This is a letter I wrote to Copeland MP Mrs Harrison.

I have never in my life written to any MP but feel in this very sorry affair compelled to do so.

Having read your comments reported in The Whitehaven News I can only hope they were made on political grounds rather than on your true opinion. I am yet to talk with a single fellow constituent who shares your reported assessment of Mr Cummings’ behaviour.

On the plus side, the government’s attempts to justify the very serious situation and potential consequences has provided a lot a amusement in dark times.

I look forward to your interpretation of the next set of increasingly complex recommendations and what “exceptional circumstances” there will be.

STEVE SULLIVAN

Ennerdale

I THANK Trudy Harrison for a prompt reply to a letter I sent her.

My original centred around the question about the sacking of Dominic Cummings and whether she would agree with his sacking: yes or no. Her reply skirted around this my basic question to the extent it was parallel with the waffle of Mr Hancock, Mr Gove and the rest of the sycophantic ministers whose sole purpose in life is self-preservation.

I am 70 years of age. I have voted Conservative all my life. The last three premiers have caused me to rethink.

Cameron/Osborne’s sole mission appeared to be to initiate ridiculous legislation that solely made the lives of the unfortunates of our society even more miserable.

May’s immigration policies turned her into a political racist.

And Johnson? Well, this mind of chaos has surrounded himself with like-minded people.

Your party are responsible for thousands of deaths from Covid-19, with old folks incarcerated in their nursing homes, unable to get out. God bless them all.

Your original policy, herd immunity, was predicted to cause many thousands of deaths so you changed to track-and-trace, etc. Another calamitous decision – too late, the cry. With working global models in place, and working, this country started inventing a system that doesn’t work. Yet more incompetence.

Stop waffling the party line ad nausea. Start representing the people of Copeland.

BERN BIRBECK

By email

Funding for care

One of the things which makes engaging with others through your letters column so much more pleasant than the bear pit of social media is that the vast majority of your correspondents, with a few exceptions on both sides, make at least a token gesture towards saying something nice about the people they are replying to as a human being before tearing into their arguments.

In that spirit I am sure that Mari Stanford (The Whitehaven News letters, May 27) is also a lovely person. It was perhaps unfortunate for her accusation that I supposedly often omit facts which don’t support my side of the argument that her letter making it appeared on the same page as one from me which took head on just such an awkward fact – a decision which I was first to agree represents a lost battle.

I am not going to make an exhaustive list of all the things in Ms Stanford’s letter with which I disagree, let alone get into a logic-chopping argument statistics such as about whether NHS spending grew faster between 2004/5 and 2009/2010 than is planned over the present five-year period. As is so often the case with statistics which appear to conflict, both of us made statements which were true in the precise words used, but what is true beyond doubt is that both periods show a large increase in total NHS spending in real terms. Indeed I am grateful to her for confirming that the £34 billion increase in cash terms which the present government is giving the NHS represents an increase of more than £20 billion in real terms.

More to the point, I do agree with her that there is a huge issue with the demand for adult social care and the funding of that service. As she rightly says, it is a marvellous thing that people are living longer and having the chance to see their great-grandchildren but with this blessing comes a huge challenge to society in providing and funding decent care for the elderly.

The events of 2017 demonstrate, I think, that this is not an issue which any one political party can solve – it will require a degree of consensus.

An enormous political price was paid by the previous Conservative Prime Minister for trying to get a mandate to adequately fund adult social care. Theresa May lost her majority largely because she put forward a proposal to raise revenue for this sector which Ms Standford’s party damned as the “Dementia tax.”

This is the problem all along – we can all agree that care of the elderly should be properly funded but very few are ever keen on any specific proposal to raise the money for it. I’d be very happy to introduce Mari to at least one prominent West Cumbrian who normally supports her party but has said publicly in my hearing that Mrs May had done the right thing by trying to fund adult social care and he deeply regretted how her proposals had been treated by his own side. However, I’ll save her the trouble by admitting that she could throw a similar charge back at me in relation to an earlier election and the so-called “Death Tax”.

At the moment we have the sticking plaster of allowing county councils to put an extra 2% on council tax to fund adult social care – which the vast majority of councillors of all parties have voted to do – but the only way we are going to get a long-term sustainable solution is to build a cross-party consensus.

I would like to see a Royal Commission or similar cross-party group address how we pay for care for the elderly, with a view of trying to come up with a proposal which both sides of the political divide can support. Until we can get that it is unlikely that a government of any colour will be able to get elected or re-elected if it proposes the sort of measures needed, particularly in the light of the likely impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

CHRIS WHITESIDE

Conservative county Councillor for Egremont North & St Bees

Salute to the St John lifesavers

As St John Ambulance celebrates Volunteers’ Week (June 1 to 7) I would like to thank everyone who makes our amazing charity what it is – especially at a time when demand on our services is increasing and our people are playing vital roles in protecting people, supporting our health service and saving lives.

This year – more than ever – St John volunteers are rallying to the aid of communities, caring for patients at home and in hospitals across the country. They are giving their time to work in emergency departments, crew ambulances, and respond to 999 calls, putting their training, experience and professional skills to exemplary use during the coronavirus pandemic. It is a truly amazing response that has resulted in the biggest mobilisation of St John Ambulance’s volunteers since World War Two.

Thousands of our people are on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19 and we all owe them our thanks. But I would also like to take this opportunity to thank thousands more of the hidden heroes within St John Ambulance: from our Badgers and Cadets – young people, whose energy, enthusiasm and creativity in supporting our charity knows no bounds – through to our Fellowship volunteers, Priory Groups and Presidents, who are our ambassadors, advocates and fundraisers in every county of England, plus all of the experts in logistics, communications, IT and other specialisms without whom none of our work would be possible.

In this ongoing health emergency, everyone at St John Ambulance is here for each other and here for you; in the forefront of the battle against coronavirus and behind the scenes. Please join me in thanking our incredible volunteers.

ANN CABLE

Chief Commissioner, St John Ambulance

Driving lessons...

I HAVE been following the correspondence about the A595 for a while and feel that I now have to make comment myself.

Whilst accepting that the A595 has not been uprated in line with the rate of increase in usage and may be considered as not fit for purpose, it is what it is and should be treated accordingly.

The A595 is not dangerous, it is an inanimate object! What is dangerous are those drivers who choose to ignore the hazards. I drive 25,000 miles a year and have driven all over Europe and have never known a place like Cumbria for drivers cutting blind right-hand bends. If we all heeded the conditions and drove accordingly the accident rate would reduce dramatically.

STUART ROBB

Whicham