Nato, High Streets and Dr Feelgood – your letters, plus world leaders at Weston Park in 1998

We need Nato, not the EU

Mark Pickettt, in his Shropshire Star letter printed on October 20, has made a common error of believing that membership of the EU is necessary for our defence. It is not.

Nato is the Western European common defence organisation. It is basically a treaty organisation where all members (32 countries) agree to come to the aid of any member attacked from outside the Nato area. To ensure it can do so effectively, it has an integrated military command structure in place and holds exercises and makes plans to ensure it has the mechanism to respond quickly. It includes the USA and did rely heavily on American forces to achieve its aims, but since America has withdrawn many of its Europe based forces, the European members have to take on more themselves.

The EU (27 countries) is basically a trade organisation (with aspirations) and has no armed forces of its own. The Treaty of European Union, 2009, includes a mutual defence clause (which includes more than military aid – such as humanitarian, financial and police aid) but the EU does not have the infrastructure in place to take it into a major military conflict. That would be down to NATO.

So we do not need to be a full member of the EU for our defence purposes. The EU is looking to take control of many national aspects of member countries and membership would leave us not in control of our own destiny. Some EU countries have greater problems than we do, look at France, and many are in a not so good financial position. Previous EU membership allowed a high influx of other EU members who came here to enjoy our benefits.

Richard Camp, Midlands

Easy deliveries killing the shops

​Our High Streets are dying as people can buy online or have goods and groceries delivered to the door in half an hour, 7 days a week, 7am to 10pm by the likes of Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Those who want to shop in person can drive to out of town shopping centres, with free parking, whilst in my area Shropshire Council are increasing the charge on car parks, and in so doing driving customers away from town centres, one more nail in the coffin of High Streets.

Having squandered hundreds of millions of pounds on consultants, white elephant projects and unnecessary roadworks, whilst potholes are abandoned to wreck cars, many local authorities are on the verge of bankruptcy, and seek any chance to recoup their losses, but they will end up with empty car parks and empty pockets, with the motorists gone elsewhere, except for the Blue Badge holders who don't pay!.

W F Kerswell, Picklescott

Band gave me Feelgood factor

The bells, the bells Desdemona!

I can still hear my ears ringing.

Can it really be 50 years since punk music burst upon the scene?

But of course what came just before it was just as important.

Like an idiot a agreed to go with friends to the 1975 Reading pop festival.

Big mistake, as it turned out, as I had to endure music stuck in a rut, overlong and over-elaborate.

But then suddenly, sending out a clarion call to my inner beast, there was, on stage, Dr Feelgood!

Loud, proud and three minutes of uplifting rhythm and blues from a great pub rock band.

They rescued three days of boredom and for me music.

Peter Steggles, Rushbury

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