WITH regard to both your article concerning local MP Julie Hilling and also the letter from Kath Kavanagh of UKIP, may I make the following observations.

Mrs Hilling comments that "the lack of health services is a huge issue for local residents" and that "hundreds of residents are forced to travel long distances to access health care" and we need Government "to listen and provide services for local people". In other words "The People's NHS". I, and I am sure, many other people would gladly pay more in tax if we were sure that the money was going towards services and treatment for people. What I do not want to pay for is some get-rich-quick merchant who might be supplying products, computer systems costing millions which soon have to be scrapped and services to the NHS at vastly inflated rates.

Kath Kavanagh, in a letter replying to Brian Derbyshire states: "... any of the EU's 28 members' states are free to bilaterally negotiate the inclusion of their own public services with the US" and that, according to European Commissioner designate for Trade, Cecilia Mallmstrom: "public services, including health, education and water management were not on the agenda and there was no obligation for national governments to include such sectors in order to enjoy the benefits of TTIP." (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). She doesn't actually say that the proposals will NOT be on the agenda the next time around or that the present government or any future government will not include public services in the TTIP.

Incidentally, do readers know that European Commissioners pay absolutely NO tax?

Name and address supplied