Stop trashing open spaces
Once again we see travellers unlawfully occupying open fields then leaving a mess for others to clean up. York Travellers Trust is a registered charity with a stated aim “to build a bridge between GTC (Gypsy Traveller Communities) and others to promote community cohesion and increase opportunities and life choices for all”.
The Trust goes on to say it “believes this is the most positive way to reduce inequalities and fight discrimination”. But whenever travellers leave heaps of rubbish behind The Travellers Trust says not a word.
They do not condemn this antisocial behaviour.
The nuisance it causes and the cost to taxpayers of a clean up is never mentioned.
Perhaps the Trust could approach Travellers as soon as they unlawfully occupy land in York to explain to them it would greatly help “community cohesion” and “reduce discrimination” if those very same travellers had more respect for local citizens, behaved with more consideration and cleaned up their mess before moving on.
If members of the GTC genuinely wish to be on better terms with the wider community it is not unreasonable for citizens to expect Travellers to stop trashing open spaces.
Matthew Laverack, Lord Mayors Walk, York
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Make Travellers pay for removing their rubbish
City of York Council knows who all these Travellers are, so why do they not fine them heavily and make them fully pay the cost of removing all the rubbish and detritus they leave behind?
Alternatively they could impound their vehicles until they clear up after themselves.
If we overload, or put the wrong items in our wheelie bins, they do not get collected or we get threatening letters from CYC. We have to pay for green waste collection and pay for collection of large items or pay an official collector to take our waste to the recycling centres, so why should this small group of inconsiderate people be allowed to get away with what they do?
Double Standards, methinks?
Phill Thomas, Brecksfields, Skelton
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Oscar worthy
After watching Nicola Sturgeon on the Laura Kuenssberg show, she definitely has to be nominated for an Oscar.
What a superb performance, presuming she has no acting experience. Far better actress than politician.
T J Ryder, Acomb, York
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We need a new voting system
150 years ago there were two political parties. Whigs and Tories. Elections sort of worked, if you were a man and owned a house and paid rates. Rich men could even vote more than once!
Not so great if you were a woman or an ordinary working class man – you couldn’t vote at all.
Many men who could vote thought it worked OK though ... But it’s not 1876. It is 2026. Our First Past The Post voting system is tearing us apart. Where five parties stand for election, the winner might have won only 21% of the vote! How is that democracy?
Instead of voting for the party that represents our views, millions of us vote for the party most likely to stop the party we hate.
It is winding us all up. A peaceful nation is becoming a country at war with itself. In a complex world, we need politicians to work together for our common good.
We need parties to propose solutions, not inflame grievances and suspicion. We need to rebuild trust. We need to fix things, not break things.
We need to vote for parties and not against parties. We need a new voting system.
Christian Vassie Blake Court, Wheldrake, York
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