Rishi Sunak’s ‘mansplaining’ is not what Tory members want to hear from a potential leader

sir – Rishi Sunak clearly lost Monday night’s television debate with Liz Truss because of his constant interruptions when she was calmly answering.

His compliments to her at the very end did not compensate for all the “mansplaining” (report, July 26).

Conservative members have another four weeks of these exchanges. We are looking for a thoughtful person who can lead people in a team, not bully them.

Michael Staples

Seaford, East Sussex

sir – I had planned to vote for Mr Sunak but changed my mind during the BBC debate. Why? It’s a question of manners. Ms Truss has them.

Donald King

Crediton, Devon

sir – Unsurprisingly, Monday’s debate was mishandled by the BBC.

In all but one question Mr Sunak spoke first and his continuous interruption of his opponent was never controlled. Ms Truss showed restraint, while Mr Sunak just looked desperate to get the top job. Andrew Munday Shoreham-by-sea, West Sussex

sir – On Monday evening I witnessed the death of the Conservative Party. Jane du Pre

Amesbury, Wiltshire

sir – I was 10 when the Conservative chancellor Anthony Barber cut taxes at a time of great economic hardship with a view to securing a Tory victory at the next election.

The so-called Barber Boom resulted in rampant inflation, high interest rates and the shame that was the British economy during the 1970s. It also brought in a Labour government.

I turned 20 on the day Geoffrey Howe introduced his 1981 budget, the second of Margaret Thatcher’s administration. Widely criticised by the economic establishment, it raised taxes at a time of high inflation. Within two years, inflation had fallen from almost 12 per cent to under 4 per cent.

A period of dramatically improved prosperity followed, as did a string of Conservative election victories.

The 1981 budget was the more Conservative and the more successful for our nation. I hope the Conservative members learn the lessons of history, as Mr Sunak seems to have done. Charles Stewart-smith

Brompton Regis, Somerset

sir – Covid robbed my children, particularly my five-year-old, of critical education, and now I’m paying privately to recover those lost years, as the school just says she’s “behind”, and has no plan to address it. My older children finish high school next year, with a poor education behind them, and again I’m paying to plug gaps.

I work with businesses fighting hard to survive, dealing with increased regulation, bills and tax, with no support beyond government loan schemes and VAT deferral payment plans that will destroy them as they fail to make repayments.

I pay into an NHS that fails me. I have a problem with my eye, yet as I’m not critically ill I receive no support, no acknowledgement of a test taken four months ago, and no suggestions for how to fix it. Again, I will have to pay privately to get it sorted.

I applied to renew my daughters’ passports in May. Two were done quickly, while the third remains in a queue, despite being in with the “escalated” team – a team I can’t speak to, and that hasn’t the basic decency to let me know it’ll be sorted. I booked a holiday last December – the first trip abroad for my family in three years. We fly inside a week. What should I do: waste all the money spent and not go, or leave a daughter behind?

This country is meant to be a world leader. It’s full of great people, with ideas and passion, yet it can’t give its citizens basic services. This is a disgrace. The NHS, schools and the Civil Service need to change their ways and start delivering for the silent people who pay for it all.

Mark Parsons Birmingham