01/10/2002 00:00
TW
0

Dear Sir,
Mr Fleming correctly assets in his Saturday article that Prince Charles is in breach of constitutional practice. However that is where Mr Fleming and I part company and, I would suggest, so do most right minded citizens. That Prince Charles should observe constitutional practice when all around him he sees misgovernment, deprivation, mediocrity and impoverishment of spirit, would be to him unconscionable. That Prince Charles echoes the thoughts of those of us who are unable to be heard, can only be in the greater public interest. To hell with protocol, someone has to tell it as it is. The truth is that Britain is wracked by red tape, political correctness, a compensation culture and much else besides. Why does Mr Fleming suppose that Prince Charles does not understand the constitution. Mr Fleming should refrain from insulting his intelligence and acknowledge that he speaks out in spite of consitutional protocol. Does Mr Fleming seriously believe that Prince Charles only meets those so overawed by meeting him that they cannot discuss the issues of the day with him. Prince Charles is a man of principle and sincerity who has demonstrated time and again his political awareness and understanding of what's wrong. To rubbish him is insulting. To gag him would only serve those with a deeply flawed political agenda.

Victor Hearmon. Capdella

Dear Sir,
After an absence of some 5 years my wife and myself decided to take a holiday in Majorca. In truth the accommodation, food and service provided at our hotel in the resort of Calas de Majorca were excellent. However, when considering a choice for a future holiday we will be giving Majorca a miss. The reason why is that when we arrived at our hotel, we were told that we would be required to pay a tourist tax. When I as a consumer pay for goods or services I ask for the price and pay the amount required to pay the bill. I also found out that this appears to be “a hit and miss tax”. By this I mean that some people were paying the tax while others were not. Therefore, this is really a rip-off tax aimed at people who come to Majorca and put money into the local economy. Tourism is a service industry. If no tourists come to the Balearics then logically there will be an increase in local unemployment. I live in a country where tourism is a major contributor to the economy. An attempt to introduce a tourist tax in Scotland would be met with derision. Is the real reason for the introduction of this tax an attempt to offset the decline in the Balearic government's coffers due to the large fall in numbers of German tourists. If this is so, then I can only submit that this is simply a very foolhardy short-term solution as a significant number of people such as myself will be spending our holidays elsewhere where our spending power will be welcomed and not penalised.
Your sincerely,

Douglas Balfour. North Lanarkshire, Scotland