Appeal to let the scout hut for free

I may be wrong, but I have always understood the site of the scout hut, formerly housing the drill hall, and adjoining Victoria Park, was purchased by public subscription and was to remain the village property, as an open space for perpetuity. A suggestion for housing there was turned down.

When the picture house closed down it was hoped the building would be used as an indoor swimming pool in memory of Burley men who had lost their lives in the wars, but no - the drill hall was demolished and the good stone sold for a pittance, Burley losing a valuable building.

I know the village no longer has a parish council, but can Ilkley claim what belongs to the village for perpetuity. It still rankles with old Burley residents, money made in the village by Jack Lofthouse went to Ilkley Clarke Foley Centre.

Wouldn't it be a nice gesture if the Burley scouts and guides could use their hut rent free for some years?

I Stradling (Miss)

76 Langford Road

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

Airedale history

SIR, - We attended the event Airedale 2000 at Bingley the other weekend, but Wharfedale has a connection with the early days of the famous Airedale Terrier.

My wife's grandfather, Maude Barret, solicitor of Otley and Leeds (the firm still operates in Otley under the Barret name and is one of the oldest in Yorkshire), was one of the very early breeders of the Airedale Terrier.

We have photographs and cuttings relating to him which make this very clear. He died quite young in January, 1906, and the Wharfedale Observer was one of many local and national newspapers that carried his obituary, and many mentioned his champion Airedale, named Tommy Tucker. We have a photo of Maude with Tommy Tucker.

His last involvement with the breed was in July, 1905, when he judged at the London Zoological Gardens Show. We have a copy of his report from the Kennel Club gazette and it contains this interesting comment: "I returned from the show, bringing rain all the way to Wharfedale where it is still hanging around, much to the delight of everyone. I might also mention - the rain has also descended on Airedale." Not much difference from today, 85 years later.

A letter published in Our Dogs in February, 1906, from the well known Airedale Terrier expert, Mr Harold M Bryans, of Suffolk, mentioned his work in the early days, his time at Otley Show and as one of three men who 'helped to raise the Airedale Terrier to its present position'.

Maude was also Clerk to Burley-in-Wharfedale Board of Guardians, a director of Otley Gas Company and connected with Otley Agricultural Society and Otley Athletics Club.

He is buried in Otley Cemetery with his wife, who was Haidee Jane Johnson, niece of Major George Johnson who, as Sergeant, rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the 13th Light Dragoons and later was Adjutant for the 2nd West Yorks Yeomanry Cavalry in Halifax and manager of the Royal Hotel, Scarborough.

Maude was the son of Edward Barret, attorney at law, of Otley, and Mary Deighton. She was the daughter of the family who owned The Vaults wine and spirit merchants. His brother, Edward Deighton Barret, later owned a number of Otley public houses.

Edward Barret was the son of Edward Barret and Anne Ramsden, of Ilkley, and he was the son of the founder of the firm, John Barret, and Elizabeth Webster. They are buried in Otley Parish Churchyard.

Also in the firm was Joseph Morton Barret, who was a Leeds councillor, and his name is on the plaque at Leeds Town Hall for its opening by Queen Victoria. He and other family members were connected with Otley Salem Church in Bridge Street, where Maude was baptised and his parents are buried.

MARK and ROMA ANDREW

36 Manor Heath Road,

Halifax, HX3 0BE .

Little delivered

SIR, - F Dickenson and Richard Corbett criticise me for setting out our plans for pension reform and hark back to actions taken by the Government during the 1980s.

To criticise our current policy on the basis of decisions taken more than a decade ago is as bankrupt as attacking Tony Blair for the Winter of Discontent. I want to build a better Britain for the future, not to engage in a stale political debate about the past. Our pension policy seeks to create a fair and dignified deal for pensioners by removing complicated systems of gimmicks and benefits and replacing them with a meaningful increase in the basic pension.

At the same time, we will reduce bureaucracy giving us additional funds which can go to pensioners, and we will increase pensioners' tax thresholds to ensure they are not taxed on the increase. The Government's increase of 75p was derisory, they could have done more.

Tony Blair was elected on the promise of action on pensions, the NHS, education and law and order. He has an enormous majority in the Commons allowing him to bring in any legislation he wants, yet we have seen no improvement in these areas and in some cases things are getting worse.

People are tired of a Government that promised so much and has delivered so little. That disaffection was shown at the ballot box when Clive Fox won so decisively in May, it will be shown again when the Tories win the General Election.

Adam Pritchard

Conservative Prospective

Parliamentary Candidate

Leeds North-West,

460A Roundhay Road,

Leeds, LS8 2HU

MS protest call

SIR, - Many readers will have heard about the proposal from NICE, the Government's advisory body on health treatments, saying that it is trying to stop MS sufferers getting the new beta interferon drugs.

This is heartbreaking news for people who have been waiting for treatment, sometimes for years, as a result of the NHS 'postcode lottery'.

NICE does not argue with the scientific evidence that these drugs work by cutting the number of attacks that people with MS suffer. But it says that this is not enough to justify the cost. True, the drugs are expensive, but so is MS and NICE does not recognise this.

Most of the cost of MS attacks does not fall on the NHS, but on local social services and housing, on employers, social security and on the families of those affected.

We think that this ruling is a great injustice. There are no other treatments for MS that alter the course of this terrible disease, and the government has played cat and mouse with us ever since the drugs were licensed five years ago.

If any readers feel strongly about this subject then write to Alan Milburn, The Secretary of State for Health, to tell him how you feel. You can write to him at Richmond House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NS.

The MS Society

25 Effie Road,

London.

One-party state

SIR, - The recent revelations of tax avoiding political figures like Lord Levy and Geoffrey Robinson in the New Labour Party and Lord Ashcroft, the tax exile and chairman of the official Tory Party, gives credence to the hypothesis that we now have a one-party state under the control of the Tory establishment Mafia.

The differences between New Labour and Conservative are cosmetic. Fundamentally, they are both the same. They are greedy, self-seeking and hypocritical.

Contrast the tax paid by Blairs' multi-millionaire friend Lord Levy with that paid by the ordinary working man. Levy lives a lavish lifestyle, owns several mansions, drives Bentleys and yet managed to pay only £5,000 income tax, typical of that paid by a worker earning only £20,000 per year.

Even worse, compare the penalties imposed on welfare benefit claimants, where income is taxed at the equivalent of 100 per cent. For example, take the case of a carer, that invisible and ignored army of people who subsidise the NHS.

A carer receives an income of just £40 per week invalid care allowance. Like all other benefits, this is means tested. The conditions to obtain this benefit are that they must work at least 35 hours per week as a carer and not earn more than £50 per week from any other source.

Equally, respite care is 'taxed', by either means testing or 'eligibility criteria'. This is truly a land of social class made worse since the election of New Labour. Blair protects his rich friends from taxes and makes the poor, the disabled and carers pay the price.

I cannot believe any decent person would condone or support a political party responsible for the uncaring and selfish society we now live in. Please be aware, and remember the next time you vote that one day it may be you who is disabled, a carer or a pensioner.

Malcolm Naylor

21 Grange View,

Otley.

Petrol protest

SIR, - Five years ago British petrol was significantly cheaper than anywhere else in Western Europe. It is now by far the most expensive. Some garages are already charging £4 a gallon, of which more than £3 is tax.

As always, the elderly, the disabled and people on low incomes are the ones to suffer the most, but all drivers are feeling the strain and the indications are that things will get worse - how did the situation ever arise?

We need only look at the recent posturing and anarchy of Reclaim the Streets to see what kind of zealots are drawing up so-called green policies. By playing on our fears with distorted facts and misleading statistics they have duped many well-meaning citizens into their cause. We also have a Government that wants to raise taxes but is afraid of even more unpopularity. The solution? Stealth taxes. The global warming spin doctors have given them a golden opportunity to raise taxes in the name of the environment.

Despite official figures showing that pollution from petrol engines has been rapidly falling since 1990 and will continue to do so even if traffic levels increase, the extremists continue to vilify the motorist as a selfish polluter who must be penalised for his anti-social behaviour.

The good news is that there are 31 million of us and we are all voters. Remember this next time you go to the polls. You can make a difference. Tell the politicians you've had enough and that you'll kick them where it hurts - in the ballots!

There is also one motoring organisation which is not afraid to campaign openly for a fair deal for motorists and an end to rip-off fuel prices. By joining the Association of British Drivers you can help us help you. Please contact me at PO Box 2228, Kenly, Surrey CR8 5ZT, by calling 070000 781544 or via our website (www.abd.org.uk).

Tony Vickers

Campaign Co-ordinator,

Association of British Drivers.