Frank Field: a 'maverick' Labour MP who won't be missed

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Veteran Labour MP Frank Field (Rex)

This Labour ‘maverick’ will not be missed

Following Frank Field’s resignation of the Labour whip – a relatively small jump with little cost to himself – before being pushed, he now hints that he is considering resigning his Labour membership, so forcing a by-election, which would be the principled course of action.

But he won’t do this if and until deselection by his constituency Labour party becomes imminent, once again deferring his move until reality strikes home.

Let’s not forget this ‘maverick’ took the Cameron shilling when he accepted a role in the coalition designed to cut benefits at the height of austerity didn’t cover him in glory.

Yes, a maverick indeed, who won’t be missed.

Eddie Dougall

Bury St Edmunds

A tale of two MPS

The treatment of Frank Field by Labour compared to Jared O’Mara shows double standards of the worst kind.

Field is a long-serving MP of enormous stature and has been a member of his party for more than 60 years. He is hugely respected by MPs of all parties for his work as Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee and as a backbencher.

Yet Labour want him to be kicked out of the party.

O’Mara, by contrast, was let back into the Labour Party despite his dubious past and despite the fact that for months he neither spoke in the Commons nor held a constituency surgery.

Chris Key

Address supplied

Short-term pain, long-term gain?

What a great shame that Gina Miller has decided not to enter politics. With the Tories and Labour divided and warring internally, and no sensible way forward on Brexit, I suspect that a LibDem Party with Ms Miller at the helm would galvanise the country and parliament into accepting a second vote on the EU. She only need do the job for a couple of years.

Patrick Cosgrove

Bucknell, Shropshire

It’s time for the government to create its own debt consolidation scheme

Wonga’s collapse has been precipitated by an increasing number of individuals defaulting on their loans, unable to pay money back. This comes as no surprise with consumer credit debt at an all-time high and outstripping wage growth. On top of this, interest rates are rising, and consequently those with smaller spending budgets are feeling the squeeze and are increasingly likely to miss payments.

There is no doubt that high-cost, short-term loans target the most vulnerable in society. Individuals already in an insecure financial position turn to them for a way out and find themselves trapped in a cycle of growing debt. The government is right to clamp down on payday lenders and should look to create its own debt consolidation scheme to help those in need out of dangerous financial situations that leave them vulnerable. Meanwhile, alternative options for those in financial need must be made clear and communicated to the public. For those considering a short-term payday loan, credit cards that are interest free for the first 12 months are a good option, while those in debt should look towards debt consolidation companies to get a lower rate repayment.

The availability of schemes offering a buy now, pay later option perpetuates an unsafe way of living that encourages people to overlook the value of financial security. With a growing number of people unable to make ends meet, we need to address root causes of economic insecurity and ensure people are living with their means.

Samuel Leach

Watford

DIY SOS: Grenfell

The new TV mini-series dealing with events after the Grenfell Tower tragedy is bound to remind us of all the things that went wrong before, during and after that terrible night. It may also prompt us to conduct an audit of our local area to estimate how safe we and our neighbours are in our homes and, quite possibly, how efficient and well funded our local fire services are.

In my own county of Surrey the situation is (through no fault of our brave and committed firefighters) deplorable. The highly regarded and recently decorated fire chief has just been sacked – allegedly because of his criticism of the county’s swingeing cuts to his service. Fire stations are regularly having to close because of a lack of staff and the county has issued a ‘fatwa’ prohibiting staff on the ground from commenting on the situation via social media.

In my own borough of Spelthorne, many of us are still reeling from a truly extraordinary state of affairs where, after a fire at a recently built block of old people’s flats, the local authority and the housing association concerned seemingly went into overdrive to pretend nothing had happened. When questioners, including myself, sought to press for answers, the council “bosses” turned decidedly nasty.

I am sure that nationwide we all hoped that – after the Grenfell tragedy – a much more transparent and committed approach would manifest itself among those concerned with the provision of fire services. Certainly in Surrey and Spelthorne that appears to be very far from the case.

Rev Andrew McLuskey

Staines

Plastic bag price hike adds to embarrassment

It embarrasses me that the prime minister of my country should travel to South Africa and tell the world that she intends to have the price of plastic bags increased to 10p.

Ian Turnbull

Carlisle