Conservatives should welcome state intervention on jobs and housing

sir – As a proud Thatcherite whose political hero is Ronald Reagan, I echo Matthew Lynn’s assertion that “we need a Reagan not a Roosevelt” (Comment, July 1). But we are living in 2020, not the Eighties or the Thirties.

Boris Johnson’s optimistic, libertarian and free-market instincts are definitively Reaganesque. Moreover, the announcements on planning reforms, housing, apprenticeships and transport infrastructure could all have been made by Margaret Thatcher.

The Conservative Party has won and retained power through the centuries by routinely adapting its philosophy to reflect the priorities of its support base, currently made up, in large part, of low-income and middle-income former Labour supporters.

A more interventionist state is anathema to me but a price well worth paying to keep the Left out of power.

Philip Duly

Haslemere, Surrey

sir – A change from office to home working might be less widespread than much current speculation suggests. Many homes built in recent years will be too small for regular home working, especially if used by more than a single adult. Fast broadband has not usually been a planning requirement for new housing estates – at least, not here.

In my town there has been a shortage of office space, following its enthusiastic conversion to residential use by owners. As a result, more commuting is necessary in a district that has aspirations to be carbon neutral.

Andrew Smith

The Epping Society Epping, Essex

sir – A stamp-duty holiday now would be a terrible confidence trick. House prices will simply rise to fill the gap, and when the duty is reimposed, people who had bought houses would find they had lost money.

House prices plus the new stamp duty are the same as the old prices with old duty. Reduction in stamp duty needs to be permanent.

One of the key elements of a prosperous society is a plentiful supply of affordable housing. Stamp duty is simply a very large wealth tax which, in the end, ruins people.

Charles Pugh

London SW10

sir – Not everyone in Cornwall is as anti second-home owners as Julia Buckley (Comment, July 3) suggests. Many builders, decorators, cleaners and gardeners would not have a living without them, particularly in the winter when these jobs still need to be done.

Mag Humphreys

Wadebridge, Cornwall

sir – How ironic that, post-lockdown, the biggest recruiter will be unemployment benefit offices, to deal with claims of those who have lost their jobs.

David Crawford

Llandudno, Conwy