Letters to the Editor

SIR - I want to congratulate Sally Clifford for her article highlighting the problem of workplace bullying (T&A, September 23).

As a former local government manual worker myself for nearly 20 years, I suffered bullying at the hands of a senior manager. I was also a union steward at that time involved in long and difficult negotiations.

It affected me so badly I suffered a nervous breakdown. This led to my suffering deep depression and a feeling of total worthlessness, all of which led to my developing ME (also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), an illness for which there is no medical cure.

Some months later, in 1998, I was forced to take early retirement at the age of 51 and I haven't been able to work since.

I think I paid a high price for the workplace bullying I suffered. I would encourage anyone being targeted in this way to complain as loudly as you possibly can and make yourself heard no matter what.

Alan O'Day Scott, Chancery Court, Gaythorne Road, West Bowling.

Costly bus fares

SIR - Re your story about a petition for free travel for the elderly (T&A, September 23).

If this is too costly, why not let pensioners have their fare for 30p each bus ride every day, all day instead of the limited times we have now?

Many's the time I have paid 40p for one stop because it's been half a minute before 9.30am and, as the buses are every half an hour, we are compelled to pay this amount to keep our appointments at the Health Centre.

Mrs Margaret Wheelhouse, Eskdale Rise, Allerton.

Labour own goal

Sir - Brian Holmans' letter defending the all-out postal voting experiment (T&A September 21) conveniently glosses over the fact that in a democracy, the electorate should never have been denied the right to choose how they wished to vote - ballot box or postal.

Although he concedes the Electoral Commission's findings highlighted the fact that the electorate should be given the choice, he has not offered any explanation as to why No 10 felt that right should be taken away from us in June.

As far as spin is concerned, he should be honest enough to admit the initiative was bulldozed through in the so-called traditional Labour heartlands in an attempt to bolster the Labour vote - in many cases it proved a spectacular own goal.

And as for attempting to play down the incidence of fraud by inferring it is a Tory ploy, Mr Holmans might like to seek the opinion of Labour district councillor Paul Flowers - or Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer who publicly stated her fears over the process.

Or he could discuss it with any of the Labour district councillors, who unanimously voted against the scheme being implemented.

Liz Balding, Ellar Carr Road, Cullingworth.

Need for the truth

Sir - Brian Holmans, in defence of all-postal ballots, refuses to allow the facts to get in the way of his political bias (T&A September 21).

Mr Holmans alleges that my opposition to all-postal ballots is simply because I believe they will favour Labour.

He clearly forgets the Conservative Party did particularly well in these local elections across the Shipley constituency, increasing our majorities in the wards we held and gaining a seat in Baildon; so this for me has nothing to do with party political advantage.

He conveniently forgets it was his Labour government and our Labour MP who over-ruled the independent Electoral Commission to force this system on Yorkshire purely because they thought they would get political advantage from it. I reiterate that if politicians from all parties told the truth, however uncomfortable, and kept their promises, turnouts would increase without the need to meddle with our voting system.

Mr Holmans' and Chris Leslie's tactic of defending the indefensible does nothing to restore faith in the political process.

Philip Davies, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate (Shipley), Hartlington Court, Baildon, Shipley.

The New Bigotry

Sir - The announcement of the appointment of the first Professor of Diversity at the University of Bradford marks a new low in the history of academe.

"Diversity" is no more a branch of objective knowledge than "Women's Studies": it is a platform for proselytising of a kind happily excluded from British universities since the beginning of the modern era of religious tolerance.

What academic subject needs a "champion"? How can the same person fulfil the quite distinct roles of cheerleader for "race equality issues" and, supposedly, an impartial judge of a body of fact and theory?

The final nail in the coffin of intellectual freedom and responsible judgement is driven in by Professor Taylor's claim that the post requires "someone with a strong commitment to promoting racial equality" - can you imagine appointing a Professor of Biology conditional on being strongly committed to promoting neo - Darwinism, or of Physics promoting M-theory and so on?

Furthermore this someone must be "credible to black and minority ethnic staff". Why? Don't the other staff count as highly?

Welcome to the New Bigotry! Anyone who sees any flaw in this scheme will of course immediately be labelled "racist" and sidelined for promotion or dismissed!

Councillor James Lewthwaite, City Hall, Bradford.

Safety first...

Sir - It is not often I congratulate the Council, but I applaud their decision to ban the growing of GM crops (T&A September 23).

However, the comments by Mr Cullett of the National Farmers Union only serve to repeat the position the NFU took during the BSE epidemic, namely that restrictions would harm the farming industry.

The government, whom he believes should make the decision, will no doubt take their advice from "experts". Can I remind him these "experts" said there was no risk to humans from BSE. Indeed, in the past, similar experts said there was no danger from smoking and Thalidomide.

The same authorities exposed servicemen to the atom bomb during the 50s to ascertain the results of radiation with the same argument, "there is no evidence that it is dangerous"

Until evidence is available to show GM foods are safe, rather than saying there is no evidence they are not, they should be restricted to experimental sites under the strictest controls.

To quote Mr Cullett's response, "I don't think that anyone who is for or against it can say if it is safe or not". Surely that is enough reason for our elected representatives to act in defence of our safety?

Derrick Hargreaves, Middlebrook Crescent, Fairweather Green, Bradford.

Shall I sue?

SIR - In our present litigious society, I'm wondering if those who share my first name might make a quick buck.

The Food Standards Agency's poster campaigning against too much salt in the diet has a cartoon 'Sid the Slug' character providing dire warnings.

What's stopping me at present is the now ancient story of the cartoonist David Low who depicted the Fascist Italian dictator Mussolini as a rather mangy mongrel and actually called his own dog 'Musso' for fun.

It seems he didn't know whether he'd get a complaint from the Italian Embassy or the Canine Defence League because of this little jest!

Sid Brown, Glenhurst Road, Shipley.