Whoever wins out of Johnson and Hunt, one thing is clear – the next Tory leader must call a general election

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Whichever candidate wins the Tory leadership contest the fact is 99.7 per cent of the population will have had absolutely no say in electing the prime minister of more than 60 million people. Whichever of two appalling candidates win – be it Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson – neither will have a mandate to govern.

That mandate can only come from a general election.

Sasha Simic
London N16

The private education system is clearly lacking

Surely the overwhelming reason why our unfair schools system needs an overhaul, is because the alumni from these schools have made such a pig’s ear of running the country. If the education was as good as people have been lulled into believing there might be some excuse for the privilege.

However, the thinking skills of some of the expensively educated alumni would disgrace an average ten year old. If I had taught them I would be hanging my head in shame.

Joanna Pallister
Address supplied

Democracy is the best antidote to inequality

At the root of inequality in society is democratic deficiency, not the economic system.

In an improved system of democracy, which would include the full participation of the people, the people would, I’m sure, choose to improve the wellbeing of all.

Full participatory democracy, from the local to the national, would end lawmakers responding to the demands of wealthy individuals and big corporations.

As we face up to the imperative to alter our economic system to adjust to the climate emergency, we should – at the same time – improve our democratic system in order to reduce inequality.

Geoff Naylor
Winchester

Get the message, Boris

In light of the incident involving Boris Johnson and his partner over the weekend perhaps we should express some surprise in his apparent inability to grasp that leave means leave.

Alan Gregory
Gatley​

A failure of Tory philosophy

Your correspondent Ben Chapman reports that despite a fall in wholesale energy costs and the government cap, our energy companies have managed to increase their turnover bu a whopping £1.2bn. This just illustrates again that the privatisation of the nation’s energy was yet another way of creating wealth for previously non-existent companies and not really an exercise in bringing competition to the market with efficiency savings to be passed on to consumers. Yet another example of a failure of Tory philosophy!

G Forward
Stirling

Johnson flouts the law

I note, and agree with, Jenny Eclair’s piece yesterday about concerns regarding Boris Johnson’s car windscreen being covered in parking tickets. But unlike Jenny I’m not as concerned by this sign of our future prime minister’s inability to organise a parking permit as I am for his blatant disregard for the law.

Jo Lansdown​
New Malden