The whole country is suffering – and strikes only make things worse

sir – If your earnings come from the Government, either directly or indirectly through subsidies, you can be as aggressive as you wish in your demands for more pay.

Have you ever been faced with the possibility of your pay not being available on pay day because (for instance) a customer still owes money? Those in the private sector accept this risk.

Borrowing to increase wages leads to bankruptcy – swiftly for private companies and slowly but surely for governments. The public sector is bloated with a great many overpaid, under-productive individuals. Reality is frightening but strikes are not the answer. There is no magic money tree.

Terry Curley Brentwood, Essex

sir – Doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers and firefighters have something in common.

Their occupations used to be vocations, in which men and women were called to the privilege of service. Now it seems that each is just another job, so striking for higher pay is considered acceptable.

Let us hope our clergy do not stray down the same sorry path.

Francis Bown London E3

sir – With the disruption of strikes, and the general lack of control, Britain needs a Margaret Thatcher-style prime minister. But where can we find one?

Michael Marks Leominster, Herefordshire

sir – The Prime Minister should call an immediate general election in order to ask whether voters wish to have a government dedicated to economic recovery, prioritising the need to reduce inflation for the benefit of the whole community – or a government that will allow strikes by key workers, thereby embedding inflation.

No one doubts the sincerity of strikers in believing they have a deserving case – one that will need to be answered once inflation is under control – but it is unfair to make the economy worse for the sake of short-term advantage.

Pascal Ricketts London SW1

sir – I have no idea who this Government is working for.

I’m a businessman and it certainly isn’t me – I’ve never paid as much tax.

It isn’t the young – they can’t afford houses, cars or the energy for either.

It isn’t the poor, since inflation has made them poorer still.

It isn’t the old, who are at the mercy of a failing NHS.

And it isn’t the law-abiding, since both the legal system and the police force are broken.

So who is it?

Paul Gaynor Windermere, Cumbria

sir – Kim Potter (Letters, January 31) may be right that the Tories deserve to lose the next election. Unfortunately, nobody else deserves to win it.

Jolyon Cox Witney, Oxfordshire