With this reactionary mess of a government, of course knife crime is worsening

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According to Bernard Hogan-Howe, the shocking escalation in knife crime across Britain is a complex issue. The former Metropolitan Police chief is of course right, but this is a truth not convenient to base politics.

According to the prime minister, the escalation has nothing to do with the reduction in the number of police officers since the Tories came into government back in 2010.

According to home secretary Sajid Javid, there is no single solution to knife crime. Just like Hogan-Howe, he is of course right.

There is a growing call for knife crime to be treated like an infectious disease, where it has long been understood that infectious disease loves overcrowded slum conditions, where people’s lives are in the financial balance, and people live in despair.

When Theresa May stood outside No 10 having just been made prime minister, she made lots of bold statements about making life better for the struggling masses. This was an odd contrast to the austerity campaign of David Cameron and George Osborne – a campaign she was happy to support under Cameron’s leadership, and happy to continue when she became PM.

Over eight years of misguided, self-obsessed Tory government, significant damage has been done to the fabric of our society. Not just with the reduction in police numbers, but also the reduction in local authority financial support, the squeeze on vital services provided by the welfare state (youth services etc), the unavailability of mental health care, and (especially in London and the southeast) the ever-increasing and all-too-often out-of-reach cost of decent accommodation.

All these things, and others, result from a Tory government with an inability to understand that running a nation is complex, and needs a safe hand on the tiller.

Unfortunately, Hogan-Howe was far more correct than perhaps he realised, and unfortunately we are now seeing the terrible toll of a government that just does not do complex.

David Curran
Feltham

Attacks against Ilhan Omar are getting out of hand

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is under attack again. Last Friday, West Virginia Republicans displayed an anti-Muslim poster of Omar in the West Virginia statehouse blaming her for the terrorist attacks of 9/11. That display has led to a confrontation between Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The day after, the Republican Party chairwoman said the display was not affiliated with the party in any way adding, “The West Virginian Republican Party does not condone or support hate speech.”

Hmm. Does that apply to Islamophobia? Apparently, not.

The ugly truth is that Omar has been under attack long before she was elected. Why, you may ask? The answer is: she supports BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sections, a movement promoting boycott of Israel], challenged AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee], is a Muslim woman, and wears a hijab.

Last month, the world came to a halt after congresswoman Omar tweeted that the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC had bought off some members of congress.

Omar was immediately and viciously attacked by Israel’s three stooges (the White House and both houses of congress) and she was forced to apologise. Now, congresswoman Omar is the victim of slander and a smear campaign. But where is the outrage?

Chelsea Clinton, who was quick to rebuke Ilhan Omar last month and told the congresswoman what she can and can not say, has now gone back to her shell.

Finally, Trump, who shamefully called for Omar’s resignation, has not made a peep. Too bad Ivanka Trump, the administration’s moral compass, has chosen to remain silent about Republicans ganging up on a Muslim lawmaker.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph
Westerville

Hold the PM to her word for once

You say that if Theresa May’s meaningful vote is lost next Tuesday, MPs will have the opportunity to veto a no-deal Brexit. Surely given recent history, the real uncertainty is whether or not the vote will actually be held, or delayed again until the 27^th “to allow time for further negotiations on the backstop”. The only rational course at this point is for parliament to hold May to her word, and take back control.

Rachael Padman
Newmarket

What prosperity?

On hearing a government spokesperson telling us it was time to share our recent prosperity with towns in “the North” I had to ask myself “what prosperity?”

It reminded me of Harold McMillan’s claim that we had never had it so good. It would seem that the Conservative Party is living up to its name by resisting the need to change.

As long as a minority of wealthy southerners are prospering, all is well with the world.

G Forward
Stirling

A procession of politicians

Düsseldorf’s “Rosenmontag” procession is famous for its satirical political floats and this year was no exception. One had Donald Trump being mounted by the Russian Bear while Angela Merkel appeared as a black widow spider devouring her party colleagues.

Another had Theresa May laying back on a hospital bed clad in the Union flag gazing in adoration at a hideously deformed “Brexit” baby still attached to her by an umbilical cord. For a nation said to have no sense of humour these were pretty much spot on.

John Cameron
St Andrews