IN the last 20 years, coming originally from London and now living in North Yorkshire, I have seen at arm’s length, and closer, what total change does to organisations and their “subsidiaries”.
The good bits and bad that make up the whole are chucked out, and organisations, together with people involved, are left in the bath to sink or swim. fighting each other over the same or less resources as before. The electorate who voted them in, usually only 30 per cent or so of the total, plus a possible unlikely maximum of 40 per cent who didn’t vote will not be sufficient to make much change. They often find that promises made to encourage a vote for the winning side are not honoured.
As far as I can make out, both sides in the referendum are saying similar things in different ways and it’s a matter of faith and little glory!
When the ship sinks, our leaders say ‘not enough people voted for it’ and ‘not enough money followed the change’ and ‘admin costs too high’ to keep it afloat. When it is successful, but closes down, people say ‘what a shame, it was so good’ but there is no money in the kitty to carry on.
So what can we do? Why not mix old and new:
1. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
2. Use available funds to ‘add on’ for benefit to all, rather than move resources to cater for the few.
3. Invite comments from users before you start changing.
4. Think: ‘Unto those who hath, shall we give only a little more, and take as much as possible from those who hath, rather than continually doing the opposite.
I say vote by all means available to swim with the best of both old contributions in experience and new ideas in a fair and just way, sharing all assets and incomes.
Remember, the new can wait, the old can’t, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
All in all, I’m going to take a chance, and vote in.
LORETTA GOOCH
Midland Terrace, Hellifield

AS we reach the final stages of the European Referendum, there has been so much exaggeration of the truth from both sides of the campaign that the real reason for the Referendum has been lost.
My grandfather was blown to pieces on the battlefields of France in the First World War and my dad died while serving in the Army during the Second World War. Both their names are on the cenotaph at the top of Skipton High Street.
I have always been led to believe that all those thousands who lost their lives during the two world wars gave their lives fighting for the freedom and independence of not only this country but all the other countries in Europe who were threatened by the oppressors.
Now, with a Government run by a Prime Minister who, in effect, is telling us to vote Remain because his Government is no longer capable of or has a desire to run our own affairs and that we need an unelected body based in a foreign land to do the job for us.
Mr Corbyn also wishes us to Remain, albeit half-heartedly, presumably because he dreads the thought that at some time in the not-too-distant future he might be handed the responsibility that Mr Cameron obviously does not wish to have.
In my opinion, the Referendum boils down to this:
Vote Remain: GB, Gone Britain
Vote Leave: GB, Great Britain.
KEN OXLEY
Hall Croft, Skipton

TIM Clarke suggests “protecting employment and women’s rights, tackling environmental issues etc should always be on the UK political agenda” – The facts about the EU (Craven Herald, May 26).
“Is relying on the EU a lack of confidence in our own political parties?”
No, Tim. Are you joking? “Environmental issues etc” cannot be controlled by a UK Government. Dangerous flooding in the River Aire this winter, and repeated annual floods in Yorkshire and Lancashire, were caused by global climate change, as a result of human activity and carbon emissions.
Europe’s goals to increase renewable energy supplies and cut our contribution to global warming are sound, and a united Europe can, in future, pressurise other countries to do more. UKIP and others deny the scientific evidence.
Similarly, we cannot make our own laws on employment and women’s rights without regard to what happens in other countries, if we wish to continue trading internationally.
So, the Labour laws in the EU social chapter protect workers here from exploitation. The Brexit campaign is a subterfuge by employers and investors, who want to weaken these laws. We, in the Yorkshire Labour Party, are united in strong support for the EU. Not one Yorkshire Labour MP supports “out”. We cannot stop the world because we want to get off.
BOB HOLLAND
Skipton Road, Cononley

WE are about to vote on the future of our country England, whether we stay in or leave the European Union.
Unfortunately we cannot make our own decision because also voting are the electors of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland parliaments.
We do not have a parliament for England, so it must be wrong that the electors of these other parliaments can make the decision for England whether we stay in the European Union and become part of the greater Germany, run by non-elected bureaucrats in Brussels. These people control our immigration, legal system, international trading regulations, agriculture, fishing and many other day-to-day issues which adversely affect us.
If we regain control of our national government and sovereignty we can make all these decisions for ourselves and invest our resources into health, education and our crumbling infrastructure which includes railways, roads, schools and other locally-needed projects.
We need to think very carefully about our future and quality of life before we cast our votes to become part of greater Germany, run by the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg, or to regain our national parliament which under our control could strive to improve the quality of life for all our electors and their families without overcrowding our small country anymore.
ROGER NICHOLSON
Park Drive, Sutton