We’re tired of MPs over-promising and under-achieving – when will we have honesty in politics?

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

I am looking forward to the day when our government means what it says and is strong enough to say ‘sorry we got it wrong’ (PA Wire)

I think it was Groucho Marx who said, “If you don’t like those principles, I’ve got others”. And MPs are commonly guilty of this affliction.

Much of what MPs say, especially the Tories, is just verbiage meant to fill a TV or radio soundbite. When challenged on substance they will waffle, duck, and dive or simply lie, in order to eke out their time on air. It’s rare to hear or see a principled MP anymore. Those that do take the time to offer an opinion do so as a self-aggrandisement and their opinion will change as required to please their audience.

It happens to all MPs, no matter what hue, but unfortunately, it appears to be infiltrating the Labour Party of late. I do hope that when we see the Labour manifesto there will categorical proposals for the betterment of the British people which the party can substantiate and achieve as promised.

Most of us are tired of the over-promising and under-achieving tactics that Tory governments have employed to gain power and run down the economy and country. I am looking forward to the day when our government means what it says, acts on behalf of the nation, and is strong enough to say “sorry we got it wrong”.

Roll on 2024’s sea change for better life in Britain and honesty in politics.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

A silver lining

The air traffic control problem has made things very difficult for a lot of air passengers, especially those trying to return to the UK after their holiday.

But many of us already know that travelling on bank holidays can be an unpleasant experience, so unless someone dear to us is in dire need, we don’t do it. And people of my generation can remember the time when few took holidays abroad or travelled on aeroplanes. Foreign holidays are not a necessity of life and are a contributor to global warming.

Call me a grumpy old woman, but I can’t help hoping that the cloud of bank holiday travel chaos may provoke a silver lining of eco-friendly getaways.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

A lesson needs to be learnt

Some schools are causing financial hardship by insisting on students wearing multiple school-branded items of uniform. These items are often only available in specialist shops and are usually more than double the cost of the cheapest unbranded equivalents. I worked out that parents could save up to £128 per child if my child’s school swapped to unbranded items of clothing. That would pay for more than 10 weeks of school dinners.

Most secondary school students spend a maximum of two hours a week doing PE. That’s 78 HOURS a year. On this basis, it’s hard to justify the school-branded PE shorts, t-shirts, tracksuit bottoms, hoodies, and socks still required by many secondary schools.

Given that pupils are unlikely to wear school-branded items outside school, this is not only a huge waste of money, it’s also bad for the environment. Specifying a specific colour of unbranded clothes keeps students on a level playing field without costing the earth.

Requiring these items of clothing removes families’ ability to set a budget that matches their means. Most parents I’ve spoken to begrudge paying up to £18 for a school-branded jumper that will be half hidden by a blazer and only worn to school on the coldest days of the year.

We need to keep school uniform costs to a minimum, allowing people to control the cost of what they buy, particularly in the current cost of living crisis when some families are struggling to pay for basic necessities like food.

Gill Long

Cleckheaton

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

So Labour and the Liberal Democrats are going to compete head to head in the Mid-Bedfordshire by-election, and the net result will almost certainly be a victory for the beleaguered Tories. Just as well to get this progressive party folly out of the way before the big event next year. The British people won’t take kindly to juvenile rivalries allowing another disastrous Conservative government to sneak back into power.

A Tory win in October might just be the best outcome if it focuses narrow minds.

David Smith

Taunton

The time for talk is over

The Ulez debacle is yet another example of failed leadership and policy communication. It shows that unless you market your proposition well and thoroughly people will not understand what you stand for and confusion will reign.

The debacle epitomises modern media too, such as the emergence of deniers and the propagation of untruths to suit the personal agendas of a small minority.

I expect the nebulous and wraith-like policy shenanigans will continue for years. I just hope that Labour’s communications team becomes stronger and more capable. Blair’s nudges need to be adapted to current priorities and a strong chancellor with the right long-term mission in mind is exactly what the country needs. Sell it, do it. Underpinned with leadership that facilitates communication and team alignment as best as can be achieved. It then needs to be driven home with a simple leadership message: the talk is over – this is the plan.

Fingers crossed.

Michael Mann

Shrewsbury