Tories are as right wing as ever

I AM amazed by Stuart Eels’ assertion, in his letter published on November 26th, that the Tory Party has drifted to the left of Labour. Something for which he gives no evidence, by the way.

Tony Blair was pretty right-wing, but he brought in ‘Sure Start’, reduced child poverty, after years of Thatcherism, and along with the introduction of doctors’ walk-in centres, brought down hospital waiting times. Under the Tories,

Sure Start has largely gone, Doctors’ walk-in centres have disappeared, hospital waiting times have risen exponentially and child poverty is everywhere.

Following Cameron’s 2012 Health Act, A&Es were closed all across the country. The health crisis, with the shortage of hospital beds, was well under way before Covid struck. The economy is in free-fall and the income-gap is wider than it has been for generations.

On top of all that, obeying the law is now optional, with Boris Johnson’s tacit approval. Police officers turn a blind eye to criminality taking place under their noses. One result has been the appearance of private police forces in our town centres. At the same time, the right to democratically protest is criminalised.

The Labour Party warned of ‘bargain-basement’ Britain under the Tories. One result of the ‘bargain-basement’ policies is that McColl’s shops have been closed down by their foreign owners. And the largely foreign owned privatised water companies have been given permission to pollute our rivers and seas at will for the next 28 years, after their agreement with the Government this autumn.

What in all that is not right-wing enough for Stuart Eels?

Robert Craig Weston-super-Mare