Act now to stop our country from destroying itself

THe United Kingdom is in the middle of constitutional and political turmoil. Labour is no longer the party I used to support.

It has been taken over by extreme Left-wing activists, some of whom openly admit being Marxists, and is betraying its working-class supporters. I can’t believe Jeremy Corbyn has called for people to take to the streets!

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has said that if there is another eU referendum and Leave wins again, she will not accept the result.

This is an admission that her party does not believe in or accept democracy, yet MPs are defecting from other parties to join it. Surely democracy is the base on which all our freedoms are founded.

The SNP and Plaid Cymru want to break up the UK so they can stay in the eU, where they will have significantly less freedom. The Conservative Party is tearing itself apart in its inability to accept the referendum result.

Before the situation gets out of hand, everyone — the electorate, politicians and media — needs to stop and carefully consider what they are doing to our great country. Unfortunately, there is little sign of this happening. KEN SHuTTLEWORTH,

St Albans, Herts.

Back to the Seventies

WOULD Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘plot to drag the UK back to the Seventies’ (Mail) be such a bad thing? Back then, young couples with savings could buy their first house and there was public housing for those who were not well-off.

There were no food banks and people were not dying because of traffic pollution. Corbyn could be on to a winner. PETER CHADWICK, South Cerney, Glos.

SOS for Sirius

THe news that Sirius Minerals has failed to raise its second-stage financing for a fertiliser mine (Mail) is a shock. I am a small investor and, like many others, I saw this project as a major boost to the North-east, providing a large number of good-quality jobs in an area that badly needs them.

I have heard of people whose £5,500 investment is now worth only £1,160.

It will come as a surprise to many that the Government is unable to support Sirius with a financial guarantee that would enable it to access further funds and continue with its work.

This is just the sort of enterprise that should receive state support. It could be the largest mine of its kind in the world, so surely it is in the national interest to support it.

The Government says it is protecting taxpayers’ money, but Sirius isn’t asking for cash. During the financial crash, the Government was only too keen to support the banking sector with our taxes.

PETER ROBINSON, Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Pensions in the balance

THe Supreme Court hearing over the suspension of Parliament can make its findings known within a few days of sitting.

However, the judicial inquiry held in June into the pensions for 3.5 million women born in the Fifties does not appear to have the same priority. Women like me have waited years for consideration of the negative effect government decisions have had on our lives. Mrs LINDA DINNICK, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Brexit raspberries

IN THe event of a No Deal Brexit, Ocado warns of shortages of raspberries, mozzarella and Parma ham; Aldi of olive oil and chopped tomatoes; and Waitrose that ‘some fresh food might be unavailable’.

I assume they are covering their backs and don’t believe we can’t cope without such foods for a time. How mollycoddled, spoilt and pathetic we’ve become.

During World War II, U-boats were blowing up supplies. We are merely facing deliveries held up in traffic queues.

GRAHAM WICKS, Attleborough, Norfolk. BORIS JOHNSON really needs to rethink his Brexit strategy as, heaven forbid, how will we survive without raspberries, mozzarella and Parma ham?

STAN WEEDON, Torquay, Devon. THeRe has been constant hype about food shortages if we leave the eU without a deal, yet we throw away 19 per cent of our food and most of us are overweight.

We do not need strawberries at Christmas. None of us will starve if there are delays in food imports and it would do us a lot of good to stop over-eating. CHRISTINE BONFIELD,

Alton, Hants.

Gentlemen cabbies

MY WIFe and I were privileged to attend the Battle of Britain memorial service at Westminster Abbey. We would like to thank the two black cab drivers who refused to let us pay our fare because I was wearing a badged blazer and RAF beret.

I made donations to the collection plate and RAF charities.

P. B. SuMNER, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex.

Picasso in the loo!

I WAS amused by Jeffrey Archer’s admission that he hangs his best art — a Renoir and a Picasso — in the loo (Mail).

In 1954, when I was nine, I was on holiday with my parents in the South of France. One day we were sitting in a cafe in Bandol watching the world go by when my father noticed a small, portly, old man come in — it was Picasso.

He gave me a pencil and the back of an envelope, and told me to ask for an autograph. Picasso was charming and with a smile signed the envelope ‘Piqueur’, which means sting or trick.

My father wasn’t happy about this and persuaded the waiter to escort me back to the great man. This time, he drew a skeletal man and signed it Picasso.

I inherited this scrap of paper after my father’s death and hung it in the loo. This conversational piece meant it was always overcrowded at parties.

Yes, the loo is definitely the best place for art. NICK WASE-ROGERS,

Thorpe, Surrey.