South Wales Echo

Sunak has managed to level things down

OUR billionair­e Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, clearly hasn’t a clue about the rising poverty of working families struggling to feed their children if he thinks “trimming benefits” to fund tax cuts would create “fairness”.

This Tory government takes us all for fools if they think we can be hoodwinked into voting for tax cuts that will most benefit the wealthiest while depriving more children who attend our cashstrapp­ed state schools.

Wales has an older and sicker population than England due to the legacy of mining and heavy industry as the cradle of our industrial revolution.

EU money for education and training in deprived areas has not been replaced by Westminste­r as promised.

Our local councils are already too cash strapped to maintain our schools and they are even struggling to maintain adequate standards for litter and rubbish collection. Other public services are struggling. The idea that now is the time for tax cuts which will benefit the better off is frankly bizarre.

We haven’t forgotten the Vote Leave promise of “levelling up” deprived areas now that it’s all too clear that we are being levelled down. Remember, Mr Sunak, you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. As things can only get worse call a general election sooner rather than later.

Margaret Phelps

Penarth

Voting change could lead to stability

OUR Welsh Government has given councils in Wales the option to change our failing first-past-thepost voting system for a fairer proportion system for the next council elections.

First past the post, far from delivering strong and stable government, as its advocates claim, has produced nothing but chaos and division.

The consequenc­es of this political disorder are plain for all to see: squeezed living standards, failing environmen­tal standards, towering NHS waiting lists and wholesale contempt for politician­s.

It’s striking, then, that according to a recent study, countries with proportion­al voting systems – in which debating chambers accurately reflect the way people vote – are on average more stable politicall­y than those with winner-takes-all systems like ours. We call on the Vale council to carry out a consultati­on so local people can have their say on a fairer more democratic voting system which can restore trust and increase local participat­ion.

Robert Curtis

Barry & Vale Green Party

I deplore the loss of these innocent lives

EVERY reader of this letter will have been appalled at the senseless loss of life of so many innocent babies and children as a result of the warfare currently going on in the Middle East – in both the massacre perpetrate­d by Hamas in Israel on October 7 last and in the course of the war being waged by the Israeli forces against the people of Gaza at the present time in pursuit of the perpetrato­rs of the massacre I referred to.

Exactly the same applies to the war being waged at present by the armed forces of Russia against the people of Ukraine. This war is illegal in internatio­nal law –not that that matters a jot to a megalomani­ac like Vladimir Putin.

Besides, whether “legal” or otherwise, warfare invariably involves the loss of life of innocent people.

I would like to believe that readers of this letter would also deplore the loss of life of so many innocent babies as a result of abortion – a loss of life that unfortunat­ely goes on day in day out, war or no war.

Tony Young Llangennec­h, Carmarthen­shire

Move to prevent booking system

I was so pleased the all-party scrutiny committee voted for my motion to shelve any proposed booking system for our recycling centres. The motion will now progress to Cabinet who have already voted against a booking system.

Introducin­g a booking system, I believe, would just cause more flytipping.

The policy will now go out for consultati­on in February with a questionna­ire for residents to give their views and complete.

I have also tabled a series of other questions on the consultati­on policy.

Cllr Kevin Etheridge (Ind) Blackwood

North-south divide over speed limits

THE only way drivers here in Wales can be sure what the speed limit is, is to examine every lamppost.

Now that is even more true, as councils here in north Wales are now planning to upgrade more 20mph roads to 30mph.

It is not that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing, it is more south Wales politician­s have not a clue what the people in north Wales consider unacceptab­le government/big brother/ Marxist-style interferen­ce.

Brian Christley

Abergele

Test could save you from having a stroke

IN Wales more than 120,000 people have a “silent killer” which is one of the leading causes of serious strokes – and many more may be unaware that they have it.

Atrial fibrillati­on – or AF – is a cause in around one in five strokes and these are often more severe, with higher mortality and greater disability.

AF is when your heart beats with an irregular rhythm. When this happens, your heart won’t empty all of the blood out of its chambers with every beat. Then, if your heart chambers aren’t empty, the leftover blood can form clots which travel from your heart into the brain, blocking off blood flow and causing a stroke.

AF sometimes has symptoms including palpitatio­ns – feeling as if your heart is fluttering, thumping or skipping a beat – fatigue, feeling breathless or having chest pain. But often it’s symptomles­s, which is why it often goes undiagnose­d, until it’s too late.

The good news is that AF can be picked up and treated after a simple check.

So on Stroke Prevention Day, Thursday, January 25, we are encouragin­g the public to check their own pulse at home or to use a

This Tory government takes us all for fools if they think we can be hoodwinked into voting for tax cuts that will most benefit the wealthiest

Margaret Phelps Penarth

pharmacy service to get their pulse checked.

A video on our website shows how you can test yourself by placing two fingers on your wrist or neck www.stroke.org.uk/spd24.

Normal heart rate: your pulse should feel regular. Most people have a resting heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm).

Abnormal heart rate: your pulse may feel uneven or skip a beat. Your resting heart rate could be over 120 bpm.

If your pulse is irregular, or very fast when you are at rest, you should contact your GP. This 60-second test could save your life.

Katie Chappelle Associate Director Wales

The Stroke Associatio­n

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