The Tory party is only getting more authoritarian – ‘30p Lee’ proves it

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Anderson’s somewhat final solution may have Sunak wondering if he made the right choice for deputy chair (PA Media)

The new deputy Conservative chair, “30p Lee” Anderson is already trying to reach out to those who look back on this country’s darker days through rose-tinted glasses.

Amazon warehouses and foodbanks have already created modern versions of workhouses and soup kitchens, but now the reinstatement of the death penalty is being touted once more to appeal to the bring-back-the-birch brigade.

As Ian Hislop witheringly informed Priti Patel when she floated the idea on Question Time back in 2011, one of the main reasons that the execution of citizens by the state was abolished in this country was because people were – and still are, even to this day – sometimes wrongfully convicted. Releasing and compensating people who have been wrongfully incarcerated isn’t ideal, but it’s a sight more effective than digging them up, brushing them off and trying to send them on their way.

Then again, this shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anybody: a government that is already granting itself new powers to silence protests, to restrict voting and to prevent workers from withdrawing their labour is only going to get more authoritarian the longer it is allowed to remain in office.

Julian Self

Milton Keynes

Is Rishi Sunak really comfortable with his new deputy chair?

The Tory party’s new deputy leader, Lee Anderson, in an interview shortly before his appointment, summarises his support for the reintroduction of the death penalty, remarking: “Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed. You know that, don’t you? One hundred per cent success rate.”

Perhaps Anderson should consider the following; nobody who has been executed for a crime they did not commit has ever enjoyed the life their innocence entitles them to. You know that, don’t you? One hundred per cent “success” rate. The further downside is that someone else did it and still moves freely among us.

Judgement in all matters is fallible. Lethal sentences given as a result of erroneous judgement are irreversible. In 1990, three innocent men were convicted of a Cardiff murder. In 2003, the actual perpetrator was found, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Anderson’s somewhat final solution could have resulted in four deaths, three of entirely innocent people. Not a successful conclusion. Fortunately, the law as it stands eventually got it right.

Is Rishi Sunak, as leader of his party, comfortable with this appointment?

David Nelmes   

Newport

A merry-go-round of housing ministers

Lucy Frazer’s appointment as culture secretary makes her the latest housing minister to move on from the post in the past 12 months. As with the revolving door of prime ministers in recent times, there have now been six separate housing ministers in the last year alone, with 15 housing ministers and nine housing secretaries since the Conservative Party came to power.

Some of the housing associations I work with tell me it can now take as long as two years for their biggest projects to go through planning. Meanwhile, the most recent figures suggest that more than one million people are on local authority waiting lists for social housing across England.

We desperately require ministers that really understand – and take seriously – the UK’s increasing housing needs. But this merry-go-round of ministers is one of the reasons why I believe we are not seeing any meaningful or consistent improvements in the housing sector, be it around planning, legislation or increasing the amount of affordable housing.

Although a solution to the delivery of affordable housing is not going to be an easy or quick fix, the system requires a real government focus and complete overhaul to ensure we can address this crisis.

Jonathan Pearson

Address Supplied

The next general election won’t be kind to the Tories

There is a possibility of a general election in September 2024, which could spell trouble for the Tories.

The public has had more than enough of their constant shenanigans, shifting ministers and goalposts with indecent haste. I – and many others, I would surmise – will be “plighting our troth” with the Labour Party, not at the very least as they have strong and committed women at the forefront.

Mind you, Lee Anderson, the deputy party chairman, could probably whistle up a reception for 30p a head!

Judith A Daniels

Norfolk

Can Britain call itself a democracy?

Well said, William Hague. Johnson and Truss should indeed take responsibility for the mess they made.

But neither was able to achieve such chaos single-handedly. It must be remembered that Johnson could boast less than 44 per cent of the vote in 2019. And Truss was chosen by a handful of self-selected members of the party. It was only with the collusion of Conservative MPs and party members that the country descended into its present state.

If we are to be justified in calling ourselves a democracy, we must abandon the Conservatives and have an early election with a proportional voting system.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire