LETTERS

Whose vote matters?

ALL of the MPs elected in 2017 took their seats by winning first past the post. On the same basis, the 2016 EU referendum was a victory for Leave supporters.

However, many Remain-supporting MPs believe the referendum result is not valid because the 17.4 million who voted Leave represent only 37.4 per cent of the electorate.

Applying the same logic, an analysis of the 2017 General Election shows only 26 MPs enjoyed an overall majority in their constituency. Yes, in 624 constituencies, the majority of the electorate voted for someone else, or did not vote at all.

The question has to be asked: is the result in those constituencies valid and should those 624 MPs have taken their seat at Westminster? After all, you can’t have it both ways.

Prominent among those in this position are Dominic Grieve (47 per cent voted for him), Anna Soubry (35 per cent) and Sir Keir Starmer (47 per cent). Theresa May achieved 50 per cent support while Jeremy Corbyn secured 54 per cent. Jacob Rees-Mogg took 41 per cent.

IAN STROMDALE, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Spiteful EU

BRITISH people travelling abroad may no longer be able to use the faster EU passport lanes when travelling. Just another way of the EU being spiteful or, at least, unhelpful.

We have experienced terrible negotiations and been landed with a bad deal. What is more surprising is that 5 million people have signed an online petition saying they want Article 50 revoked so we can stay in this awful organisation. Can they not see the EU is undemocratic?

The EU has done everything it can to ensure the UK is disrespected and punished. We should be ashamed that so many Britons still support it.

BOB WALLACE, Hurstpierpoint, W. Sussex.

Roads of shame

MUCH as I admire the efforts of ordinary people in cleaning up the country, if my town is anything to go by, pressure should be put on councils to pull their weight.

One of the major routes into my town has had litter scattered along its one-and-a-half-mile length for at least six weeks. Most of it comes from two over-filled and infrequently emptied litter bins in lay-bys.

As there is no pavement and the road is lined by trees and shrubs, there is no opportunity for members of the public to pick up the litter. The council appears to have abdicated its responsibilities. DAVID SYMONS, Skelmersdale, Lancs. IT IS heartbreaking to see the state of our roads. Driving on the A14 between Cambridge and Ipswich, the verges are strewn with dead wildlife and litter. The Highways Agency recently cleared them, but within days it was just as bad, thanks to drivers chucking rubbish out of their windows. ALAN KIRK, Burwell, Cambs.

Global threat

WE ARE told many species are at serious risk of extinction due to global warming. But cars, aircraft, ships, the burning of fossil fuels and power stations are not the culprits.

Cars don’t drive themselves — the real issue is the world’s everincreasing population. This affects everything, from plastic in our seas and filth in our rivers to lack of housing. But not one politician has the guts to point out this toxic problem.

J. RUSSELL, Wokingham, Berks.

The waiting game

I HAVE always had the greatest respect for the NHS, but that has been dented by my recent experience.

I had a fall early one morning in my care home, leaving me in pain. One of the carers called 999 and I had to wait three hours for a paramedic to arrive, who decided I needed to be checked out by A&E.

Though I was badly bruised and unable to walk unaided, it was found that there were no broken bones, so I was told I would have to wait for an ambulance to take me home. Unfortunately, this service ends at 10pm.

I’d had nothing to eat or drink all day until a kind member of staff got me a cheese sandwich and a cup of tea. Eventually, I was given a bed in a kind of cupboard without a door and with no means of attracting a nurse’s attention if I needed help.

At 8am, I was taken back to my care home in an ambulance.

What a way to treat a 90-year-old woman and what a way to throw NHS money around.

Mrs J. GUNNER, Wisbech, Cambs.

No one to confide in

HOW sad to read Kitty Dimbleby’s story of being burgled and losing her peace of mind as well as so many precious belongings (Mail).

I was on my own when a stranger broke into my house. The most important thing he stole was my trust in my fellow man. I have been left with a fear of going out on my own, the darkness at night and being at home alone.

My biggest burden is my deep sadness, even bitterness, that I am unable to talk to my family and friends about the night I was raped. Nearly everyone I have tried to confide in has said they find it too painful to talk about.

I kept the pain inside me for years until I took an overdose and ended up in hospital. I was put on antidepressants and saw a psychiatrist, which finally helped.

I feel I would have recovered if I had been able to speak out about my experience, but too many people told me they found it embarrassing.

Name and address supplied.

Talented F1 drivers

WHILE I agree that in motor racing, the best cars have the best drivers (Letters), there are exceptions.

In 1961 at Monaco, Stirling Moss beat the Ferrari team of three cars in a year-old privately entered Lotus.

Moss was just as amazing in 1954 in the Italian GP in his own privately entered Maserati, leading the Mercedes and Ferrari teams by more than 20 seconds when the oil pipe on his car came adrift.

Winning is 95 per cent car, 5 per cent driver? I don’t think so, otherwise each team’s number two driver would be among the champions. Whether you like him or not, Lewis Hamilton is a bit special. ROD HOLLINGSWORTH,

Barton-le-Clay, Beds.

A sorry statue

PLYMOUTH may hope its new 23fthigh sculpture of a semi-crouching woman outside the Theatre Royal will put it on the map (Mail). But it has been forced on the citizens

against their wishes. My friend roared with laughter when he saw it and said the council was lucky not to get lynched by Plymouth’s women.

It is so badly made that one hand is a lump without any fingers. Trees were cut down to make room for this monstrosity.

You can buy tickets for a delightful performance at the theatre, but you will have to walk between the statue’s legs to get there. B. J. BEDDARD, Plympton, Devon.

Brexit waltz

MY WIFE and I enjoy going to a weekly tea dance, where for the entertainment of our friends we have devised a sequence dance called the Brexit Waltz.

The steps are really easy and go like this: You make it up as you go along; no one has a clue what they are doing; it is a complete shambles, in fact, utter chaos; you make lots of U-turns and you finish up where you started. J. W. MORTIMER, Brackley, Northants.

Having a blast

LIKE another reader, I keep a whistle beside the phone to use when I am contacted by scammers (Letters).

So, when I received an unsolicited call telling me I had a problem with Windows, I gave them a good blast.

A few minutes later, I got another call from the same number saying: ‘I tried to tell you about your Windows, but there was a horrible noise on the line.’ I replied: ‘Was it like this . . .?’ ELAINE ATTFIELD, Wimborne, Dorset.

Royal fashion fail

I WAS surprised to see photographs of the Prince of Wales on his official visit to Cuba, dressed in one of his £3,000 tailored suits.

What a terrible advert for British tailoring! A doublebreasted shambles, incongruous jetted pockets, a crumpled jacket and baggy trousers that were too wide and too long.

Surely not Savile Row? Maybe TK Maxx!

Money most certainly does not always bring taste, style or fit and finish.

With my background in John Lewis menswear, I would not have allowed him to walk out of the shop looking like that. Camilla should have a word.

JON COLE, Portsmouth, Hants.