Last week’s Solihull Observer article on the risk to jobs at JLR should be a siren call to all of us who live in Solihull and the West Midlands.
We should let our MPs know that any Brexit that threatens the loss of thousands of jobs in our auto-industry must be stopped. This is not the Brexit we voted for.
We should be absolutely clear that if our MPs are not brave enough to defend our core industries then they should refer the decision on Brexit back to the people.
On Saturday September 29th shoppers in Mell Square and Shirley will have the chance to sign a petition for a ‘people’s vote’ on Brexit. The petition has been organised by volunteers from Open Britain as part of a national day of action.
Phil Beyer Solihull Open Britain
Dear Sir, In the light of the alarming revelations of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson, Observer front page 20/9, Dame Caroline Spelman MP would have sounded more convincing if she had pledged in her column to demand that the government restore forthwith all the savage cuts to police funding that have been made over the past decade.
In addition, the rising crime rate can only be countered by greatly increased spending on police pay to aid recruitment and vastly increased spending on police equipment and resources.
Lionel King BEM
Chadwick End
As Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) I see first-hand the incredible impact gifts left in Wills make to the charity. Research funded by the BHF has helped halve death rates from heart and circulatory diseases over the past 50 years and so much of our work has only been possible thanks to the amazing individuals who have remembered the BHF in their Will.
These special gifts fund more than a quarter of all cardiovascular research in the UK, which makes them incredibly important to help us beat heartbreak forever for the 7 million people living with these conditions right now.
In the past year alone, residents in the West Midlands left over £4.4 million in their Wills to the British Heart Foundation to help fund life saving research into heart and circulatory disease, including heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia. I would personally like to honour these people and express our gratitude for the research breakthroughs and thousands of lives they have helped to save.
But there’s still so much more to do, and there are approximately 650,000 people in the West Midlands living with cardiovascular disease right now. A gift of any size, after you’ve provided for your loved ones, will enable the BHF to continue to fund pioneering research to find future cures and treatments into heart and circulatory conditions.
A recent survey to support ‘Will Power’, the BHF’s campaign to encourage people to consider leaving a legacy in their Will, showed that the British public would like to be remembered for their generosity, kindness and humour over their wealth or professional work achievements. 7 in 10 of those asked said they wished they could do more to help others and a quarter said they wanted their Will to improve the lives of others.
I would like to encourage those people to download our free Wills guide and I must take the opportunity to thank all of the generous supporters – past, present and future – for their contributions to the BHF. We couldn’t make medical breakthroughs such as heart transplants and pacemakers without your generosity and support and it is because of your support that we continue to fund £100 million of research into heart and circulatory conditions every year – thank you.
To find out more about leaving a gift in your Will and to download a free Wills guide, please visit bhf.org.uk/wills
Yours Sincerely,
Simon Gillespie,
Chief Executive, British Heart Foundation
