport

If houses have to be built on flood plains (goodness knows why they do, but it seems that they do), why not have them with three stories, and the garage on the ground floor?

The cars can be driven away and parked on high ground when there are flood warnings. It makes for a smaller overall footprint, too.

Patrick Cosgrove

Chapel Lawn, Shropshire

Your editorial of 28 December reports David Cameron as saying the floods are “unprecedented”. Actually, what is unprecedented is the shrivelling of the Prime Minister’s attention span, so that he forgets the flooding in the South, the West, the North-west, and the North-east, much of it while he has been in No 10.

Cameron’s roll-back-the-state posture has now been enhanced with a zero-responsibility syndrome.

Martin London

Henllan, Denbighshire

While few will have been impressed by Cameron’s York photo-call, even more will despair at Dave Brown’s characterisation of the North with the cliches of flat cap and whippet (29 December).

Anthony Day

York