LETTERS The English disease
Sir: In an otherwise comprehensive selec- tion of newspaper and magazine cuttings that put the blame for Liverpool's decline as a port on the dockers and working classes, Richard West (Prom great port to Piggery', 8 June) fails to mention the contribution of Mersey Docks and Har- bour Board, the employers' trustee-status body. If Mr West had read the Financial Times and City page cuttings he would have discovered that, post-war, the Board's failure to raise port dues in line with inflation ensured the port's collapse and the Board's bankruptcy. Trustees who had invested in the Board's debentures on behalf of widows and orphans were left holding worthless paper. Of course, if the dues had been raised, the MDHB direc- tors, who were also wharfingers, would have made lesser profits. Directors, as well as dockers, share the blame for Liverpool's decline: the 'English disease' affects all classes.
Dermot McEvoy
111 Warwick Way, London SW1
Previous page
