Political debate and EU ties – readers' letters, plus Alveley Colliery memories of 1948

I want to see proper debate

I read Alan Harrison's letter concerning what he termed "whatabouterry" with a smile. It is undoubtedly true that we all use deflection in debate, most often when we do not particularly wish to discuss a specific point of contention. However, does this mean that the issue raised as a deflection is not worthy of examination?

I often smile when people on the left—not necessarily Mr Harrison, who, to my recollection, does not make personal attacks—raise questions about their opponents' character and conduct. Nigel Farage is currently facing this, with an increasingly fierce assault on his personality and suitability for office. In such circumstances, I find myself recalling the actions of figures such as Blair and his associate Campbell, who concocted evidence and sent our servicemen to their deaths based on lies. My point is that, in the febrile arena of politics, it would be far preferable for participants to focus on the issues. That said, Mr Harrison might consider how few of the posts on this page and others do so. Burnham appears to be reinforcing this trend through his endless TikTok videos and sound-bite rhetoric.

If we want proper debate, personality politics and the tendency to claim the moral high ground for one’s own side must end. I suggest to Mr Harrison that this will never happen, and I must accept that.

Martin Bristow, Midlands

Remember how EU treated us

It is all very well considering stronger ties or even rejoining the EU, but we should not forget the way we have been treated after withdrawing our billions of pounds, which went a long way towards supporting this club.

There are two very important concerns to consider. The first is the return of those tens of thousands of illegal immigrants that the EU sent across in small and large boats because that was easier than properly processing them in EU countries and returning them to where they came from.

Secondly, our contribution must be equal in amount to that of all the EU countries, rather than as it was before, when just the UK and three EU countries paid 70 per cent of the EU budget, with the other 24 countries paying only the remaining 30 per cent.

Why on earth would anyone with any sense want to rejoin when Europe is in such turmoil? We know what will happen then: the UK will be expected to bail them out once more. I do, though, feel sorry for the good people of Europe.

Name and address supplied

• You can enjoy other pictures from the past and more with our weekly FREE Nostalgia Newsletter - with scores of archive pictures and exclusive features on the history of Shropshire and Mid Wales - all sent to your inbox every week. Sign up here

Have an opinion? We want to hear from you.

Share your views by writing to Readers’ Letters at [email protected]

Letters to the editor must include the writer’s name and address. Letters will only be published anonymously in exceptional circumstances. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity or style.

Do you have a picture from the past to share?

We would love to hear from you. Whether you have an old photograph, need help identifying a street or recognise a familiar face, send your images to [email protected]

Please include your name, where you are from and as much information as possible about the photograph. We will publish as many as we can online and in print.