City councillors have a duty to protect our trees

Members of Cardiff Council’s planning committee face a major test tomorrow (Wednesday, February 13).

They have a golden opportunity to demonstrate their concern for the environment, conservation areas and future generations.

They have an opportunity to reject the disgraceful recommendation of council officers to allow developers to cut down over 15 mature trees in the grounds of Suffolk House in Canton.

These trees are protected as part of the area’s conservation area. Members of the planning committee have visited the site and I am confident they saw the importance of the trees to the wildlife and quality of life of the area, and will do their democratic duty and oppose this development as it currently stands.

Mr Ceri Williams

Canton, Cardiff

A living link with rugby’s golden age

Should Wales beat England on February 23 for a 12th consecutive victory, then they will eclipse the achievement of the Golden Wales sides of the first decade of the 1900s.

Perhaps the only person in Wales who is a living link with Edwardian-era Welsh rugby is the rugby journalist Huw S Thomas.

On a visit to his home town club of Llandeilo RFC to see a veterans’ match against Llandovery RFC last Saturday, Huw told me how he had delivered newspapers to an elderly George Davies (Llandeilo, Swansea and Wales) during the 1950s. George, a veteran of the 1900, 1901 and 1905 Wales sides, would proudly show Huw his international caps.

Some rugby historians claim that George Davies was the player who invented the dummy pass during a match for Llandeilo in 1895 where he scored six tries against Tenby United.

Huw S Thomas’ writing has contributed a great deal to the rich tapestry of Welsh rugby, from his quiz books to numerous articles over many decades.

Maybe George Davies with his tales of glory helped nurture a fine rugby journalist who, like us all, will revel in the chance for Wales to become the new history boys against England a week Saturday.

Steffan Gwent

Llandeilo

We must avoid this EU catastrophe

As the arguments continue within and without the government regarding a possible Brexit, I would take this opportunity to provide readers with a few details from documents found this weekend on various web sites.

These are just some of the items from ‘The Lisbon Treaty’ which will come into force in 2020.

1) The UK, along with all existing members of the EU lose their abstention veto in 2020.

2) All member nations will become states of the new federal nation of the EU by 2022 with no exceptions or veto’s.

3) All member states must adopt the Euro by 2022.

4) The London stock exchange will move to Frankfurt and be intergrated into the EU stock exchange. (This has already been pre-agreed and is only on a holding pattern due to ongoing Brexit negotiations which, if Brexit happens the move is cancelled).

5) The UK will not be able to make its own trade deals.

6) The UK will lose control of its fishing rights.

7) The UK loses the ability to create its own laws and implement them.

8) The UK’s contribution to the EU is set to increase by an average of £1.2bn pa to £2.3bn pa.

There are many more restrictive clauses in this treaty and they make for compulsive reading.

If we want to avoid this catastrophe, then Brexit is the only option.

Roger Lee

Pontcanna, Cardiff

Voting until we get the desired result

That doyen of the Labour Party, Ken Livingstone, said: “If voting changed anything, it would soon be stopped.”

Wales voted to leave. Now a second promoted vote stops democracy.

Be very careful.

Alan Anderson

Abergavenny

Show love this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day, be kind to your heart by ditching artery-clogging animal-derived products in favour of plant-based foods, which are cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.

A wealth of scientific evidence backs up the benefits of eating vegan – including a University of Oxford study which found that those who don’t eat meat are a third less likely to develop heart disease.

What’s more, in his landmark book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn documents his 100% success rate for helping people unclog their arteries and reverse heart disease through a plant-based diet – and he counts former US President Bill Clinton among his satisfied clients.

Of course, Valentine’s Day is also the perfect time to extend a little love to animals by leaving them off our plates.

PETA is offering free vegan starter kits – containing delicious recipes, tips on eating out, and more – to anyone wanting to make the switch. Go on, order one – you’ll love it!

Jennifer White

PETA UK, London N1

Lib Dems are key to beating Brexit

Mrs May needs to resign right now, and call it a day. She has nowhere to go.

The Prime Minster has reduced our country to a laughing stock and Jeremy Corbyn is no better.

We must withdraw Article 50 or at least extend it until the end of this year to allow for a general election and people’s vote to happen on the same day.

Whoever then forms the next government will have an up-to-date mandate as to what ought to then happen.

Either we remain within the EU or we leave.

At least we, the public, will have voted upon the choice of being full members or leaving without any realistic deal.

No matter what any leaver might still claim, the former referendum gave no idea as to what would be involved by leaving.

Mrs May has bought this country down on to to its knees. We are losing businesses, wealthy individuals, firms and a lot more.

We were the third-largest member through population. We had been the second-strongest economy.

We lost our so called British Empire a very long time ago and the Commonwealth was not up to much.

Britain prospered as full member of the EU. We should be leaders, not leavers – I have been saying “fix it, not Brexit”.

As to all those MPs now suggesting a new middle-ground political party in favour of the EU – why bother? You have the Liberal Democrats, through the Liberal Party and earlier the Whigs. They have been around since the 1600s.

They were the opposition to the Tories and Conservatives. Labour only came into being formed properly around the turn of the 1900s and stole most of the Liberal policies.

I say to Conservative and Labour Party remainers, jump ship and become Liberal Democrats until the next general election. Indeed, if you all did, you would create the largest political party in our British Parliament.

Goodbye Conservatives and hello a much-reduced Labour Party.

As for the Greens, they should merge with the Lib Dems and keep up the fight to protect our environment, here, in the EU and around the world, working, with all the other Liberal parties in other countries.

Richard Grant

Ringwood, Hampshire