WHEN the dust has finally settled on our Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report and those on opposite sides of the political spectrum have deliberated upon the effectiveness of his measures to try to extricate the Government from the very deep hole in our economy that has been created by incompetence, ineptness and sheer greed, on both sides of the Atlantic, perhaps one should consider in all seriousness a solution that so far seems to have escaped attention from the media.

A few days ago I saw a report tucked away in a national newspaper saying it had been ascertained that when taking into account the UK's contributions towards the EU Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, our membership contributions, plus an estimate of the cost of complying with EU legislation, we are looking at an amount of some £50 billion a year.

Upon reading yesterday's WMN concerning the revised borrowing requirement resulting from our Chancellor's proposals, it has conveniently been recorded for readers that borrowing this year will rise to £78 billion and next year to £118 billion – £196 billion over the next two years.

With the continuing dissatisfaction of about two-thirds of the population with our membership of the EU and a majority of those who would vote against the Lisbon Treaty, originally the EU Constitution, and who would be likely to vote to leave the EU if ever we were given the chance, plus the distinct probability with the fast fall of the pound against the euro the inevitable parity will in due course see the abolition of our sterling currency, many would welcome a rapid exit from EU membership, eliminating such borrowing requirement over the next four years.

The solution is so simple… it might even work!

A R Tregear

Teignmouth

Ramshackle roads

I LIVE in Plymouth and am becoming more and more concerned at the state of the roads within the city boundary.

Almost any journey is beset with patchworks of uneven earlier repairs, holes from small to cavernous, or a 400-metre hurdles event of sleeping policemen which do nothing to calm me, much less the traffic.

What happens to the not inconsiderable sums prised from car owners in the guise of a road fund licence? Much like any other form of tax, I fear that revenue is whisked away to fund some government quango or quixotic project bearing no resemblance to what the donors have a right to expect.

I did notice some months ago that little coloured circles had appeared around a few of the local craters, but raised spirits have plummeted, with no sign of work in progress.

Would it be presumptuous to beg for a token effort from our city council? I deign to ask as one whose wife, although usually a careful driver, seems drawn as by some magnetic force to pitch the wheels of the family car into nearly every cavity and fissure, with consequent excess wear on the Michelins.

Thank you in advance.

Derek Courtnell

Plymouth

Bad guys at BBC

I AM absolutely appalled at the behaviour of presenters and commentators on television, mainly BBC, in collectively referring to persons in general, of both male and female gender, as "guys".

I am deeply offended by this sexist remark, and feel it is time they are reminded that there are boys and girls, men and women, male and female, and guys and dolls.

I do not know where it originated, but to refer to a person of female gender as a guy is wrong and disrespectful. The description of "guy" in the Oxford Dictionary is "a man, a fellow", or "one who is odd or grotesque in appearance".

Does the BBC instruct its employees to be sexist and offensive by referring to all as "guys"? I would not be surprised.

I intend taking this up with the appropriate authority under the Sex Discrimination Act; it is extremely bad-mannered and outrageous for an institution such as the BBC to use this term in general reference to both sexes.

What is wrong with "ladies" and "gentlemen"?

Mrs D Woolridge

Truro

Offal hard to find

I HAVE been very interested to read Martin Hesp's articles on recession-busting food such as ox and lamb hearts and sweetbreads. I decided recently to go back to these old staples, such as my mother used to serve when family visited.

The problem is that you can't find them. The supermarket where I do my weekly shop does not stock the old-fashioned, cheaper cuts of meat, and when I went to the Pannier Market I found that the various butchers' stalls and shops, inside and out, had all disappeared.

Could it be that the recession these meats could help alleviate has caused their sellers to go out of business?

It seems Mr Hesp has a local butcher still selling cheap cuts.

Marilyn Warbis

Plymouth

Give animals a turn

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with the letter (November 25) from Mrs B Crofton headed "Suffering animals are in need, too".

I have often wished we could have alternate fundraising years, with Animals in Need one year and Children in Need the next.

Mrs Crofton's letter has spurred me to write to you and I thank her, and thank you for publishing her letter.

Mrs Jane Beare

Padstow