Labour rail regression

SIR – Oh good: a return to the bad old days of British Rail (“Labour to renationalise train operators with no compensation”, report, February 1).

Does this mean we can look forward to filthy trains, hopeless timekeeping and even more hideously expensive tickets? Not to mention strikes at the drop of a hat because a Labour government will always give in to its union paymasters.

Charles Penfold

Ulverston, Cumbria

SIR – Labour has announced plans to renationalise the railways in order to fix what it describes as a “broken system”.

I believe that whichever party pledges to do the same with the many dysfunctional water companies across the country will be on to a massive vote winner. We could then stop the obscenity of directors picking up huge bonuses while their companies continue to foul our rivers and seas.

Douglas M Jacobs

Highworth, Wiltshire

SIR – There appears to be a belief among political commentators that the next election will result in 10 years or more of Labour government. This is mistaken.

The Labour Party has the same views and priorities that have turned people away from the current Government – an over-zealous focus on net zero, significantly increasing the cost of living and destroying people’s livelihoods; support for unrestricted immigration to the detriment of residents’ access to critical services and housing; and an obsession with division by identity, resulting in intolerance and hate.

This will not change under Labour; indeed it’s likely to get worse. The incoming Labour government will not be elected by popular acclaim – it will simply be a side effect of voters turning away from the Conservatives.

The divide between the establishment and the people, exposed by Brexit, still exists. New political groupings will emerge that represent what people actually want from government.

Phil Coutie

Exeter, Devon