Why a whole generation has fallen out of love with the Labour Party

sir – Despite the protestations of John Mcdonnell and those close to him, Brexit did not bring Labour close to annihilation. Take it from me, someone born in Sunderland in 1951, whose family were shipyard workers and miners: this was about 40 years of neglect.

The people of Scotland showed us the way. Like us they were patronised and treated with contempt. We have all been seen as offspring of our forefathers, seen as we once were and not respected for who we now are.

Scotland, therefore, rejected Labour at the polls – and we, in this election, have seen fit to do the same.

Labour’s arrogance in seeking to overturn a democratic decision on Brexit by many of its own voters has merely accelerated that which was always coming.

Tom Moore

Newcastle upon Tyne

sir – John Mcdonnell, in his apology for Labour’s performance, said that he was sorry for “not being able to articulate the party’s campaign message ahead of the poll”.

On the contrary, I think that he and Jeremy Corbyn articulated the message extremely well. That was the problem.

Julia Hills

Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire

sir – I have long believed that the true measure of a politician can be observed when he or she concedes defeat. Witness John Mccain’s concession to President Obama in 2008, or John Howard’s to Bob Hawke in 1987.

By this measure Mr Corbyn displayed an abject failure of character last Friday morning. His lack of graciousness and the total absence of congratulations or best wishes to his winning opponent further demonstrate his total unsuitability as leader of a Western democracy.

Dr Graham Sharpe

Wellington, New Zealand

sir – The reaction of some to the results of the general election bring to mind the comments of the dramatist Bertolt Brecht to events in East Germany in the Fifties. “Would it not be easier in that case for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?’’

John Pennington

Port Erin, Isle of Man

sir – I was struck by Andrew Roberts’s analysis (Comment, December 14) of how, over time, the Left establishment has dominated the political culture of this country by projecting itself as the only arbiter of major aspects of the institutions of state and the broadcast media, including universities and the Civil Service. He cited the Italian political scientist Antonio Gramsci, who had argued that, by such means, it was unnecessary to win elections in order to indoctrinate people.

It really is time we woke up and changed this, so that a more balanced ethos can be attained.

Jena Pearson

Garstang, Lancashire