This is an election like no other, with irreversible consequences for Brexit and the economy
SIR – It must be clear now even to the most ardent Labour voter that this general election is not like any other. If by chance Jeremy Corbyn becomes the next prime minister and leads either a Labour or, more likely, a coalition Left-wing government, he will by the end of his term of office have destroyed not just the economy but any chance of a future Labour government for many years to come.
This election is different. There are matters at stake so important for the future of the country that they cannot be left to some outdated student agenda. Even moderate Labour voices are secretly hoping for a result that will enable them to recover their party from the extremists.
Now is the time to consider what kind of country we want to live in. Do we want a good Brexit deal, a strong defence policy and the ability to confront terrorists, or will we think only of short-term personal advantage and be seduced by promises that we can have something for nothing?
We can’t be fooled into thinking that we can rob the rich to pay the poor. The rich will simply move away, taking their riches and jobs to other countries. The only way to fund Labour’s spending plans will be to mortgage our children’s future and borrow many more billions to add to the huge debt we already have.
If Theresa May fails to deliver the fair society she talks of, kick her out in a few years. That must be preferable to ruining the country and returning us to the era in which Mr Corbyn is stuck, when we were known as the sick man of Europe. G M Lilley
Edge, Gloucestershire
SIR – In the run-up to the 2010 election, George Osborne’s worst nightmare would have been a victory followed the next day by the rating agencies downgrading Britain’s credit rating. His most important job was to keep a lid on our borrowing costs, and he succeeded.
Should Labour form the next government, those agencies will take one look at its economic plan and give it the thumbs down. Then we will be stuffed.
The only two relevant questions facing us at the polling station are: who will be better negotiating with the EU, and who has the most cogent economic plan. Everything else – the NHS, police and security, education and social care – depends on how it can be paid for. That comes down to either maintaining economic growth or destroying it. Martin Shaw
Beckenham, Kent
SIR – This election has a “presidential” ring about it. Jeremy Corbyn lacks a competent team, whereas Theresa May has a strong, credible team. John Howden-richards
Marcham, Oxfordshire
SIR – Politicians may be judged on what they have said in the past, what they have done in the past and what they are proposing to do in the future.
When it comes to security, Mr Corbyn judges Mrs May on past decisions based on the situation at the time, not her proposals for the future.
With no shame or apparent sense of irony, he also wishes the electorate to judge him on what he now proposes to do but to ignore what he has done in the past (which is nothing of note), as well as the potentially disastrous security policies which he has previously advocated. I hope and trust the electorate will notice this. Dr Martin Shutkever
Pontefract, West Yorkshire
SIR – In June 2016 a vote by the parliamentary Labour party expressed no confidence in its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, by 172 votes to 40.
What happens if Mr Corbyn now wins the election? Will they all suddenly decide that he is, after all, a pretty good egg, or will they do the right thing for the country and oppose him at every opportunity? Richard Davies
Charnock, Lanarkshire
SIR – It would be uncharitable not to believe the Labour Party’s reasons for the shadow home secretary’s late absence from the hustings. Ian Stirton Smith
Gosport, Hampshire
SIR – We must hope that Diane Abbott makes a speedy recovery, as she might be needed at the Home Office on Friday. Duncan Carse
Launceston, Cornwall