Readers' letters - July 19

We have one of the biggest governments in the world and a huge civil service.

As a small country, we also have a large Army, Navy and Air Force which requires a huge financial commitment.

Our minority governments over time have flip-flopped from disaster to disaster and yet we continue to blame the EU for all our ills.

We have been unable to control the number of people entering the UK since the 1950s and exiting the EU will not help.

The truth is that our political parties are now faced with resolving complex problems which they have created over time.

It would appear that we can no longer continue to fund a large government, a large civil service and a large military presence.

John Fisher

Address supplied

Zero tolerance for speed drivers

In watching the World Championship Para Athletics, I wondered how many athletes were road crash victims.

Moments after a 50-mile cycle road race, I suffered a brain injury. Also, a cycling pal nearly lost a leg.

Both victims of negligent drivers, he would certainly qualify as a para-cyclist.

On running tracks and cycling tracks, the race is for medals. On public highways, the race is for survival.

Milliseconds can both win races and cost lives.

If we can have zero tolerance for false starts and drug cheats, why can’t we have zero tolerance of speeding drivers?

To get up to speed, both runners and cyclists have to put lots of power down.

The amount of leg power needed to drive wouldn’t burst a balloon. It also requires no effort to stick to speed limits.

By ‘injecting’ more fuel than the law allows, speeding drivers should be labelled cheats in the human race, and face the same disqualification as false starting/drug cheating athletes.

In 20mph, and 30mph zones, drivers should not be allowed to overtake cyclists who are fit enough to ride at speed limits, any more than 1,000cc motorbikes, at speeding limits, should be overtaken.

Speed limiters/black boxes should surely be compulsory.

This should surely be fought for by disabled athletes, if not all athletes.

Can I invite the sports world to support both RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, and Vision Zero?

Allan Ramsay

Radcliffe

NHS comes top, US bottom

The NHS has been ranked the number one healthcare system in a comparison of 11 countries.

It was praised for its safety, affordability and efficiency, but fared less well on outcomes such as preventing early deaths.

The research by the Commonwealth Fund and a US think tank looked at countries including the US, Canada, France and Germany.

The US system, the one the Tory Government wants to adopt, came bottom.

SPG

via email