Redundancy Act and Harold Wilson’s legacy

Statue of Harold Wilson in St George’s Square, Huddersfield. ‘Harold knew that industry needed restructuring and this act was passed to alleviate the pain the restructuring would cause,’ writes Eric Youd. Photograph: The Travel Library/ Rex

In the correspondence about Harold Wilson (Letters, 14 and 16 March), nobody pays tribute to the passing of the Redundancy Payment Act 1965. Harold knew that industry needed restructuring and this act was passed to alleviate the pain the restructuring would cause. His attitude came from the personal experience of his father being made redundant. Many hundreds of thousands have benefited from this piece of forward thinking. No wonder Mrs Thatcher wanted to repeal the act.
Eric Youd
Royton, Oldham

• When Harold Wilson retired as prime minister he had to be helped out financially by his friends. When Blair retired as prime minister he was worth several millions (Report, 15 March). That says it all.
David Craig
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

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