The housing crisis is no excuse for profit and greed

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

‘There are plenty of already approved sites yet to be built out – no more should be approved until these are finished’ (PA)

I am glad to see that the new government is to put emphasis on the development of urban and other “brownfield “ or “grey belt” sites before the protected green belt areas are concreted over.

Unfortunately, at present, they also seem to be encouraging the amoral and predatory land “promoters” who are prowling the country; enticing landowners on the edge of virtually every village to offer up their land for development – no matter how unsuitable or inconsistent with regional, local and neighbourhood plans it is.

Some settlements are subject to multiple and repeated attacks causing prolonged uncertainty, stress and often considerable expense in dealing with these applications.

They seek to justify this on the basis of housing need – but in reality, are driven by greed and profits. The aim is usually to build large numbers of big and expensive houses with the minimum amount of “affordable” housing they can get away with, regardless of the impact on the local environment and infrastructure or the wishes of the local people, contrary to the Localism Act.

There are plenty of already approved sites that are yet to be built out, with tens of thousands of houses to be completed. No more sites should be approved until these are finished. The builders would no doubt prefer to trickle out the supply to keep prices up – but need to be persuaded otherwise.

Mike Margetts

Kilsby

Freedom to sue

The public spat between Elon Musk and Humza Yousaf would be bordering on farce were it not about a serious issue.

Musk thinks freedom of speech should be absolute. He has been, let us say, unkind about Yousaf as of late.

Yousaf returns the compliment and threatens litigation. This begs a question, if you were insulted by the richest man in the world, would you try to sue him?

Jill Stephenson

Edinburgh

Going against the nation

Tom Tugendhat is to give his first major speech as part of his leadership campaign. So far, all he has done is criticise Keir Starmer’s response to far-right riots, in a move that was frankly ill advised.

I believe that Labour’s riot response was universally accepted as strong and wide-ranging, across the nation. Go against that and Tugendhat goes against the nation – that will only isolate and weaken him.

Whoever is in his team needs to rethink his approach. The suggested line isn’t going to work, moreover, it will be a massive turn-off across the country, further damaging perceived Conservative logic and strategy.

Dale Hughes

Address Supplied

A classic bully

Vladimir Putin once again hypocritically criticises and then punishes Ukraine, when the latter’s forces dare to strike back against Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilians with barrages of missiles and drones.

Putin still absurdly justifies Russia’s first-strike attacks against Ukrainian civilians as a necessity of “de-nazifying” the democratically elected government.

And now, in his own words, Putin is astonished and angry, as though Ukraine really has no right to self-defence! It reveals a great yet misplaced sense of entitlement by Putin; the classic high-school bully.

Frank Sterle Jr

White Rock, Canada

What you see is what you get

It was wonderful to see Starmer welcome Jess Phillips back into the ministerial fold after her resignation, now as the newly appointed minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls.

With her, what you see is what you get: a committed advocate against the heinous behaviour meted out to women in this country. Her annual reading out of names of victims has become such a poignant event in parliament – but such a necessary one, to remind us all of this ongoing crisis.

She is the sort of politician who won’t hide behind mendacious smoke screens – exactly what is needed in government.

Judith A Daniels

Norfolk