If Cop26 is indeed a ‘flop’, Boris Johnson should take responsibility

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

The government has ‘had years to lay the groundwork for success at Cop26’, say campaigners (POOL/AFP/Getty)

The prime minister now forewarns us that Cop26 climate summit is likely to flop. In doing so, he hopes to deflect any blame for what could be yet another failure by nations to recognise that human pollution of the atmosphere is having severe consequences for all organisms, including humans.

We acknowledge that the Covid pandemic has been a distraction from climate issues, but since taking control, the PM’s almost complete delegation of responsibility for Cop26 preparation has been a dereliction of duty. If the Glasgow summit is a flop, Boris Johnson should “man up” and acknowledge that it occurred on his watch and accept the consequences.

Ian Reid

York

Recycling plastic

Knock me down with a feather – I found myself agreeing with a Boris Johnson when he told children that recycling plastic was not the answer and we have to instead use less plastic.

The same applies to oil, gas, coal, meat and the use of private jets. It’s worrying that one side of our prime minister’s mind clearly is not listening to or talking to the other side.

John Simpson

Ross on Wye

Tory austerity

The devastation caused by Tory austerity would be unacceptable even if there was some justification for it. But there is not. It was a completely unnecessary, cynical and purely political policy and the public need to understand why.

It should have been obvious from the fact that in the midst of austerity, the government ploughed ahead with their £100bn HS2 vanity project. But the public have been brainwashed into accepting a false “household budget” explanation of the economy, which is nonsense. It is economic illiteracy perpetuated to justify political cuts and attack the opposition for imaginary profligacy.

The Treasury knows full well that so long as government spending goes directly into the economy, creating work and paying taxes, there is no need whatsoever for austerity policies – hence the furlough spending with no question of tax hikes to pay for it. Austerity was a nasty, deadly Tory policy without a scrap of justification. It’s high time the public were aware of the truth about it and about the way the economy really works.

Andrew McLauchlin

Stratford upon Avon

All in the detail

Public statements by the chancellor about the Budget’s planned effect on the real world will only be meaningful if he also states the “outcome”. For example, “this money will provide x more nurses, x new scanning units and x new wards to existing hospitals”.

After some of the Covid sagas, that kind of statement will help to give the voting public some kind of reassurance that the decision was made on the basis of a comprehensive and thoughtful survey of actual need, rather than just being some kind of impressive sum.

Jenny Backwell

Hove

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Food for thought

The shortage of food on supermarket shelves is well reported but Ben Chapman’s article on Sunday highlights the fact that the labour shortage is not necessarily because farmers cannot pick fruit and vegetables, but rather about the fact that food processing plants do not have enough staff. Chapman quotes one salad grower throwing away premium salad leaves to make manure.

This country has clearly regressed to the extent that we can no longer wash and chop a lettuce or wash, peel and chop a carrot. Why can our supermarkets not sell fruit and vegetables directly from the field? We could all save money, reduce our plastic usage and eliminate the need for CO2 in one move.

Andrew Duncan

Bath