I AGREE with Nigel Starbuck ("Is Premiere's demise an opportunity for others?", Post, January 31) that "Trent Barton and Nottingham City Transport deserve civic accolades for agreeing to accept Premiere prepaid tickets on their buses....". But the rest of his letter is full of errors.
The Premiere operation owed absolutely nothing to EU competition rules. Rather, as Dave Thornhill explained in Monday's Post, it was a product of British bus deregulation. No other major western country, in or outside of Europe, has deregulation of local bus services.
Premiere was not competing significantly with any of the major bus groups (Arriva, First, Stagecoach, Go Ahead) so a takeover of Premiere by a big group would not have been blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. On the other hand, a takeover by Trent Barton would certainly have been blocked by the competition law authorities.
The numerous bus routes with no competition on them are not "breaches of competition law". There is general agreement within the bus industry that the vast majority of routes are only economically viable if there is just one operator. The 36 Nottingham to Chilwell is a rare example of a route which can sustain two operators, but the residents of Inham Nook (the outer end of the 36) may well feel that they have too many buses on their roads.
I notice Mr Starbuck writes from Bingham. I strongly suspect that the majority of Bingham residents (whether bus users or not) are glad that their town centre has fewer buses in it than last week.
ROGER SEXTON
Huntingdon Street
Nottingham
NIGEL J. Starbuck's appetite for ill-informed comment and spreading of misinformation – usually at the expense of the public sector – has become an all too regular feature of the Post's Opinion section in recent times. This culminated with his quite bizarre comments on the subject of the financial collapse of Premiere Travel.
Many people will no doubt have agreed with the first two paragraphs in Mr Starbuck's letter. It's very difficult not to sympathise with the company's ordinary employees who have lost their jobs, especially when the economy generally shows little or no sign of recovery. It is also fair comment to recognise the generosity of Trent Barton and Nottingham City Transport in agreeing to accept pre-paid Premiere tickets for a limited period.
The remainder of Mr Starbuck's letter overflowed with factual errors. His claim that competition law somehow insists on more than one operator per route and that a company such as Premiere could (whether directly or indirectly) be encouraged, aided or abetted to compete with existing operators is nonsense. It is equally fanciful of him to suggest that public officials' remit allows them to spend their time "soliciting" for competitor companies, even on routes where passengers have chosen overwhelmingly to settle on one operator.
ROBERT CROSBY
Walton Drive
Keyworth
IT'S great news that a station will be built on Toton Sidings on this route serving both Nottingham and Derby conurbations. Over the next 20 years or so, there will be a lot of political horse trading over compensation etc. But the HS2 project is such a major project in the national interest that it will focus all politicians, whoever the Government is.
On Radio 4's PM programme presenter Eddie Mair discussing HS2 called it Totton (which I believe is a place near Southampton). At least over the next 20 years national media outlets should get the name of Toton right.
PS: My favourite name for the hub would be Long Eaton International.
DAVID HARDY
Woodstock Avenue
Nottingham
I WAS sad to learn of the closure of Hollies snack bar. I have fond memories of me and my mates going to the "flicks" on Sunday afternoons in the late seventies followed by a bacon butty and a cuppa in Hollies while we waited for the pubs to open again at 7pm. Of course Hollies was only half the size back then but you always got a friendly welcome. When the Co-op closed years later I used to take my grandchildren to meet my mum in Hollies as we had always met up at Co-op on Saturday afternoons. Sadly, another local milestone comes to an end; how many more will we have to endure!
ANDY STAUFENBIEL
Carlton
COMMENTING on Parliament's vote on the proposal to change constituency boundaries, Labour MP Chris Leslie claimed: "It was never about fairness. It was about helping the Tories."
The reality is that the changes were necessary to correct the massive advantage that Labour enjoys with the current boundaries. For example, in the 2005 election the share of the vote was almost equal but Labour had 355 seats whilst the Conservatives had 198. In other words, Labour required, and now still requires, far fewer votes to gain a parliamentary majority than do the Conservatives.
That goes against a fundamental principle underpinning our democracy since the 1832 Reform Act: every person's vote should have equal weight. To maintain that, not least because of shifting population patterns, there has to be periodic reviews conducted by the independent Boundaries Commission.
It is the convention that Parliament automatically approves the Commission's recommendations. Due to the disgraceful behaviour by Labour and the LibDems in last week's vote, that convention was broken. As a result Labour will go into the next election with a big advantage. And some people's votes will be worth less than others.
Perhaps Mr Leslie would explain how that is "about helping the Tories" and how it can be described as fairness.
DOROTHY WILSON
Main Street
Willoughby on the Wolds
MANY thanks for your article highlighting Girlguiding UK's consultation on the Promise.
Those not involved in Guiding may wonder why it is such an important issue. Our Chief Guide summed it up when she described the Promise as guiding's beating heart – it is the centre of what we do and we want to ensure the values that we commit to are expressed in way that everyone can relate to. The consultation is for all the wording of the Promise and the way we express our values. These are to be the best you can be; to explore your own beliefs and stand by them; to be a positive member of your community and to have a sense of responsibility to others. I would urge everyone – members and non-members – to have their say at girlguiding.org.uk/ consultation
KATE ROYSE
County Commissioner Girlguiding Nottinghamshire
I AGREE with A.O. Wilkinson's abhorrence of war ("Perhaps we should ask the question, why are we in a foreign country killing its inhabitants?" Post, January 30). However I can't understand why he was "truly saddened" by Prince Harry's remarks regarding the killing of Taliban fighters.
Isn't this scenario referred to as "The Theatre of War"? Soldiers would simply not be able to kill unless they had been heavily trained to objectify "the enemy".
Mr Wilkinson says, with all sincerity, I expect: "He appears to have trivialised the taking of life by likening it to a tit-for-tat operation played out as a game." Sadly this is exactly what warfare is with a few platitudes and "moral justifications" thrown in to make it appear more palatable.
Prince Harry speaks honestly. If you are born into or find yourself, in a high-profile position, you must sweeten or fudge the truth. Remember that "hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue".
MARIAN PERT
Ferrers Walk
St Ann's