Traditional Democratic voters will abandon Biden at the ballot box – and who can blame them?

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The consequential stance Joe Biden took, and continues to take, with Israel will come back to haunt him (AP)

President Joe Biden’s administration wanted it both ways: to unconditionally arm the Israeli state against Gaza and to keep anti-war voters actively onside come election time.

But a sizeable chunk of traditionally Democrat voters, adamantly against and angry about the situation in Gaza, credibly threaten to abandon Biden at the ballot box.

When the president finally called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the timing gave it the strong odour of political expediency – for re-election purposes.

Judging from their passion and the seriousness of the humanitarian crisis involved, it’s doubtful that most adamantly pro-Palestine, anti-war demonstrators and voters will compromise by politically forgiving Biden come election day. The consequential stance he took/takes, especially in continuing to provide Israel with weaponry, will come back to haunt him.

And I could not honestly blame them.

Frank Sterle Jr

Address supplied

Why salaries should be made public

I thought of Ted Heath’s famous phrase about the “unacceptable face of capitalism” as I read about the disparity of income at Tesco between the chief executive and lower-wage workers. It is as difficult to believe how anyone could be worth an income of nearly £200,000 a week as it is to believe anyone could have any sort of life on as little as £500 per week.

I have long felt that the only way to curb this sort of disgusting imbalance is to require all companies to publish wage reports and the exact ratio figure between staff. All organisations of whatever nature are already required to make annual declarations about their financial state, so it would be no great effort to the calculations regarding pay. In my opinion, this ought to apply across not only commercial entities but also include universities, charities, trade unions, etc...

It is only when held to account by the public that companies would be forced to make changes in the way they operate, otherwise we will keep hearing the same horror stories across a spectrum of businesses.

Alastair Duncan

Winchester

The minister for common sense will save us!

And here was I, worrying about rising bills, the inability to get a doctor’s appointment, crumbling schools and child poverty when, all along, I should have been worrying about the colour of someone’s lanyard. Silly me.

Thank goodness the government has created a minister to save us from such things. A minister paid £86,584 (last time I checked) to make sure we are not subjected to such hardships. Next time I’m lying on a trolley in a hospital corridor, thank God I won’t be assailed by a multicoloured strap carrying ID worn by a health professional.

Karen Brittain

York

A foundation of faith

It is hardly surprising that a majority of secondary school teachers are calling for a repeal of the law requiring regular Christian collective worship at schools, in our increasingly pluralist society. Especially given a recent Ofsted report that the teaching of religious education in many schools is poor.

Why would any adult encourage a child to worship a god they themselves do not understand? Perhaps if the schools taught religious education properly, it would give pupils a true understanding of the relative merits of the different religions.

This country built its constitutional foundation on the Christian faith, it was what made our nation attractive for people to come and live. It would be a shame to lose that now.

Jonathan Longstaff

East Sussex

A Shakespearean tragedy of triggers

I quite agree with Judi Dench’s opinion that trigger warnings are, for the most part, pathetic.

If we’re not prepared to seek out the other side of all that humanity has, for better or worse, in plays, films or other stories, then we will end up living a very shallow life.

Some trigger warnings, of course, are an absolute necessity, in the case of flashing strobe lights for example.

But for the likes of Shakespeare to be deemed “problematic” and “trigger-inducing” should not be a thing at all.

David Murphy

Dublin