Letters

Degree of disappointment in local MPs

I have been very disappointed by the use several MPs have made of their free platform in the New BVM: this should not be an opportunity for misguided self-aggrandisement nor for a party political broadcast. It should also be factual. MP David Warburton writes (January 21): ‘it seems that wearing facemasks in school makes no difference to absences due to covid’, and ’80 per cent of children find wearing face masks in school makes it difficult to communicate’ and that ‘over half feel that wearing one made learning more difficult’. Mr Warburton, face coverings have only been mandatory in secondary schools’ classrooms (Year 7 and above) for the first few weeks of this term. Despite what you say, there is no research supporting your argument that wearing face masks in class makes no difference to the spread of the virus. There has not been time to carry out such research and besides any conclusions would have to examine whether other mitigating factors such as ventilation and social distancing were possible (which they are almost universally not in a secondary school classroom). As to the image you conjure up of small children having to hide their faces, this is pure emotional theatre: it has at no point during the pandemic been mandatory for primary school children to wear face masks in school in England! You end with an emotional rant that wearing a mask is a ‘rather ugly infringement of… liberty.’ Fellow Tory MP Dr Murrison, however, in the same issue, supports a rather more sinister assault on our liberty than simply wearing a face mask, in his support for the Policing Bill. He ties it to his objection to the verdict in the case of the Colston Four and, while he is of course entitled to his own opinion, his nauseatingly condescending criticism of the judge presiding over this case, and his evident disregard for the rule of law, is horrifying and completely out of order. It needs to be said that this bill is not simply about toppling statues and blocking the M25, but with far wider implications involving restrictions on the basic right to protest, for example in increasing the police’s power to stop and search and giving them the power to ban individuals from protesting at all. Given the underhand way amendments were made to the bill after it had been passed in the Commons, before being thrown out by the Lords, I think the government is well-aware of the exceptional new powers it is seeking and would rather we didn’t notice.

Kate Bergg By email

Predictably, Simon Hoare is, yet again, conspicuously absent from the MP’s Roundup and Politics pages. I regard this as almost contemptuous of his constituents. Furthermore I find it extraordinary that he, as an avid Remainer is chairman of the Parliamentary Northern Ireland Committee and who, along with many parliamentarians of all hues, has done everything he can, to frustrate Brexit in the House. Boris did not get Brexit done; he signed up to the NI agreement, that is the major impediment to implementing a proper Brexit. Indeed, in today’s Daily Telegraph there is further reporting on the lack of progress in introducing so many measures that we are now able to enact. All down to the Government and a largely Remainer Civil Service. My experience is that Simon Hoare does not represent the views of the majority of his constituents. That is not the same as being elected as their MP. It is a pity that he has such a significant majority.

Jeremy Bloomfield Gillingham

Your correspondent Simon Moon throws all the usual synonyms about paying for the BBC licence when a vast majority (80 per cent) think the licence fee is outdated from its inception when the BBC was all we had in the 60s. There was simply no other choice then. Today we have a wide range of free view TV channels that charge nothing and collect their revenue from advertising. Modern Britain has moved on with satellite and cable TV which charge by subscription for those who want to choose what they pay for. There is no justification that they should be forced by law to pay additionally for something they don’t use. That does not mean the BBC will have to go out of business, it simply means they will have to fund themselves through advertising for those who want it free, or they can choose the subscription option. Either way, I am confident that given their commercial success to date, that they will have to adapt to the sort of changes and challenges we have all evolved to. By continually paying the licence fee for the BBC only is unfair competition for the rest of our excellent broadcasters. Freezing BBC licence fees only prolongs the agony of the BBC doing what is necessary for their success in the future. It’s an insult that this spineless Johnson government lacks the backbone to call time!

Mike Fry By email

It seems that no edition of the Blackmore Vale Magazine would be complete without the regular musings of Mr Jeremy Bloomfield over Dorset Council’s acquisition of the wonderful school, formerly known as St Mary’s. It was just over a year ago that I was involved in the marketing and sale of St Mary’s near Shaftesbury. I am sure Dorset Council will be able to respond for themselves on Mr Bloomfield’s various challenges, but I am happy to set him right on one point.

The Council did not outbid David Beckham as Mr Bloomfield asserts. At no point was the esteemed former footballer ever in the running to buy St Mary’s. This was never more than over-excited local gossip. Mr Bloomfield briefly mentions his own school years in his letter. I would encourage him to reflect on the fact that schooling is a challenge for children with special education needs or disabilities (SEND), and the number of young people being identified as such is increasing. This is a significant challenge for all education authorities across the country. These children are unable to cope let alone thrive in a ‘normal’ classroom setting, and require special staffing and facilities to achieve their full potential. In acquiring the former St Mary’s School, Dorset Council has put itself in a much stronger position to be able to cater for this group of children. Furthermore, we should all celebrate the fact that these important young people will be able to benefit from one of the most beautiful school environments in the county.

Stuart Jones Iwerne Minster

So MP Chris Loder doesn’t want the police to investigate the suspicious death of a white tailed eagle in Dorset because the police are too busy. He fails to mention that the bird was found on a shooting estate and makes the absurd claim that Dorset is not the right place for eagles. Dorset Police have stated that the eagle has gone for toxicology analysis which suggests the bird was poisoned. The poisons most frequently used to kill birds of prey are highly toxic so dangerous that they are banned in most countries, even a tiny amount is enough to kill a human. Poisonous baits kill indiscriminately and anything coming into contact with it such as a pet or inquisitive child is in danger. Why wouldn’t he want that investigated. Maybe it’s because the local conservative party receives donations from shooting estates, in fact £14,000 which can be verified on the www.parliament.uk website. He also points out that Scottish Natural Heritage have outlined the problems of eagles eating new-born lambs. This has never been denied by conservation organisations such as the RSPB, in fact many studies have proved how small the number is. And when it does happen it is mostly lambs that are already dead. A recent study (Commission report No.370) carried out by Dr A Douse for the very same SNH that Mr Loder mentions, radio tagged a total of 167 new born lambs across three flocks on the west coast of Scotland where they have a higher density of both white tailed and golden eagles. They concluded that not a single lamb was lost to white tailed eagles predation during the study, yet during that same period according to NFU statistics 15,000 sheep are killed each year by dogs across the country. So maybe Mr Loder thinks Dorset is not the place for dogs too.

Mark Holderness Charlton

Chris Loder, one of the conservative party’s highflyers, continues to completely underwhelm us with his indepth knowledge of countryside matters, so much so that he misses the point entirely. In Scotland, farmers have long been wary about white tailed eagles and their potential danger to lambs and other livestock however most studies have found that they take very few lambs. Mr Loder’s use of stock photos in his tweet showing a captive eagle being fed a lamb which was already dead was disingenuous and alarmist. The greatest threat to lambs is pet dogs out of control. The greatest threat to sheep farmers is the Conservative government that voted for a hard Brexit and in doing so trashed the export market for lamb. Also, with the release site of the white tailed eagles being on the Isle of Wight how does he imagine it possible to eliminate these raptors from the skies of Dorset when they can soar freely for hundreds of miles? Was Mr Loder surprised to discover our proximity to the Isle of Wight because he was having his own Dominic Raab geography moment? We should not underestimate the hard work which has gone into re-establishing the species to improve our failing biodiversity nor their latent value to tourism in Dorset which has an estimated value of over £1 billion. We might not know for some time, but it seems likely that the dead white tailed eagles were poisoned, which is a crime. The use of baited carcasses by a minority of game keepers is an outdated, reckless, and indiscriminate tool used to eliminate natural predators which have a rightful place in our environment. Presumably, the keepers who do this do so with the consent of their employers, and only break the law in a ‘limited and specific way’. But upholding the rule of law and not being selective about which laws are being broken or not investigated is essential in a just and decent society. Mr Loder may also like to reflect on the point that some of Chris Packham’s ‘crowd’ are also his constituents and that he is elected to represent us all and to lead by example.

Charles Ellis Blandford Forum

Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures.co.uk