LETTERS

Straight-talking Boris

IF PLAIN speaking is regarded as bad language, then we must expect to listen to drivel.

What Boris Johnson has said, using the analogy of a suicide vest, is just a straight way of telling us exactly what could be about to happen.

all we hear from Mrs May is talk, talk, talk and not straight facts. Despite what she says, i don’t believe she has any intention of taking us out of Europe and doing what the people voted for. Y. LACEY, Rye, E. Sussex. THE more Boris Johnson promotes himself to be prime minister, the more he demonstrates how unsuitable he is for that role. VALERIE CREWS, Beckenham, Kent.

New party needed

AFTER the elections to Labour’s ruling national Executive Committee, the hard Left is effectively in control of the party. The time is ripe to form a Centre-Left alliance.

The green party, Lib Dems and the Blairite Progress movement would do well to sit down together and hammer out a common manifesto and non-aggression pact in preparation for the next general Election.

in terms of policy, it is fortuitous that the IPPR think tank’s report Prosperity and Justice, endorsed by the archbishop of Canterbury, is an off-the-shelf programme. ANDREW McLUSKEY, Stanwell, Staines. IT WAS thought Tony Blair had his cap set on the top Eu post as a re-entry into limelight politics, but Brexit has scuppered this.

So is he thinking of linking up with Vince Cable to form a new political party in Britain?

Cable stating that a non-MP could be a leader of any new party seems to open the way for Blair. i shudder to think of such a scenario. GERRY DOYLE, Liverpool. VINCE CABLE says he will resign, but not until ‘Brexit is resolved or stopped’. as the Liberal Democrats have consistently proven themselves to be utterly useless, i am sure they will make no difference to Brexit. STEFAN BADHAM, Portsmouth, Hants. IF THE moderate Labour MPs are deselected, they should call a by election at the same time. MICHAEL ALBIN, Blackburn, Lancs.

Truth about HRT

I SPENT more than 30 years on HRT (good health), enjoying a pain-free, healthy and happy life.

in my 40s, i had undergone a total hysterectomy and went straight into the menopause, suffering with night sweats. i also started to develop arthritis. My mother also had this condition and spent her last years in a wheelchair.

My doctor, though he had reservations, put me on HRT, and all my unpleasant symptoms disappeared. however, that came to an abrupt end when my doctor retired last year and his replacement cancelled the HRT.

i now have painful arthritis in my knees, shoulders and fingers, but all my doctor will prescribe is codeine for the pain. i fear that with all these health issues, i could face losing my independence.

PAMELA THOM, Boston, Lincs.

Britain’s not for sale

ALEX BRUMMER is right when he says ‘ Britain plc is still for sale’ (Mail). We are on the brink of cutting our ties with the Eu and it is imperative that the Prime Minister honours her pledge to protect our businesses from hostile foreign takeovers that are not in our best interests.

So far, her words have not been followed by action and we have seen more of our best companies falling prey to overseas predators.

after Brexit, we will need all the skill, expertise and innovation for which we are renowned if we are to attract worldwide trade.

it would be foolish to continue to allow our technical knowledge to fall into the hands of competitors.

DAVID MORGAN, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

Friends with benefits?

I MADE a freedom of information request asking how many British nationals are claiming benefits in Bulgaria, romania and Poland. i didn’t get any answers.

i tried the embassies, consulates and governments agencies, but no one could tell me.

Should i decide to move to one of these countries before Brexit, would i qualify for reciprocal benefits? Would i be put up in a hotel, be given money for food and drink, and have access to a doctor and dentist?

Why is it that all the information about our welfare system is so readily available, but i can’t find out the same about other Eu countries?

S. T. VAUGHAN, Birmingham.

Tax on the unmarried

THE main argument against extending the widow’s pension, or Bereavement allowance, to the unmarried is that it diminishes marriage. if

marriage is worthwhile in its own right, it should not need to be propped up with financial inducements.

The main concern for society is getting fathers to provide for their children. A more robust attitude to DNA testing would sort that out. The cost would be far less than that spent on supporting lone parents.

It isn’t just cohabiting couples who feel aggrieved about what they get for their tax and NI contributions.

I don’t want to see marriage disappear, but I have spent a lifetime paying for couples who are better off than I am.

Of course we should all, through the tax system, care for the nation’s children, but that shouldn’t mean giving a better deal financially to well-heeled couples who just happen to have gone through a marriage ceremony. MISS S. M. TOWERS,

Wigton, Cumbria.

Phone phoney

I GET enormous satisfaction out of seeing how long I can keep nuisance callers on the line (Letters), wasting their time and money, while feeding them improbable information.

I’ve claimed to have suffered whiplash when a tank fell off a flyover and crushed my Bentley and said I was Derek Trotter in a Reliant Robin three-wheeler involved in a collision. I told one nuisance caller I wasn’t sure how to spell my passenger Oscar Wilde’s name, but believed he was famous and they could look him up on the internet.

They did so and discussion ensued about the fact Mr Wilde was dead. I feigned surprise and said he seemed OK when he got into the car and I hadn’t realised the accident had been serious.

My favourite yarn was about suffering injuries when my Lamborghini was cut up by two company cars. I was asked was there a company name emblazoned on the cars.

The caller hung up when I said it was ‘police’. My record call was 35 minutes.

I would encourage anyone who gets these calls not to be annoyed, but to treat them as free entertainment and see how inventive you can be. I do wonder why I haven’t had a nuisance call for months . . .