BACK IN THE GOOD OLD E&S

The Express & Star is a pretty good daily newspaper that covers both national and local news in the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Black Country area. Back in 1997 when I first joined the political fray as the prospective Parliamentary candidate in Walsall North for the late Sir James Goldsmith’s Referendum Party, I wrote my very first letter to that publication and was thrilled a week or so later to see it in print.

This set me off as a regular writer to the E&S and, and God bless the editor at the time, around 80% of my letters, or was that rants about the EU, were published. I often had comments in the pub as friends and acquaintances would say: “I saw your letter in the paper”. There were even times when I used to give my name to someone and they would reply: “You’re not that chap who writes all those letters to the Express & Star are you?” I would puff my chest out in great pride and confirm that I was – it was almost like being famous – although sady the other word that goes with famous, 'rich', was missing.

I had so many letters published that I got to the stage where I felt obliged to write, if I had missed a week or two I worried that I was not fulfilling my duty to get another letter off to the good old E&S. Then, one sad day, it all came to an end.

I sent off a letter and, as usual, expected to see it in print a few days later, but no show. Maybe this was one that the editor chose not to use, it happened from time to time so no worries. I produced another letter and e-mailed that as normal, and that one vanished too. So did every letter I sent in after that. After a few weeks and many letters with not one published I gathered I had been banished from the pages of the E&S and gave up sending in letters, other than the very occasional one to see if I was still persona non gratia with the E&S – most of those never saw print either.

So I turned my efforts elsewhere with limited success in the campaign to save this nation against EU domination, including this blog. However, the other day when news hit about the devastation our Defenceless Minister, Philip Hammond, was wreaking on our armed forces, a colleague and I got together to write about it. As he did not want his name against the letter it was sent to the E&S in my name only with the expectation that this one would vanish too – but not so.

In fact the letter made the ‘Letter of the day’ and was featured in its own box on the letters page of the E&S last night, Thursday 14th June 2012. I still can’t believe that after all this time a letter in my name has been featured on the pages of the E&S. I’m back – for now at least. The letter sent in is below.

“To say I was dismayed when I read the Express & Star (June 7th) on our Government’s plans to make massive cuts to our British Army would be an understatement. This is a massive betrayal of our servicemen and women who have sacrificed so much for this country and for the people.

These cuts, which you reported could result in the loss of the former Staffordshire Regiment (now The 3rd Battalion of The Mercian Regiment), will leave our Army increasingly toothless.

Philip Hammond, the Government’s Defence Secretary, clearly has no regard for the dedication and, indeed, the heritage of the Army and its Units some of which face being merged or scrapped altogether.

Mr Hammond says these cuts will “maximise capability at the frontline” to provide “the teeth” of our defence but part-time reservists and private contractors will have to provide fillings for the force’s depleted teeth.

The creation of an EU defence force draws ever nearer as our Army will be forced to rely on foreign allies and also private contractors to provide support.

Successive Government have bitterly let down our Armed Forces. In this age of austerity I agree with Mr Hammond that difficult decisions need to be made but undermining our Armed Forces is not the answer.

Mr Hammond and our Government our making Britain ever more reliant on our EU masters. At some point in the future our fighting men and women will have the shame of removing our Union Flag to be replaced by the European Union’s ring of pyrites stars."