Those involved in the Downing Street Christmas parties need to resign

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10 Downing Street (AFP via Getty Images)

I left the UK more than 30 years ago to live in the European Union – in France. Italy and Spain. Apart from the British climate, what led to my departure was living in a country ruled by and for the establishment.

Boris Johnson has become a laughing stock, reducing the prestige of what was once a great world power.

He and others involved in the Christmas parties must resign if Westminster is to retain any sense of credibility as a government of and for the people.

Peter Fieldman

Madrid

Walk the talk

Dominic Raab is one of the authors of Britannia Unchained, which asserts: “The British are among the worst idlers in the world. We work among the lowest hours, we retire early and our productivity is poor.”

Raphael Marshall’s recent select committee testimony on the-then foreign secretary’s performance during the Afghan crisis suggests that it’s a lot easier to write a polemic than it is to “walk the talk”.

Paul Rex

South Warnborough

Boats in the Channel

With regard to the government’s "push back" policy over small boats of refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Channel, how on earth has this country reached a point where 313 members of Parliament vote in favour of this?

What has happened to us?

Helen Watson

Henley on Thames

By-election boasts

The much-discussed North Shropshire by-election – caused by the resignation of Owen Paterson – is starting to remind me of the seismic by-election in Orpington 1962. The one major difference is that no one really foretold a Liberal party victory in those days; whereas they do now.

It almost goes without saying – although I shall – that both governments were having bigger than average problems, although the Tories in ’62 had not yet reached the nadir which they did the following year due to the Profumo affair; this government is already below that watermark!

Therefore, although I do not do predictions – I am confident that the Liberal Democrats will win on Thursday.

Robert Boston

Kingshill

So.... according to Ed Davey, Lib Dems think they're in with a good chance of beating the Tories in the upcoming by-election in North Shropshire.

I wish them the best of luck, as I'm sure many people do, for if they win it will really motivate Conservative MPs to definitely dump Boris Johnson at long last.

The problem for the Tory Party and their MPs is that vicariously hanging around waiting to see if Johnson is still popular or not has inevitably tarred them all with the same brush

Linda Evans

London