The new renal unit was mentioned as one of the factors for this excellent news for Northampton.

I visit the hospital for treatment as an outpatient three times a week and cannot speak too highly of the standard of care I receive.

You regularly print letters from people thanking the hospital for the care they, or their loved ones, have received.

Yet despite all the good news about it, Lib Dem Councillor Andrew Simpson has distributed a leaflet claiming that "savage health cuts" are taking place at the hospital.

I think that he should identify the "savage cuts", news of which so far seems to have eluded the Chron.

The amount of money being spent on the NHS is far, far higher than the Lib Dems ever proposed.

He should issue an apology for this disgraceful attack on our excellent hospital.
Geoff Howes,
Alliston Gardens, Northampton.

Treat lap dancing club as sex shop
Due to a legal loophole, lap dancing clubs are licensed in the same way as cafes or restaurants.

This has allowed them to open more or less anywhere they choose and has made it very difficult for local councils or local communities to have a say in this.

For example, if a lap dancing club were to open near my workplace or near my children's school, I would have no say in the licensing process unless I also happened to live within 100-200m of the proposed club.

However, you do not have to live on the doorstep of a lap dancing club to be affected by it.

They normalise seeing women as sex objects, undermine gender equality and can create "no-go" areas for women.

This affects us all, women and men.

For these reasons, I welcome the announcement that the Government is writing to all local councils about a proposal to close the loophole by enabling local councils to licence lap dancing clubs as sex encounter establishments.

This will give them the same licensing powers as apply to sex shops, peep shows and sex cinemas and will give our community, via our elected representatives, a better say in deciding on the quantity and location of clubs licensed in our area.

The proposal was also raised in Parliament by Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods and passed unopposed to the next stage, an indication of the support and need for action to close the loophole.

I therefore urge our local authority to welcome this measure and to make this clear to the Government on our behalf.
Jac Higgs,
www.object.org.uk
address supplied but withheld by request.

Stressed after cycling to work
I am a regular cyclist in the town, choosing this as my main transport to work. It is cheaper, helps keep me active and more environmentally-friendly than the car, as my journey is approximately 1.5 miles each way.

However, I am increasingly frustrated by the lack of cycling provision within Northampton.

I left home this morning, after watching the breakfast news with an article on how Bristol has won an award and funding for being a cycle-friendly city, and then subsequently nearly lost my life when a bus pulled into a bus stop as I was cycling past it, hemming me in between it and the kerb.

When I passed the driver to let him know what he had done, he swore at me.

This really is typical of other road users' attitudes to cyclists and I now wish to campaign to improve conditions on the town's roads.

I know that many cyclists openly flout the rules of the road, or use the pavements and this seems to give drivers justification to treat them badly.

I feel that if there were better cycle lanes and routes and more awareness by drivers and cyclists, it would create a more harmonious atmosphere for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

I am usually more stressed after cycling to work than driving!

With the current cost of fuel, global warming and much recent national publicity encouraging us to be more active and leave the car at home, I feel it is about time this town did its part.

I am contacting my local councillors and MP and am prepared to do my bit to help make a difference.
Julie Clark,
Lindsay Avenue, Northampton.

I was there . . .
I agree with your correspondent, Sue Roberts, regarding the Northampton Carnival.

We must all work together if we are going to create an impact in order to revive our town centre.

Actually, I was part of the carnival and enjoyed the experience.

I performed with a group of local musicians who all feel the same as we do . . . that Northampton is what we make it.
John Richardson,
Ginger Pig Band, Northampton.

British coal was too expensive
I am very much aggrieved by the letter from A C Platt in connection with his argument that Margaret Thatcher crushed the unions in 1979.

When Ted Heath went to the country in 1974, Britain was held to ransom by the NUM and it followed the winter of discontent with many vital services shut down by union militants, where bodies could not be buried, electricity was frequently cut off, rat-infested rubbish filled the streets and union militants were involved in whether or not employees were able to cross picket lines.

We had flying pickets, which were terrifying workers who wanted to work but were prevented from so doing, and there was almost a pitched battle at Orgreave coke plant with a small army of NUM flying pickets.

Police trying to protect workers from entering the plant received abuse and injury by what, in fact, was a mob.

Following the Conservative Party winning the 1979 General Election, legislation was brought in to prevent mass picketing,
especially by trade unions not involved in the dispute, and the reduction of the number of pickets at factory gates to six individuals.

The NUM went in for reduction of overtime during the winter and, when this did not work, called for an official strike by members of the union.

This strike had no effect; the lights still burnt brightly, the factories still worked and, with a mild winter and no intention by the Government to intervene, the strike ultimately fizzled out.

When the miners went back to work, many pits had closed for ever, as they became flooded and thus were prevented from being re-opened.

The basic problem with coal from deep mines was that it could not compete with coal imported from opencast mining sites, in Australia for example, as British coal cost three times the price of imported coal.

The interesting fact following that strike is that the Labour Government has not repealed the legislation brought in by the Conservative Party.
Ian McCann,
Elgin Street,
Northampton.