Pensions, wind farms and North Sea oil – your letters and an archive memory

PICTURE FROM THE PAST: A very unusual cycling proficiency presentation in 1983, as international singer Andy Williams hands a certificate to six-year-old Daren Wise at the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. The other youngsters are Jordan Jukes, Michelle Murray, Andrew Smith, Darren MacDonald and Philip Parker. All six were children of servicemen stationed at COD Donnington, and the presentation was the brainchild of Corporal Ron Sowtus, who wanted to do something different from the usual certificate ceremonies. | Express & Star archive

placeholder image — PICTURE FROM THE PAST: A very unusual cycling proficiency presentation in 1983, as international singer Andy Williams hands a certificate to six-year-old Daren Wise at the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. The other youngsters are Jordan Jukes, Michelle Murray, Andrew Smith, Darren MacDonald and Philip Parker. All six were children of servicemen stationed at COD Donnington, and the presentation was the brainchild of Corporal Ron Sowtus, who wanted to do something different from the usual certificate ceremonies. | Express & Star archive

From pensions being “left in tatters” to fears over the impact of giant wind turbines – and a call for more North Sea drilling – our readers have plenty to say

Our pensions are left in tatters

Further to the letter from D Griffiths 'Transfer money to pensioners', I entirely agree with the comment. However, it is worth mentioning that, when Labour Came to power in 1997, Britain had the best system of retirement in the world.

Gordon Brown decided to launch a raid on our pension funds which cost funds £5 billion a year. This was taken from our savings, undermining British pensions fatally. Until then pension funds could claim a tax credit, ie a pension fund could claim a tax credit which was added to the fund in order to ensure future generations of pensioners could build up an endowment for their future security.

In simple terms, a pension fund receiving a dividend of £80, would receive £20 tax relief. Brown abolished this tax relief which helped to fatally undermine the generous final salary schemes closing many to future savers.

Today, many pension schemes are in tatters and millions of hard working people face an impoverished and uncertain old age. Since then governments have tinkered about with our future pension provision and now we have the poorest pensions in Europe. So, yes, when money can be found for immigration/asylum seekers arriving with questionable validity, the money should be transferred to pensioners that they were robbed of by Gordon Brown.

M Cooper, Wolverhampton

Flood impact of wind turbines

Do your thousands of readers realise that Labour's plans to power Manchester and Birmingham with 1,000 gigantic 600ft to 820ft wind turbines in the Cambrian Mountains of Wales, will cause disastrous flash-floods down-stream in Shrewsbury, Tewkesbury, Hereford, Ross, Worcester and Gloucester, because they'll be massively concreting and tarmacking the vast, high-rainfall river catchment areas of the mighty Severn and Wye, which flow through these picturesque English towns and cities? We should all be making our complaints heard.

Lyn Jenkins, Cardigan

Sensible to drill for North Sea oil

No wonder the new PM has transferred Ed Silliband out of the way considering he tried to ruin our supply of natural energy resources. The PM is eager to start North Sea drilling again, which would seem extremely sensible to most of the population as opposed to importing such. Let us all hope that the new PM continues with so much common sense.

Martin Reid, Edgmond

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