Pick of the week’s correspondence

Lord Farage To The Times

All fair-minded people must agree that UKIP is substantially under-represented in the House of Lords. Love him or hate him, Nigel Farage is surely entitled to be offered a peerage. Given his special relationship with Presidentelect Trump, it has to be both equitable and in the national interest to provide a platform for him at Westminster. Lord Lee of Trafford (Lib Dem), House of Lords

A hero’s welcome To The Daily Telegraph

Having achieved a lifetime ambition to attend the Festival of Remembrance, I arrived at Euston from Manchester and took a taxi to meet my daughter at Covent Garden. The driver asked the purpose of my visit. I mentioned that I had served in the Royal Navy from 1949-1951.

On arrival I asked what the fare was – but, despite my protests, he refused to take a penny, saying: “You served the country. It is the least I can do.” Sadly, he shot off and I was unable to obtain his number. Despite all we read to the contrary, there are still some splendid people in the world. Irvine Caplan, Manchester

Know your history To The Times

How can we expect the Americans to understand the difference between the British and English when Michael Gove, born and raised in Scotland, writes: “Andrew Jackson defeated the English at New Orleans”, and the accompanying picture shows “English” soldiers in kilts attacking the American lines in 1815. The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) would not be impressed. Julian Philpot, Macclesfield

Godless leader To The Guardian

It is interesting to reflect that while all recent US presidents (even George W. Bush) have made very public professions of attachment to the Christian faith, Donald Trump does not appear to share this. None of his frequent utterances over the last year have alluded to

faith, and his actions and words during the election campaign were hardly those of a Christian adherent, quite the opposite. So we may reasonably assume that the Tea Party religious Right, a key influence in his election, is now headed up by an amoral infidel. That would be one of the weirder outcomes of 8 November. Robin Wendt, Chester

Nato needs us To The Times

President-elect Trump is entirely justified to carp about the 24 Nato members (most of whom are EU members) who freeload off the US. The UK is one of the four that does pay its way. It is also one of only two European countries with a nuclear and half-decent military capability (the other being France). It is obvious that if the US pulls out of

Nato, or even reduces its commitment, the UK’S armed forces will be essential to Europe’s defence, and will probably supply the main element of any continental defence force. In those circumstances, the UK, far from being in a position of being threatened by the EU over its possible closer ties with the new US administration, will be in a position to write its own terms for not leaving or rejoining the EU. Peter Hutchesson, London

Democrats blew it To the Financial Times

Early on, the majority of American voters were clear that they did not want an establishment candidate. That was illustrated by the high level of support garnered by Bernie Sanders in the primaries and by polls which found that, in a straight fight, Donald Trump would be beaten by him. The Democrats did have a choice and blew it. I don’t find the result at all surprising. Trevor Pateman, Brighton

Poor trade-off To The Guardian

It seems ironic that the Prime Minister’s journey to India should coincide with the Sheffield Hallam report on the devastating hollowing out of UK manufacturing. Where have our manufacturing jobs gone but to poorly paid workers in India and China, where exploitative working conditions and child labour are rife? Should we not be erecting more tariff barriers rather than seeking to remove them? Murray Marshall, Salisbury, Wiltshire

Baffling Brexit deals To The Guardian

Reading about the support being given to Nissan, I am amused that no reference is made to the fact that Renault, in which the French government has a large stake, is a majority shareholder in Nissan. It’s confusing, this new Brexit world. Dermot O’sullivan, Harold Wood, Essex

Lost and found To The Times

Further to the letter on accordions, there is also the story of the accordionist who left his instrument on the back seat of his locked car. On his return, he found the rear window smashed – and three more accordions added. Iain Macniven, Arisaig, Inverness-shire