Surely, now is the time to call out the Home Office as a failed institution!
The disgraceful treatment of our Afghan friends, the continued Windrush failings, the appalling asylum processing backlog, not to mention racist and misogynistic police forces and other problems, all point to horrendous systemic issues.
This shames us as a country and makes the government look massively incapable. Even more so if you take Grenfell failings into account.
Where is the true leadership by our PM to sort all this out?
Meirion Rees
Atworth
Tory turmoil
Unable to deliver on its own priorities, the Tory government would seem to limp along with one underlying goal: to ensure that the Labour Party inherits a broken economy and a mass of problems that it will be unable to solve without making unpopular decisions that will harm its re-election and make it a single term government. Yet again, we are faced with short-term thinking when we are desperately in need of a vision for the future based on long-term, strategic planning.
As a nation, we need to face up to some unpalatable truths about what we truly value and what we are prepared to sacrifice in the interests of all our children’s future. We need serious politicians working for the common good who do not see their role as serving the interests of those with power and influence.
The only possibility of radical change will come if reforming parties have a sufficiently large majority that, like Labour in 1997, ensures they have more than one term in office to guarantee that, unlike the previous Labour government, changes are sustainable and irreversible.
It is no wonder that Starmer is cautious in the interminable run-up to the next general election, for fear of wasting a substantial majority and the opportunity to engage the nation in a serious debate about what it is prepared to sacrifice for our future well-being, health, wealth and security.
I sincerely hope that beneath the caution, there is a vision of a better society than the one that has been trashed by 13 years of Conservative government and that it can be communicated in a way that wins the hearts and minds of a tired and disillusioned electorate. We cannot afford to be cynical about this.
Graham Powell
Cirencester
Endless political disasters
Our public services are not in such a parlous position because of events beyond our government’s control. Inflation is the new kid on the block whereas austerity was a deliberate political choice made 12 years ago.
The deceit that is Brexit was also a political choice where the voters were manipulated, lied to and frightened into a narrow referendum decision like never before. The Brexit that has been imposed was never put in front of the electorate. Public spending decisions have been dominated by political ideology throughout the period the Conservatives have been in power and mostly these decisions have favoured/appeased government supporters in business.
The management of the Covid-19 pandemic is a good example where millions of pounds were sprayed in the direction of highly questionable Covid contracts and a failed track-and-trace system. The government has chosen to support the financial sector rather than manufacturing and failed to invest in ways that promote economic growth, thus weakening the economy.
“Trickle-down economics”, clearly nonsense, has failed spectacularly. Tax remains high for most people. Throughout this period successive administrations have shown contempt for ordinary people who depend on the NHS, social care, schools, the police, the fire service and local councils. The government’s records on the environment, especially biodiversity and climate change, on housing and on immigration, remain woeful.
Throughout this period Conservative MPs have stayed quiet, mostly failing to speak up for decency and truth. Some, in their anxiety to curry favour, have joined in the right-wing rhetoric promoting dishonesty and division. External events have played a part in the mess we find ourselves in but much of the cause is rooted in political choice.
David Lowndes
Southampton
Whisky at beer prices?
Bravo, John Wilkin! I fully agree that the nation needs to be realistic that, if it wants free at the point of delivery the provision of education, healthcare and other services, and if it wants first-class infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads etc, it must pay higher taxes.
The Tory low-tax mantra that people need to be left to decide what to spend their money on means that schools and hospitals are deteriorating dangerously, and staff are undervalued, underpaid and on strike.
Labour, as the official opposition, needs to point this out vigorously so that the message is received loud and clear as a prelude to a more realistic approach to paying for what the public expects. We can’t have whisky at beer prices!
Ian Reid
Kilnwick
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