Letters: the deceitful and entitled rule politics
If, as your editorial suggests, we feel “we are governed by ministers who regard the rules as being for other people” (“Chancellor has damaged faith in democracy”, Comment), it is because they operate with the complacent condescension of Roman patricians, a group that governed by birthright and among whom Boris Johnson behaves like Caesar.
It helps to explain what Andrew Rawnsley calls “The stench of entitlement now oozing from Rishi Sunak’s home as well as Mr Johnson’s” (Comment). Rawnsley wonders whether Sunak was “naive, idiotic, complacent, cavalier or arrogant” over his wife’s tax affairs, but once we recognise that Tory ministers think of themselves not as a class but a political caste all becomes clear.
Only those who believe that governing is their inherited prerogative could display the indifference, deceit and hypocrisy shown by cabinet ministers over the last two years, to which Mr Sunak has added his sense of outraged privilege. They see no wrong in ringfencing wealth in the midst of massive economic inequality. They are indifferent to criticism unless it might register in a ballot box uncomfortably close to home. They recognise no allegiance to the public they belittle, until it gathers periodically as an electorate.Paul McGilchristColchester, Essex
Your view that people in Rishi Sunak’s seat (Richmond, Yorkshire) may forgive his latest errors is interesting but decidedly partial (“Sunak’s stunts and mistakes expose lack of political savvy”, News). Many of his constituents have long noted that our local MP rarely misses an opportunity for self-publicity or situations that lend themselves to his seemingly insatiable need to hone the Rishi brand.
Our local weekly paper invariably contains two to three “news” items with photos of the MP. These are reinforced with his occasional personally financed glossy pamphlet. This latter publication has a rare and idiosyncratic style (no doubt confected by his private publicist) of using 30-40 self references to “Rishi” over a couple of sides. Local people are not daft; they recognise spin masquerading as “news”. The burgers of Northallerton may well wish to stay calm but many of us in the wider constituency are tiring of our MP’s incessant thirst for publicity. Indeed, many of us believe he’d do well to adopt the Kingsley Amis posture of believing less equals more.Gus PenningtonStokesley, North Yorkshire
The silence of solar power
Your claim (“Three-quarters of Britons back expansion of wind power”, News) has raised howls of protest in North Devon, where many hills are blighted by the noise and flicker of these giant protrusions.
The countryside should not be industrialised in this hideous way. If, instead, every new-build, supermarket, car park, barn, shed and factory were to be compulsorily fitted with solar panels – silent, unobtrusive and comparatively cheap – it would be far better, alongside expanding offshore wind power that, as an island, we have in abundance. We must get to net zero fast, but not by destroying our land and skies.Amanda CraigLifton, Devon
Preventing more Grenfells
You report (“Ministers admit ignoring repeated warnings in the years before Grenfell”, News) that Eric Pickles, Gavin Barwell and Stephen Williams, then government ministers, failed to consider the recommendations of the inquest into the Lakanal House fire.
I was the solicitor for the families of the three women and three children who died in that fire. Will the Grenfell Tower inquiry consider stating that an obligation should be placed on government to at least make a reasoned response to recommendations made by coroners on safety to prevent future deaths?Louise ChristianLondon N16
Flexible hours in the stone age
Reading Sonia Sodha on working hours and the value of leisure time (“Covid has shown flexible working is a benefit only for the privileged few”, Comment) had me thinking of anthropologist Marshall Sahlins’s essay, The Original Affluent Society, published more than 50 years ago, in which he demonstrated that for most of history our hunter-gatherer ancestors devoted three hours a day to fulfilling their basic needs, leaving the rest of the time free for social and cultural activities. Other studies indicate that medieval peasants probably enjoyed more leisure time than those of us living in modern industrial societies.Will Douglas-MannPetrockstowe, Devon Operation Mincemeat’s hero
Given the resurgence of interest in Operation Mincemeat, now both a film and comedy musical (“War legend takes on a new identity for our times”, Focus), it feels important to be precise about the nature of the enterprise and its cultural representation.
One of the most remarkable theatre works I have experienced was the 2009 production Mincemeat, by Cardboard Citizens’ Adrian Jackson and Farhana Sheikh. It focused notably on the homeless man – Glyndwr Michael – whose corpse made the venture possible. Despite his pivotal role, he was described by Ewen Montagu, who cooked up the plan, as “a bit of a ne’er-do-well”.
History might be written by the victors but it’s important not to forget those whose bodies – literally – made that possible. Fully acknowledging those who came before us would surely make our “finest hour” something to revisit.Gareth Evans, Whitechapel GalleryLondon E8
Rethink Thought for the Day
On behalf of what I suspect are a number of your readers who profess a faith, I welcome Catherine Bennett’s justified criticisms of recent contributions to Thought for the Day Radio 4’s Today programme (“I pray in vain for wisdom amid the platitudes of Thought for the Day”, Comment). A number have been frankly embarrassing and serve only to discredit a faith-based view of the world.
Assuming that it has to continue to be broadcast, it is time that it was opened up to contributions from those who espouse a non-religious approach. This would more truly reflect the society in which we live, give voice to currently unrecognised insights and refresh a tired formula.The Revd Stephen John TerryHassocks, West Sussex