Farage may be a chameleon of the political right, but it’s the Tory party paving his way to success

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It is distinctly possible that Reform’s policies would prove as successful as Farage’s previous endeavour – Brexit (BBC/AFP via Getty)

Nigel Farage, the chameleon of the political right, has abandoned Donald Trump and turned his attention to the extinction of the Tory party.

In competition for a share of the Tory vote, he offers voters not a manifesto but a “contract”. Should we be surprised that the contract is reported to misdescribe the goods and doesn’t add up to the advertised price?

A contract, in the UK at least, is a legally enforceable document. Those taking up Farage’s offer should ask if they can enforce his promises. I believe they’ll soon realise that in reality there is no means of redress. A manifesto is a manifesto by any other name – no matter what Farage likes to claim.

Regardless, it seems distinctly possible that Reform UK’s policies would prove as successful as Farage’s previous endeavour: our Brexit from the EU.

We know how well that is going...

David Nelmes

Newport

Fixed with a wave of the magic wand

Should there be any surprise that the Brothers Grimm (or as they’re otherwise known, Farage and Richard Tice) should come up with a fairytale full of tax unicorns and immigration goblins?

The Tory-supporting media have reported the entire campaign through the prism of Conservative tax cuts and Labour tax rises, which bears no relation to the reality of either campaign.

When you allow space for Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick to opine at length on the desirability of immigration in the “tens of thousands” without questioning why (if it’s so realistic, achievable and painless) they didn’t resolve the problem when they were in charge, it becomes harder to challenge the idea that somehow you can have net zero immigration with a wave of a magic wand.

It is also difficult when tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the top 5 per cent are pushed as the only route to a magic kingdom full of milk and honey. Ignoring the reality of the disaster that the Liz Truss experiment proved to be, then it again makes it easier for Reform to gain traction with both the gullible and those for whom the status quo is not remotely working.

In a healthy democracy, you need a free press, but they have responsibilities and obligations: always tell the truth without fear and favour, and hold the powerful to account. Unfortunately, because a large section of our media refuses to take those responsibilities seriously it leaves a vacuum where the Brothers Grimm can sell their nasty, divisive fairy tales to the unwary, without any real problem, and flourish by pretending there are always easy solutions to complex issues.

John Murray

Bracknell

Boosting the broken

As if it were not bad enough to have the reappearance of Farage grinning his way into the hearts and minds of the marginalised and disaffected, we now have Boris Johnson popping up to try and “boost” the election hopes of the party he so comprehensively fractured.

Leaving aside his lies, the Brexit problems and the Covid frolics, this is the man responsible for the current divisions within the Conservative Party.

“Things fall apart”, said WB Yeats over 100 years ago. Let’s hope the centre can hold!

Sue Breadner

Address Supplied

Justice denied

No detectives will face consequences for the botched investigations into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence despite the Macpherson report’s conclusions of institutional racism.

The “justice delayed is justice denied” truism rings ever true. And not just in this case, we are currently witnessing similar institutional foot-dragging and reluctantly with regards to Grenfell.

How many more examples will there be of justice denied for those in UK society without power and position?

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh

Post-Covid education is a different animal

As a teacher I’ve seen students return to school unable to cope with basic numeracy and unable to write, never mind writing for extended periods of time. They struggled to communicate in groups or work in pairs to complete basic tasks. Tasks which, before Covid students might have relished, they now find a struggle. In my school, when it came time to sit exams, revise and produce coursework, students either panicked or threw the entire experience out of the window.

Many people treat Covid as a thing of the past, but in schools, the impact has not changed.

Students who might have since left the education system are still struggling with the problems they were ill equipped to deal with, and teachers are still finding that their best efforts to combat adverse progress in younger students become more challenging by the day.

Post-Covid education is a different animal.

Change will come from money, as it always does in our world – but where that money goes is up to the politicians campaigning for our votes, and in my opinion, there is a shocking lack of focus on this key issue.

S W John

Address supplied