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The next election will be a humbling moment for the Tory party

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Monday 18 March 2024 18:02 GMT

There is nothing that the Tories can point to that is better than 14 years ago (PA)

As the Conservative Party sinks into oblivion, let their dogma sink too. They seem to reward only the top 1 per cent, large companies, and their supporters. Rishi Sunak and his predecessors seem to have forgotten the millions of workers who have continued to produce wealth for this country even in the face of great hardship.

Members of the Tory party and those who support them ought to bow their heads in shame at the state of the nation. Since 2010 our standard of living has plummetted, infrastructure is woeful, the NHS is failing, crime is out of control and councils are bankrupt.

There is nothing that the Tories can point to that is better than 14 years ago. They certainly ought not to expect praise from the public for bringing down the rate of inflation, as it was they who caused the rate to skyrocket in the first place. Many families have suffered.

The next general election will be a humbling moment for them. So be it.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

Plotting and scheming

If ever there was a reason to reinstate a parliamentary act, then in my opinion, the agony of speculating about the next election is it.

Watching the death throes of the current government is not a pretty sight, and the energy that is being spent by all opposition parties on fanning the flames of speculation is matched only by the government’s desperation to put out those flames.

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act should surely be reinstated? We, the electorate, deserve better. Our MPs should be spending their time representing their constituents and working on parliamentary business. Yet we have an undignified psychodrama of Tory MPs holding endless meetings and plotting coups to install yet another unelected leader. Their job is to work for us, and their time should be spent doing just that!

A report out last week showed that the current parliamentary session is shorter than at any time in the last 25 years. At a time when the country is experiencing so many crises, surely MPs’ focus should be spent exclusively on solving the nation’s issues.

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act would end speculation, and allow a fairer system where all parties can plan with the knowledge that the date of the next election is written in law, and not by the current government when they see an advantage for their party.

Karen Brittain

York

The international community has failed

The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan is alarming. Sadly, Israel’s aggression towards innocent infants, children, and women has continued unabated. Gaza has become a nightmarish hell, with dehydration, malnutrition and diseases running rampant.

While poor access to health facilities and medical attention is a constant threat, the international community has failed to impose an uninterrupted and unconditional cessation of hostilities. Until this happens, more children will die, lose their education – and fall prey to hunger and illnesses.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London

Nothing noble in cruelty

News that two racehorses died on the very first day at Cheltenham is no surprise.

Racehorses are bred as investments and begin “training” at 18 months before racing at two years old, even though they do not reach musculoskeletal maturity until around age six. Some are also kept isolated in stalls for up to 23 hours a day, deprived of social interaction.

I cannot see anything noble in forcing horses, through violent whipping while perched on their back, to run at perilous speeds around a track and in dangerous proximity to one another. Many suffer horrific fractures, head-on collisions, pulmonary haemorrhages, and a myriad of other dreadful injuries that lead to the same outcome: their untimely deaths at the hands of humans.

Mark Richards

East Sussex

Prince of purple

Playing a five-a-side game recently, I came off worse for wear after saving a goal that left my leg somewhat damaged. A close friend noticed the bruise looked somewhat like a face, and he reckons it is the spitting image of Prince Harry...