Need to use votes wisely

Barry Crossland, Elland

BORIS’S response to the Ukraine crisis is just a facade to cover years of placating a villan for his own political ends.

For years the Government have allowed Putin’s pals to launder their money through Londongrad and invest where ever they choose. For the service, the Russians slip the Tory party a few million pounds to fund glossy brochures to hide the corruption.

It suited Putin to weaken the EU and the UK and he helped fund the Brexit campaign.

This acrimonious split was unhelpful in presenting a united front against the invasion of Ukraine. In addition both the UK and EU economies are weaker and less militarily capable.

Boris and Putin have similarities in being utterly selfcentred, dishonest and a dislike for democracy. However, the consequences for ordinary citizens in both the UK and Russia is a lower quality of life. Our democracy is poor and is in danger of being weakened by a Government moving closer to the Russian model. Curtailing the independence of the BBC and the National Trust, imposing voter ID and undermining the legal system are Government policies.

Of course, the Green Party has a honest alternative which would be beneficial to most people. Key features are a fair and proportional voting system and a fully elected House of Lords. Much better than Boris giving the son of a KGB officer a lordship. There is sufficient knowledge to create an economy which is more resilient, fairer and less reliant on dirty money. However, readers need to use their votes wisely.

Political focus moved away from security to issues such as diversity, self-identification, and correct use of pronouns. AJ TAGG