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probably the most important vote of our lives. I have studied hard and made up my mind to vote to leave the EU – and it will take some- thing very persuasive to change it. Most ofmy Maidstone friends appear to be broadly in the same position. I become increasingly concerned about the
EUvote needs careful thought MailMarks
IN the next few weeks you and I will cast
DENNISFOWLE President
dfowle2011@aol.com
serious detrimental impact ofEUmembership on so many aspects of our lives and lack of na- tional power to do much about it. I have enjoyed living in Maidstone for
about 55 years and amnot surprised both for- eigners and Britishwish to live here. Butwhat will happen to us and our town unless we as a nation have firm control over our borders and decide how many and who we welcome from the rest of the world? In my travels among the British I see this
view mirrored by so many. I now expect a thumping majority for Brexit. For so long South East England has been
about the most overcrowded part of Europe. In the last few years this has escalated power- fully. Unlesswe leave theEUit will get worse. The impact has been massive on housing growth, traffic movement, education places, NHS andwelfare services, care of our aged… Nationally the welfare bill is crippling our
sick economy, and financial cuts forced by our Government are really hurting locally – ask KCC and Maidstone Council and many local organisations losing financial support. Where will theChancellor of the Exchequer look next
Quashing NHS myths
Dear Sir – In a recent Mail Marks Dennis Fowle repeats some old myths about the NHS that need squashing. Recycled regularly, especially by those whowant to convince us that we can no longer afford an NHS and we should be thinking of charges, an insurance system or privatisation, they include: Charging
Dr Paul Hobday
would help:Noit wouldn’t. It just
shifts the costs to the poor and the elderly who are less healthy than other groups. The Germans gave this up after the failure of a six-year experiment. The evidence is that it encourages the “worriedwell” but deters the poor sick, which costs more in the long run. The US Commonwealth Fund rates the UK NHS as the most cost- effective healthcare system in the world. Ageing population: Exaggerated.
Most money is spent in the last six months of life, irrespective of how old you are. Costs too much: Wrong.We spend
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36 Maidstone Town March 2016 Diane Nicholls
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in his desperation to balance the books? I love Europe, but have had enough of the
EU unless there are fundamental changes. Our Prime Minister is discovering these will not happen. I findmyself in great sympathy with a para-
graph in an article written by Tory MP Peter Lilley, who is voting to leave. “Our member- ship no longer serves any function in a body whose primary purpose (political union) we reject, whose main projects (the euro and Schengen) we are not part of, whose laws we find onerous and whose economic attractions have turned into costs.” He has the knowledge to be convinced that
Brexit can be achieved smoothly and with no losses (even a profit) to our export trade. I can understand most international con- glomerates wanting to retain our EU mem- bership. But they view things from a very different
angle.And I find many smaller busi- ness people will vote to leave for both busi- ness and personal reasons. There seems to be wide belief that Europe
will wish to continue to trade with Britain – andwewill be able to trade much more freely with the rest of the world.
less on health than the other G7 nations and in the last few years, the percentage of GDP spent has fallen from 11% to a lile over 7%. This is a political choice, not economics. We are 27th out of 29 EU countries in the number of doctors per head of population. The NHS is not unaffordable or unsustainable but underfunded. The cost of your GP per year per head is £74 inWest Kent. Try insuring your cat or car for that. It’s abused: Greatly exaggerated, according to the evidence. This is not the cause of the NHS’s problems. Contrast that with the private US system that the Government is so keen on:waste $690bn, overcharging $750bn, fraud $98bn. The USA spends three times as much per head with worse results. It’s time the subtle but relentless campaign by the media and politicians to undermine our health service stopped. Correcting some of the anti-NHS propaganda is a start. Dr Paul J Hobday, Churn Lane, Horsmonden
Leave our park alone
Dear Sir – I feel I must write to defend Mote Park against ideas put forward by
The economic arguments seem likely to dominate the next few weeks. I accept the el- ement of risk. But weighed against all I in- creasingly dislike about the EU – and the economic and other dangers facing that huge body – I believe it is a challengewe can meet. We are about to make a decision so vital to
our future and that of generations to come. There are many sides to the argument and no one can cast this vote with complete certainty. For me the balance is now heavilyweighted.
Cllr Carter’s dilemma I AM pleased Cllr Paul Carter acknowl-
edged that he attended a Maidstone Local Plan protestmeeting as an aggrieved resident –with about 1,000 houses planned close to his Langley home – and not as KCC leader. KCC has a responsibility to ensure success
of the local plan, mainly relating to infrastruc- ture, and Cllr Carter must lead responsibly. There are top politicians in the borough
who ask very serious questions. A first job for Cllr Carter is to correct a county-widemap showingMaidstone’s hous- ing figure to 2031 in the 16,000s when it is in the 18,000s. Who is still playing games? I note Swale’s housing figure, praised by
some Maidstone plan opponents, has been re- jected by aGovernment inspector as too low – and Swale’s urgently needed local plan will be delayed. Maidstone too needs an approved plan urgently.
Mr Fowle in his musings in Mail Marks in this edition of the Downs Mail. He thinks that the next area for the council to consider is the “large grassed area lined with lovely trees” between the MoteAvenue entrance and exit roads, which he thinks should make a lovely surfaced car park. To make maers worse he suggests two
or three “quality” restaurants in the same area.We have more than enough concrete and Tarmac in the park already. Starting with the leisure centre and Maidstone Bowls Club premises all built on part of the park, not to mention the retirement village and the park and ride, Maidstone has more than enough restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. Every
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