Not taken in by one-trick Farage
■ Congratulations to Lisa Forbes on winning the Peterborough by-election for Labour. She won the seat because she campaigned on local issues and not Brexit.
Unlike Nigel Farage and his party, voters are not obsessed with Brexit – other issues such as the NHS are more important to them, especially when we consider Farage would like to move our beloved health service to a US-style insurancebased system.
The Tories have only got themselves to blame for their dismal performance as they were the architects of Brexit – the culmination of 50 years of arguing over Europe.
Labour is the only major party capable of winning a general election now. Bring it on!
Christine Hanks, Woking, Surrey
■ I was delighted at Labour’s win in Peterborough, albeit by a small majority. But it was a victory nonetheless and an important one considering the constituency was 60% Leave. Well done to the new MP Lisa Forbes and to the campaigners who fought a tough and well organised campaign based on local issues. Hopefully, voters will soon come to realise that the vainglorious Farage is a one-trick pony with no real policies.
Paul Howard
Selby, North Yorks
■ I think this win by Labour in Peterborough couldn’t have happened at a better time as we commemorated D-Day. Those brave troops, my father included, fought against the fascists for peace and freedom.
The fact this country has fallen prey to far-right rhetoric in the past three years would make them turn in their graves.
This small victory in Peterborough is a light in a very dark place.
Dee Anderson, Oxford
■ I don’t think Labour can really shout about triumphing over the politics of fear when they only won in Peterborough by the narrowest of margins.
With the Tories at each other’s throats in the leadership election, Labour should have won by a country mile but the truth is that many traditional Labour voters don’t trust Corbyn and are worried about the prospect of a Labour government run by the hard left.
R Smith, Clitheroe, Lancs
■ With the Labour Party winning the Peterborough by-election it just goes to show not everyone is gullible enough to be taken in by the shameless opportunist Nigel Farage.
There’s nothing and no one this man won’t exploit to win votes, but thankfully not everyone is taken in. Stuart Slinn, Chesterfield, Derbys
■ It was encouraging to see Labour managing to fend off the threat from the Brexit Party in Peterborough. I’ve just come back from Spain where the socialists have made gains in elections after years of rightwing fraud and corruption.
These far-right extremist groups in Europe must never again get a foothold. Ray Osborne Dovercourt, Essex
■Labour won in Peterborough because common sense prevailed and when real politics are at stake voters decided they could not vote for a pub party with a pub politician and no policies. Paul Jones via Facebook