Readers' letters - May 25

Listening to the radio, I was stunned to hear that the Department for International Development was possibly reconsidering the £100m aid that it gives annually to Myanmar, feeling uncomfortable that it could be misused. Did I hear rightly? £100m of our hard earned money.It appears that DfID has over £13bn of taxpayer funds to distribute each year to so-called needy causes, much of it going to wealthy countries. However, I do have to question the logic of this Government squandering our money while we are all still suffering crippling austerity measures.Our cities are full of homeless people. Our NHS is in crisis. There’s a chronic shortage of affordable housing, our police force is so short-handed and underfunded, it has made the UK a criminals’ paradise. Our rail transport structure is laughable, and arguably our roads are more suitable to testing Land Rovers on – so surely the surplus money in the Treasury’s coffers should be spent on getting this country in a fit state before worrying about other countries and their problems?Don’t get me wrong, I’m not adverse to charity or good causes and I contribute to many. However, it seems to me that this Government is more interested in impressing other nations by playing the great benefactor than looking after its own citizens.Squandering money on questionable projects such as HS2 and HS3, costing trillions but with little benefit to the average working man, is one example, and there are thousands more that escape notice. Nevertheless, shouldn’t we be looking to make our country work first, and when it is working properly, then that will be the time we can afford to be generous. Frankly, I consider this Government is just not fit for purpose, but the sad thing is there isn’t a viable opposition – Labour and the Lib Dems being a lost cause. Karl Sheridanvia email

So much for ‘being green’The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has warned “that clean energy is now at its lowest since 2008”. It makes the Government’s claim to be green and environmentally-friendly wrong.Now they plan to accelerate fracking developments, against the wishes of communities.On May 17, the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced plans that could lead to the drilling of shale gas wells in England becoming “permitted development” without needing a planning application. This is the same level of oversight as erecting a conservatory.This Government is also making ‘noises’ about reducing the production of single-use plastics – good, one might think, but at the same time, it is supporting private companies to frack at will.This country does not rely on Russia for gas. This is scaremongering by people like Boris Johnson. We currently import 70 per cent of our gas from Norway and around 15 per cent from Qatar.We are so sufficient in gas reserves that we export 30 per cent to Ireland.Sue Cuthbertvia email

Untold story of Iran sanctions

You don’t need to be a Nobel economist to understand the reason why petrol and diesel prices have soared over the last few weeks. You only have to look at the Washington hawks for the answer and the US’s sanctions on Iran, with regard to its oil exports, that have caused the price of oil to surge across the globe. For Iran is a global oil powerhouse and once you take it out of the equation, you take out the fifth largest oil producer in the world. So why is this really happening? Well, when you look at what is going on with the imposition of US sanctions and that the US will become the largest producer in 2018, according to some oil analysts, the US needs people to sell its US oil to. Therefore the best way to do this is to put sanctions on a major global competitor and that is the untold story of what is actually going on behind these sanctions –if truth be told. Dr David HillWorld Innovation Foundation

Fantasy Homes by the Sea

Fantasy Homes by the Sea is back for a new series and we would love to hear from people in the Wigan area who are looking to move to the coast and would like to take part. Have you always dreamt of living by the sea? Are you looking to buy a home on the UK coast and would like some help with your property search? Please get in touch if you are interested in taking part in our brand new series for 2018 – visit [email protected] WestonAssistant ProducerFantasy Homes By The Sea