Readers' letters - January 23

In the last century we had Laurel & Hardy... but who do we have now? See letter below for one readers answer

While I hope we all have a great year, one issue I find troubling is the growing funding crisis in the NHS and adult social care.

This is already affecting hospital services, as well as care and support for elderly residents.

There is general agreement that “something should be done”, yet folk shrug their shoulders as we are told “spending cuts need to be made”.

My view is that there is sufficient wealth out there to properly fund these vital services, yet it is not being made available.

A start would be to increase the rate of the income tax of highest earners from 45 per cent to 50 per cent.

After all, the combined wealth of the thousand richest Britons was £520bn in 2014 and growing.

Imagine how much health care and social care that could provide.

Andrew Kay

Address supplied 

brexit

Remain would win vote now

A response to Dick Lindley whose letter in Friday’s Wigan Evening Post congratulated Theresa May on her tough-talking Brexit speech (WEP January 20).

Mr Lindley’s self-righteous crowing about the “posh, moaning left-wing liberal” Remainers now having to accept the referendum is frankly nauseating.

Has he forgotten that the Brexit campaign was built on a series of lies?

£350m a day to the NHS?

Remember than one?

Get a grip on reality, Mr Lindley. You know as well as I do that if we held another referendum today, with the poisonous cloud of Nigel Farage’s spin lifted, there could only be a Remain win.

Harry Francis

via email 

charity

Join team CLIC Sargent

CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading support charity for children and young people with cancer and their families. Our social workers, nurses and other frontline staff work tirelessly to limit the damage cancer causes to young lives beyond their health.

Last year, our teams in the North West supported 808 children and young people and awarded over £127,000 in financial grants that helped families cope with the extra costs a cancer diagnosis brings. Our Cancer Costs research has shown that, on average, families with a child going through active treatment spend an extra £600 a month. CLIC Sargent is now in the running to win a charity partnership with the supermarket Morrisons, worth up to £7m. If we win, we’ll be able to double the amount of financial grants we give to families in need.

This January we urge Morrisons employees across the North West to join team CLIC Sargent in our fight for young lives against cancer by voting for us to become their new charity partner.

To find out more visit: www.clicsargent.org.uk/morrisons

Jayne Moran

CLIC Sargent fundraising manager for the North West

politics

End of the World show

In the last century, we had great comedians from Laurel & Hardy to Morecambe & Wise. What have we got in the 21st century? Will it be Trump and Putin in the End of the World Show? I hope not.

Mr JC Penn

via email