Lib Dems block allowances cut

Your article about Oadby and Wigston Borough Council's budget vote ("District's tax frozen again", March 4) failed to mention that Liberal Democrat councillors voted against a Conservative amendment to cut councillors' special allowances by 30 per cent.

The amendment would have provided extra funding for youth services, senior citizens and much-needed grit bins.

The councillors with oversight for senior citizens (Helen Loydall) and young people (Richard Morris) both voted against extra funding for their areas of responsibility.

The Lib Dems may talk a good game about "tough times" but actions speak louder than words.

It is high time allowances were cut to a bare minimum and councillors elected to serve the community, not their bank balances.

Graham Wilson, chairman, Oadby and Wigston Conservatives.

For all the Leicester City FC fans who pour praise on the club's owners for "pumping money into the club", as the Leicester Mercury put it ("Another £14.6m pumped into City so far this season", Mercury, March 4) read the article very carefully.

The majority of the £61 million "pumped" in is in fact a loan at 8 per cent interest, so don't be moaning when your season ticket costs more.

Ultimately, the owners are not going to lose money, but LCFC plc is losing £90,000 per day (£30 million in the last financial year).

Stewart Allardyce, Leicester.

I have recently been examined at the department of endoscopy, at Leicester General Hospital.

My apprehension was soon allayed by the friendly and caring reception of the staff, the promptness of the appointment, the meticulous explanation by the consultant of the procedure and the reassurance this gave me.

All this professionalism resulted in a successful examination and aftercare.

Phillip R S Frost, Ullesthorpe.

Recently, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, said the basic salary of £65,783 for an MP is ordinary.

He asked that salary increases be passed by the Parliamentary Standards Authority.

MPs wanted their salary increased by 32 per cent to £86,000.

Previously, the speaker had called for MPs to be paid as much as a council chief or GP, many of whom earn a six-figure salary.

So much for "we are all in this together" when benefits will only rise by a 1 per cent increase for the next three years, why should MPs get a 32 per cent increase?

Kevin Fletcher, Coalville.

In your leader of March 11 ("Falklands belong to islanders") regarding the recent poll of the Falkland islanders as to whether they wish to remain British, you state: "The islands are now home to a community which wants to remain under British sovereignty. This is surely a matter for them and nobody else."

It als states what matters is the wish of the islanders in this respect.

It is unfortunate, to put it kindly, that the media in this country, including The Mercury, have not been as keen to cover the experience of the people of the Chagos Islands, a British Overseas Territory.

Some 40 years ago, the 2,000 or so inhabitants of these islands in the Indian Ocean were expelled from their homes and homeland without being given the opportunity to express their views through a referendum or consultation.

They were effectively dispossessed and deported by the British Government of the day, first to the island of Peros Banos 100 miles away from their homeland and then, in 1973, to Mauritius.

This was done so an American military base could be set up on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group.

It is a disgrace that successive British Governments have done nothing to put right this injustice and continue to ignore the plight of the Chagos islanders.

Apparently, democracy is a "good thing" in the Falklands but of no consequence in the Chagos Islands.

Don Gleave, Leicester.