Viewpoint: General Election debate heats up

Email Viewpoint letters to jamesp@baylismedia.co.uk or write to Viewpoint, Newspaper House, 48 Bell Street, Maidenhead, SL6 1HX.

Crematorium picture doesn’t show reality

Between Cookham and Maidenhead there is a greenbelt of land separating the two communities.

Adjoining Switchback Road, Cemetery Field is the narrowest point of that belt, and last week you published details of a consultation procedure by a company seeking to build a crematorium there.

The idyllic picture you published of the proposal is as misleading as those of the film studios recently refused permission at Marlow – there is no indication of the huge car park which is required for such premises, given that services are held in quick succession.

I do not deny the need for such a facility, but I believe that this proposal and the rumoured application for 200 houses there would confirm Maidenhead as a suburb of Cookham, or vice versa.

For the record, I am not a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), nor a NODAM (No Development After Mine), nor even a BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Absolutely Nowhere at All).

However I do claim to be amongst the STEWARDS of this earth (Sustaining Those Elements Which Are Really Damn Special), and Cemetery Field is indeed very special.

RICHARD SIMMONDS

Until recently a life-long resident of the Cookhams

‘Much-needed homes’ are simply for profit

In the eighties Margaret Thatcher began selling off houses to long term council tenants.

Her strategy was that if you made people home ‘owners’ they would become capitalists and in turn be inclined to vote Tory.

Less social housing was built as local authorities realised that once renters qualified for the ‘right to buy’ the councils investment was diminished.

By the nineties former tenants were beginning to become landlords themselves by converting larger houses into leasehold flats.

Meanwhile the Victorian villas meant to house one family were being purchased and converted into multiple leasehold dwellings.

Since there was no regulation in place, freeholders were able to charge what they liked with impunity.

This practice has exploded in recent years and property companies soon caught on to the vast profits to be made by building endless blocks of overpriced generic flats.

What exactly then is leasehold? The following quote is from Barry Gardiner MP:

“Imagine that I purchase a new car for £12,000 or £15,000 under a leasehold scheme, only to find that the garage recalls it after a month to fit it with a new set of tyres. ‘Don't worry, they're not needed,’ I say, ‘I've only done a 1,000 miles.’ ‘That may be so,’ says the garage, ‘but we've decided that we want to fit them and we're going to charge you £600 for the privilege.’ ‘But it's my car,’ I protest. ‘No,’ says the garage, ‘you merely own the right to drive around in it for 99 years.’ We would not consider that a sensible way to own a car. Nor is it a sensible way to own a home.”

England and Wales are the only countries in the world that apply the leasehold system.

Before the end of the current parliament the Tories hastily rushed through a number of reforms which will no doubt be challenged and watered down in order to appease freeholders, should they return to power.

The Lib Dems have only a limited view on this subject and Labour has promised to dismantle the entire antiquated system.

Meanwhile developers continue to flood the market with ‘much-needed housing’.

Needed by who? Certainly not local residents – these flats are aimed at professional people who are comfortable living in in high rise buildings in overcrowded cities.

The alternative in Maidenhead is to rent, again unaffordable to local residents who would once have been offered a council house (Mrs Thatcher put an end to that).

According to the spokesman for the town’s latest overpriced development One Maidenhead, these buildings in the town centre were ‘funded by pensions of key workers’.

At over £2,000 per month I wonder how many of them will be able to afford to live in one?

The numbers of homeless continue to rise, as the number of affordable homes diminishes, yet new flats are being developed on every available site.

When will we stop buying into this ‘much -needed’ propaganda and acknowledge that property building, and management is a simply a profit-making device to line the pockets of investors and has nothing to do with supplying homes for those who do really ‘need’ them?

JENNY COTTLE

Maidenhead

One foresees an issue with project’s name

I wonder what bright spark came up with the name One Maidenhead for the new high rise development now dominating the centre of the town. I foresee much joy ahead for delivery drivers, taxis, the Royal Mail, police, fire, ambulance, Uncle Tom Cobley and all other visitors.

Imagine…

Operator: What’s your address, please?

Caller: Flat 30, One Maidenhead, Maidenhead SL6 XYZ

Operator: So Flat 31, but what’s the road name?

Caller: No, it’s Flat 30, and the address is One Maidenhead

Operator: What! No road name! Just One Maidenhead, Maidenhead?

Caller: Yes, One Maidenhead, Maidenhead

Operator: If you say so (sounds of muffled snorts of laughter). Sorry, sir, just had a bit of a coughing fit. Your taxi will be with you in about ten minutes (cough, cough) or maybe next week …

CAROLINE GILLIES

Ellington Road

Taplow

MPs often don’t live in their constituency

Your correspondent Sally Halfacre raises an interesting point (Viewpoint, June 14).

Had our incumbent MP (actually not strictly correct as after Parliament's dissolution she ceases to be an MP, as do all MPs) decided to stand on July 4, then she would not have resided in the new constituency of Maidenhead, after the recent Boundary Commission report and change.

Looking through the list of the last Parliament and MPs it is not always essential for an MP to reside in his or her constituency – as an example Nigel Farage does not live in Clacton but Bromley!

MERVYN BUSTON

East Road

Maidenhead

Nolan principles matter more than residency

Some correspondents to last week’s Viewpoint (June 14) were exercised by the residency of candidates.

I am more concerned about their abilities and probity given the experience of the last few years.

The ultimate responsibility of an elected candidate is to the governance of the country.

The seven Nolan principles should be in the forefront of voters' concerns, namely selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership. This may be a tall order but the governance of the country is at stake.

DIANE HAYES

Hearne Drive

Holyport

Thames tale presents a pollution problem

Like most of your readers, I’m receiving leaflets from candidates wanting to be our next MP.

Their personal details can be informative and I note the Conservative candidate tells us that she learnt to swim in the Thames at Cookham.

How nice it would be for the children of today to be able to do this, but impossible with its present level of pollution.

Can she have missed the fact that this has happened precisely because the party she is a member of has caused this by relaxing regulations and never bringing the water companies to account?

NIGEL SMITH

Australia Avenue

Maidenhead

Who can we trust on St Mark’s services?

I think I speak for most people in Maidenhead when I say that St Mark’s Hospital is one of the most important assets Maidenhead has.

But when the walk-in minor injuries unit was ‘temporarily’ closed in April 2020, none of us could have expected it still to be closed in June 2024.

In 2023 same-day appointments booked via your GP started to be offered, and this was an improvement on no service at all, but nothing beats the ability to just go into St Mark’s and see somebody, in my experience, usually very quickly.

Candidate bios in last week’s Advertiser show that Lib Dem, Conservative, Green, Independent and SDP candidates all want the walk-in centre reintroduced.

Interestingly the Labour candidate has said no to reopening the walk-in stating it’s ‘unrealistic’.

I have seen leaflets and social media posts from Josh Reynolds over the past year campaigning to get the walk-in centre reopened and have heard him post on social media about his use of the walk-in centre as a child at school.

I’ve also seen the Conservative candidate post in the last week or so about St Mark’s, but given she still lives in Twickenham and not Maidenhead like she said, I’m not convinced that she has enough ‘skin in the game’ to really care about St Mark’s over any other hospital across the country.

Her piece on the Advertiser last week seems to mostly be about asking us to ignore the record of Conservatives in the past 14 years and trust that they’ll do things differently from now on!

For me, Josh Reynolds seems to really care about St Mark’s. The things he says make sense like, ‘Open St Mark’s to take pressure off Wexham’.

I think I can trust him to get the job done.

JENNY ZULDT

Aldebury Road

Maidenhead

Commit to meaningful social media regulation

I wholeheartedly agree with Dr Mathias’ missive regarding civil debate in a democratic process (Viewpoint, June 14).

As a student I had the fortune of spending time as an intern in the office of David Amess MP whose life was tragically curtailed in the course of his constituency service.

What should be noted is the place of unregulated social media in the destruction of healthy political discourse and fomenting of extremism, most particularly the lack of identity and age checks on all major platforms providing anonymity to trolls and malicious actors funding the spread of hatred through advertising algorithms, and unprecedented damage to our young people.

The past government made attempts to tighten regulation with the final bill falling over due to the snap election. Might I suggest a strong manifesto promise to provide meaningful social media regulation?

JONNY WAGSTAFF

Spencer’s Close

Maidenhead

Respect all candidates and memory of Jo Cox

Many people in Maidenhead agree that we have been locally well served by Theresa May, whatever ones political complexion.

My impression is that we are fortunate in having a sound set of candidates of various political hues to choose from in July.

My personal experience as human rights political activist is that ‘putting ones head above the parapet’ can be a pretty bruising and sometimes frightening experience.

How sad to read that one of our candidates has suffered from misogynistic comments whilst campaigning (Viewpoint, June 14); she is to be congratulated for reaching out to all candidates in case others have had negative experiences.

Whoever we elect in Maidenhead on July 4, many of the issues that must urgently be addressed in Westminster (I am thinking especially of child poverty and health issues), demand a concerted cross-party approach, not an adversarial bun fight.

Let us start now by ensuring a respectful and civil campaign in Maidenhead that respects all candidates and the memory of Jo Cox. I for one am looking forward to working with whoever the good people of Maidenhead elect.

Dr NICOLA STINGELIN

South Road

Maidenhead

Tory pivot to fair votes would be good PR move

Given current poll projections that, due to first past the post and tactical voting, Labour may achieve a massive parliamentary majority on less than half of the popular vote, and that the Conservative Party may be reduced to third place with nearly a quarter of it, might the Tories be converted to the idea of fair votes and proportional representation?

GRAEME SMITH

Courthouse Road

Maidenhead

Polling suggests we have a three-horse race

The views expressed in recent weeks in MA, notably by Gavin Ames (Opinion, June 7) and Doug Watts (Viewpoint, June 14) that the Parliamentary election is between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties demand scrutiny.

The Survation MRP carried out between May 22 and June 2, 2024 shows that it is a ‘three horse race’ in Maidenhead.

The Conservatives in this poll are on 29 per cent, ahead of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats by only three points.

Of course there is the caveat that it is probable that these expressions of voting intentions could change up to election day

So the simplistic suggestion monotonously trundled out by the Liberal Democrats that all surveys show only they can defeat the Conservative candidate is clearly not true.

Instead Maidenhead constituents will want an MP who is not sitting on the opposition benches.

They will want one who will be in a real position to influence the new incoming government; an MP who will help bring about the necessary change for the better for everyone living in the locality.

Labour have an excellent candidate in Jo Smith.

Her priority policy interests resonate with the concerns expressed by a large majority of local residents.

The lack of personal access to primary health care providers; the need to hold Thames Water to effective account for the continuing degradation of our local rivers and waterways.

Maidenhead deserves an MP of substance with wide professional work experience to address the worrying decline in public trust in national politics and its elected representatives.

That person is Jo Smith.

RICHARD WORRALL

Godayn Grove

Maidenhead

Questions over Winton reference in leaflet

I was interested to see in the latest Conservative Party election leaflet a reference to 'a local hero' Sir Nicholas Winton.

It suggested that Sir Nicholas had in some way inspired the Conservative candidate's work with refugees.

I'm not sure precisely what Sir Nicholas would say over being referenced in such a way in a Conservative election leaflet, but as a previous Maidenhead LABOUR Party Chairman and LABOUR local election candidate, I could probably hazard a guess.

I would not want to decry her work in foreign countries, but when she was doing so the NHS had the highest approval rating ever, under the last Labour Government.

I wonder if the good doctor remembers 14 years ago when you could ring to get a doctor's appointment the next day, when you could walk into A&E and be seen within the hour, or the time when your child could see an NHS Dentist within 50 miles.

We all know the NHS is struggling and there's only one party to blame.

The most shocking thing of all is the fact there are people who have worked in the NHS who still vote for them or even stand as a Conservative candidate.

JOHN LUPTON

Chair – Maidenhead Labour Party

Be honest about golf course legal advice

When the Lib Dems were elected to RBWM last year they told voters they would stop development at the golf course.

Since then it’s all gone rather quiet.

This week, during a closed hustings session, Cllr Reynolds admitted that the development of the golf course was essentially a done deal.

He quoted a figure of £155million that would be required to ‘buy out’ the contract with the developers.

He went on to say that the Liberal Democrat council strategy is to both pursue legal avenues to see if they could stop the development, and if that wasn’t possible, to ‘alleviate harms’.

I think this information should be in the public domain and I have written to the council leader asking that we are given specific information on the cost of the legal advice taken on this matter since the Liberal Democrats took control of the council in May 2023, and to give a percentage prospect of success that the lawyers are giving in terms of being able to stop the development.

At a time when confidence in politicians seems to be at such a low, I think it’s important that we are truthful and honest with residents.

JO SMITH

Labour Party Parliamentary candidate

Council’s election jobs page needs an update

As part of my job-hunting, I visited the Royal Borough’s website and saw a link to their election jobs.

Visiting this at 10.37am on 14/06/2024, I found:

“Our next scheduled elections are the Police and Crime Commissioner elections which are due to be held on Thursday, May 2 2024.”

Where can I apply for the post of the Royal Borough’s web controller?

JAY FLYNN

Moneyrow Green

Holyport

Thanks to customer who picked up ring

Through the courtesy of your paper, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Boots Maidenhead customer who picked up a valuable ring which had slipped off my finger as I was rummaging for my card to pay.

This happened on Sunday afternoon and I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to the gentleman behind the till who took the ring and kept it safe in the hope that the owner would claim it.

Well I did and my surprise and gratitude are immeasurable.

SJD

Maidenhead