Closure of e-petitions | Electroconvulsive therapy | Gymnastics coverage | Ford plant in Cleveland | Bananarama comeback
The UK government now says that due to the election all e-petitions will be closed, though people can still read them. Petitions will have to be restarted after the election and signatures cannot be transferred. What a terrible way to treat the public. Some of these petitions have already reached the target of 100,000 and were due to be discussed, such as “Drivers over the age of 70 having to be tested every three years”. We should insist the new petitions committee ensures that the popular ones are discussed and do not have to start again.
Ann Paterson
Didcot, Oxfordshire
• Like Andrew Mayers’ brother (Opinion, 25 April) I had electroconvulsive therapy in 2006 after three years of “treatment-resistant” depression and it gave me my life back with minimal side-effects. When I had a relapse last year, the NHS psychiatrist had no hesitation in prescribing it again and I was completely well within a few weeks. It saddens me to think that Andrew’s brother was not offered that option. Surely the NHS should not hesitate to offer ECT immediately to anyone who has benefited from it in the past.
Ian Arnott
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire