Tag: tony delahoy

Happy birthday, Tony!

tony

It was standing room only at North Edinburgh Arts yesterday when local man – and regular NEN contributor – Tony Delahoy celebrated his ninetieth birthday.

Tony, who is originally from London, was joined by friends, family and community colleagues for an afternoon of live music, food and conversation at the Arts Centre. The star of the show remains in good health and has promised to keep those letters coming in for years to come! Speaking of which ….

Dear Editor

According to the Tory/Lib government, because I am now old I am a drain on the economy – a burden on the nation.

Their solution to ease that burden is to restrict what I can buy, by allowing drastic price rises of most items needed, particularly gas and electricity. This continuous lowering of the quality of life will lead to an earlier death for many.

It would seem whatever hardship is imposed, little is being done or can be done; this is wrong thinking – by adding my voice to yours and yours and yours we can, together, change things. Of all people, the elderly know this is a basic truth – it is only through a collective voice that any progress will be made.

This collective voice can be expressed in many ways: through pensioners organisations, forums, trade unions to councillors, MPs and MSPs, demonstrating on issues of concern –  even calling for a boycott of stores that are pushing up prices too steeply. There are so many ways of protesting.

As the numbers of elderly people are growing, so is the power of their vote – and it is essential we use it. All politicians, councillors and officials must be made aware they cannot ignore or sideline our serious concerns.

Tony Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

Happy birthday, Tony!

letter

Letter: Divide and Rule

Dear Editor

The Tory/Lib government are trying to make scapegoats of people on benefits. They are playing one section of people against others, for example:

  • people on housing benefit getting large sums of money, but neglect to say it is the landlords who get the money via the tenants
  • people on disability benefits being classed as layabouts, being forced to undergo a work capability assessment test by a private organisation
  • people on Working Tax Credit, benefit being cut
  • Job Seekers Allowance, benefit being cut.

People on these and other benefits have been slandered and labelled undeserving, and – if these benefits were cut – all would be well.

This divisive campaign by the Tory/Lib government did initially fool some people into supporting benefits cuts, but now the real target can be seen: it is everyone’s income, wages as well as benefits.

The following quote may sound very familiar: a group of unemployed men wrote to the Poor Law Commission in January 1835, asking for help. The Commission responded as follows:

‘the amount of relief, you must be aware, ought not to be as to render the situation of the pauper equal to that of a person living by independent industry: a practice of making allowance for idleness equal or nearly equal to the wages of industry must tend to make pauperism preferable to independence’.

Tony Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

 

Letters: paying the price

Dear Editor

Every week people when shopping find prices are rising quite sharply; there is no hiding this fact.

Government spokespersons express surprise at the inflation rate of nearly 3%, which is based on a lower calculation anyway. Perhaps the world in which they live a rise of 10p or 20p on an item means nothing.

More and more people search for cheaper ‘own brand’ items when shopping – sometimes it works, other times the size or weight has been reduced so the price rise is hidden.

If th Government can put a freeze on wage increases or restrict them to 1% or 2%, then they can restrict price rises to the same level; this can be done in the name of ‘fairness’, to which they constantly refer!

This restriction on gas, electricity and oil suppliers is long overdue – the increases they have announced for starting this winter are amoral and shows their complete indifference to the hardship being caused.

Pressure must be put on officials of all kinds – whether they are MPs, MSPs, councillors, gas and electricity companies or supermarkets – to take very seriously the question of price rise restriction.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

 

 

Letter: Unity

Dear Editor

UNITY

Unity is strength – this truth us demonstrated in the struggle to defend the NHS by both users and those who work in providing the services.

Those who are trying to privatise the NHS have a glint in their eyes of making vast profits – what a disgusting attitude, when every penny is needed to treat people both old and young.

Unity also needs expressing by people in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, London – in fact everywhere, who have the same problems of needing regular work and wages and decent working conditions to be able to make life as it should be.

This unity of needs must be expressed as strongly as the unity in support of our NHS. Private companies aching to take over the NHS and other public services and their Tory and Liberal political supporters can and will be defeated.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

 

Letter: Individualism

Dear Editor

In some respects we are all individuals; we like to feel and think we are in command, but a quick look at reality shows how dependent we are on others. We cannot exist in modern times as an individual.

We need those who work in the electricity industry, the gas works, water pumping stations and sewerage systems – that is before we step outside the door!

Then there are the transport workers, road and highway workers, distribution workers for all kinds of goods, papers, petrol, etc – and this is all before we get to work!

At work the same reliance takes place: we are individuals but must work collectively.

This is why the policy of the Conservative Party is so wrong and destructive. They believe that individualism should motivate people, but that can only apply to those that have the means to do so.

It is an outdated idea being used by the Conservatives today; it can be seen in their wholesale destruction or privatisation of public services that have been built up over many decades to match the growing realisation that collectively things can be done that as an individual would be impossible.

From any angle the Conservatives are backward thinkers; they either cannot see it or they are just intent on setting back the clock to the ‘good old days’ when workers knew their place in the world, and were grateful to the employers in letting them live.

A Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

Letter – Caring for our NHS

Dear Editor

The NHS will care for everyone in the UK whoever and wherever they are; it is our most valuable public service and must remain so.

We are told people are living longer and therefore the workload of the NHS will grow; it follows there must be an increase in staff, fully trained in all aspects of care. It is obvious the existing staff – who are already under great pressure to maintain the service – would not be able to take on extra work and maintain the quality of both physical and mental care that is needed.

I hope those who view the NHS as a drain on the nation will come to realise that no-one is able to predict their needs as one gets older.

There are uncaring and reactionary people who say we cannot afford a comprehensive national service. If we are a caring society we can – and must – do just that.

A Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

Letter – My Tears

Dear Editor

My tears are for all children, women and men who are suffering extreme poverty and starvation.

My tears are for all animals, birds and wildlife.

My tears are because of all the cruelty and the destruction of trees and natural habitat.

But my tears are not tears of despair, they are tears of knowing how different things could be.

We have allowed a relatively few powerful financial organisations to control and exploit – with unbelievable callousness – people, animals and the natural environment for their private profit.

These same people created the biggest financial mess ever seen worldwide and are now passing it on to everyone.

This “system” must be changed.

Wealth created by the work of people must be used for the benefit of all people; we would then be able to deal with all these terrible problems.

A Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

Letter – Rights and Responsibility

Dear Editor

‘Rights come with Responsibility’ is a favourite call of the Cameron government. A second favourite: ‘strikes are wrong and evil in intent’.

The biggest and longest lasting strike – still going on and having disastrous consequences – is the strike of the very rich and their investment companies in ‘the Market’: they only invest if the profit return is large enough.

Although they are only investing money, ‘rights with responsibility’ obviously does not apply to them, whereas the majority of the population invest the whole of their working lives. The majority of workplace strikes are, in the main, by people exercising their rights and responsibility to their families in resisting efforts by employers to worsen conditions of work and pay – and being made to feel guilty for doing so.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

Letter: Famine – time to change the system

Dear Editor

Famine does not happen in the UK, although there is still widespread poverty and all he misery that flows from that. Famines are happening around the world: we have all seen the dreadful pictures, particularly harrowing are the pictures of children dying. One’s heart breaks that this is happening every minute of every day.

The financial crisis caused by the banks, which is now being passed onto the people, has shown that private ownership and control of major producing companies are not capable of maintaining them in the interest of everyone: they are too busy looking after profits, buying, selling and closing down places of work.

This is Capitalism.

Private ownership driving force is for profit.

Private ownership thrives on increasing exploitation of people for profit.

Private ownership leads to exploitation of animal and other forms of life for profit.

Private ownership leads to gross exploitation of natural resources for profit.

Despite industrial and technological development giving an opportunity to solve the world’s problems of hunger and disease, it has been used to make massive fortunes for a very small number of people worldwide.

The system has been challenged by many generations of people who have gained improvements in many areas of life, but the present crisis confirms the system is incapable of managing the economy.

A change has to come, but those who control and gain from the existing system are resisting as hard as they can.

A new way to tackle the terrible problems of mass famine, unemployment and poverty must be allowed to operate. Appealing to the better nature of existing owners of industry, etc, obviously has no effect!

A Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens