The Tories will never win with a lurch to the Left

So the Tories are now targeting the under-40s in an effort to hold back the Corbyn surge, as you revealed last week. I’m afraid that policies such as raising the threshold at which graduates have to pay back student loans and more help for first-time homebuyers are a waste of time. Ultimately, they will just make Jeremy Corbyn look even more credible. Kevin Coley, Leicester The Prime Minister’s announcement of small changes to the tuition-fee regime will do little to rebalance value for money in the context of a declining and variable graduate premium. More importantly, it misses the point. In the midst of a digital revolution and Brexit, we must put highquality technical education at the heart of the curriculum and our investment strategy if we are to ensure that we have the skills we need for the future. A broad and balanced curriculum, designed and delivered in partnership with employers, and more high-level apprenticeships, are needed. Alice Barnard, Chief executive, Edge Foundation Are we actually moving towards a government that the people of this country need – when both the major parties agree on policies without claiming Brownie points by stating that they thought of them first? Ian Walton, Bridgwater, Somerset The reason Theresa May was coughing during her conference speech was because the Labour policies she was espousing were sticking in her craw! Alan Lowe, Northwich, Cheshire I would welcome the idea of ‘T-levels’ in technical subjects such as engineering, catering and construction. With these subjects, students will find a job at the end of their studies.

There are far too many Mickey Mouse courses that do not guarantee them jobs at the end. Instead they are left heavily in debt even before they start work, if they ever do. Paul Maddocks, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire My son completed a master’s degree in engineering, gaining a first, but I fear he may never get rid of the £75,000 debt that he built up after five years at university. How can this be a fair way to treat our young people? Richard Burnett, Hull Nick Candy and his wife have planted trees in a heavily built-up area that needs all the greenery it can get. If they’d cut some down to have a better view, they would have been accused of ‘urban deforestation’. When you get that rich and famous, there’s always someone who wants to have a pop at you. J. Benn, London Nick and Holly’s neighbours could do with an ‘anti-hedge’ fund to help finance the fight against the planting of 15 ‘light-blocking’ trees. Vincent Hefter, Richmond-upon-Thames