What the papers say is still seen by many who don’t buy them
Archie Bland notes the declining circulation of the Sun and the Times (Winning over the Times and the Sun won’t decide the next election – but Starmer’s Labour can’t kick the habit, 2 April). But newspaper displays in supermarkets and motorway service areas act as billboards. Thousands of non-buyers still see the screaming tabloid headlines every day. Whether they are influenced would be an interesting research topic.Martin LewisWakefield,
West Yorkshire
• Incentives to donate to charities already exist (Letters, 2 April). Tax relief at the donor’s highest rate of up to 45% is given for each pound donated. Rather, we need incentives for the government to close the loopholes that let the very rich treat income tax as optional.Dr Margaret CoombeLondon
• And now a maths question for your correspondent who argues that University Challenge favours Oxbridge participants (Letters, 2 April). How many more students are there in Imperial College London than in Trinity College, Cambridge? Answer: 20,000.Martin DattaLincoln
• Descartes must have enjoyed your long read (The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’, 2 April). Belated support for mind-body dualism and the ghost in the machine.Steven DornerLondon
• Perhaps the nation could benefit if, during the general election campaign, politicians didn’t speak before midday (Speech fasting: would staying silent until midday make us happier and healthier?, 2 April). It might help us to enjoy our breakfast in peace. Paresh MotlaThame,