It was quite reassuring to read Paul Arnott's column regarding his criticism of all three 'major parties' that have no idea how to get our country back on track.

I constantly fear and worry for all our citizens, young and old, in our lovely country.

Everything is broken and nobody in position seems capable or gives me a flash of confidence.

There's never any accountability from the echelons of power, all we get is 'lessons will be learned' and off they go and continue to continue, or taken out of the picture and sidelined still being on the payroll, we never get conclusive answers to other very doubtful abuses of power i.e.

Taylor Swift blue lighting from her performance - at considerable cost to the public purse yet again - if there had been any sign of danger, be it to her or the huge public she commands, the venue would've/should've been cancelled.

I was of the opinion that these artists had to pay for their own personal security, and the security provided by the venue, all of which is supposedly included in the price of the tickets.

Anthony Bernard's column about the many ongoing, unsolved and profoundly expensive inquiries - at our cost - which invariably leaves us still no wiser of who was at fault and what will their penalty be, also makes me wonder how many of these people were 'bought off' and then turn a blind eye, use a cheaper material, deny all knowledge of or can no longer recall what happened, or even worse are in a lower position and need to keep their job, so also keep quiet.

At least I'm a little easier in the knowledge that Paul Arnott has not taken any 'freebies' and anything over £50 has to be registered - this is the 'rule', in my opinion a rule that needs to be changed completely, right from Westminster all the way down to Local Government.

It's simple corruption, and bribery, however small, that leads to favouring at a future date.

Now we must hold our breath and wait for this budget, all the small and independent businesses that have to keep their finger on the pulse and eye on the ball look like being targeted, this also applies to any business in the Private sector.

These business owners are workers also and provide jobs for other workers!!!

-Susan Robinson