We’re fooled into thinking rent is a waste of money and a mortgage is not

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‘In the UK we pay a rent of about 40 per cent of disposable income compared to a 30 per cent average in the EU’ (Getty Images)

We are being fooled into thinking rent paid is a wasted expense and is better used to pay off a mortgage. Property ownership is a Tory gold standard started by Margaret Thatcher. But this ignores so many better and easily available alternatives.

Much of Europe proves another model is readily achievable by allowing local, not central, government to manage its housing needs and management. But it must be coupled with changes to our laws of tenancy.

It must begin with the security of tenure. This is why in Germany the average stay is between five and 15 years, whereas in the UK it’s about two years. But also consider why in the UK we pay more on rent. Londoners on average spend almost half of their total income (49 per cent) on housing, according to the Office for National Statistics, compared to 20 per cent on average in the EU, according to a Eurostat report.

Please give back control to local governments to invest, approve and control.

Peter Smith-Cullen

Norfolk

Responsibilities to Afghanistan

How great would it be to say that the peace movement was right when it warned America and Britain not to bomb or invade Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya?

We said Afghanistan, a country nobody has ever won a war in, was unwinnable. The British lost in 1842, and in just one battle, 16,000 British soldiers died. The vast Soviet Union also lost.

The US and Britain, after 20 years of unremitting warfare, are about to lose big style right now.

But, there’s no “victory” in such a statement. What we are leaving is a destroyed nation with perhaps hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, at an insane cost to ourselves of roughly $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion).

And what of the future? It’s clearly not over. What is going to happen to young girls and women trying to get educated under the soon-to-be new Taliban government?

And how much were we, the great British public, used and abused to support this war? Remember, Cherie Blair and Hillary Clinton telling us they believed in women’s rights? Perhaps, they’ll go there now?

No, lessons have been learned and, of course, America has got form in leaving countries under nightmarish clouds they invented.

After the bombing of Vietnam and Cambodia, Cambodia was so destabilised, and we saw the rise of the Khmer Rouge who then murdered millions of poor Cambodians.

And what about what we did in Iraq? We destabilised that country, and it was nearly taken over by Isis, the Khmer Rouge of the Middle East.

So, what is it about America and Britain? We nearly won the Afghanistan War in 2001, but instead of scarpering and giving that money to aid agencies to rebuild the country, we continued sticking our dirty noses into places it wasn’t wanted or needed. Classic imperialism! It doesn’t work!

How shameful are we?

Mark Holt

London

Divided opposition

So... no strategy, programme or project... Labour divided ahead of the conference, we’re told.

Well if I was Keir Starmer, in my conference speech I’d promise hand-on-heart that if Labour got into power it would commit 100 per cent to being completely transparent and totally truthful whatever the repercussions were.

That an independent enquiry would actually be independent.

That all MPs would have to register their “interests”, and if they were found to have concealed any they would automatically be permanently banned from being an MP, and if that consequently caused a by-election then so be it.

Because one rule for those privileged enough to be in power and a different rule for everyone else, ala the modus operandi of this current Tory government, is unacceptable.

MPs are public servants, i.e working on behalf of the general public and they should remember that. They are not there to serve their own self-interests.

They are not there to brown-nose or be brown-nosed by wealthy party donors secretly promising to make it worth their while by sneaking through legislation that guarantees their continuing financial support.

This country needs to be able to trust in the integrity of its governance once more, not despise, distrust and have absolutely no faith in it whatsoever as is the current state of play with Jolly Johnson and his juvenile squad of cabinet chancers.

Linda Evans

London

Lack of unity

Am I alone in being a bit confused by the Archbishop of York’s article?  Surely, the main problem in the UK is the lack of unity between the four nations rather than disunity within one of them? After all, though obviously for purely political reasons, the Tory government does seem to have rediscovered the existence of the north of England (what with “levelling up” etc).

As for the supposedly unhelpful “metro elites”, it’s certainly true that members of this – such as Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage – are guilty, but not in the way the Archbishop suggests. Both these gentlemen have spent a good bit of their careers fostering the xenophobia that is never far from the surface in any country’s population. Those of us who are Remainers have not, as far as I know, “patronised” anyone. We have, however, been concerned with the irresponsible way in which some politicians have wrapped themselves in the Union Jack to promote their own personal agendas.

The Archbishop may be on surer ground when he calls for “strengthened regional government”.  However, what we really need here is a proper federal government to replace Tony Blair’s somewhat hybrid arrangement.

So overall a bit of a curate’s (or Archbishop’s) egg.

Rev Andrew McLuskey

Ashford

One rule for them

Horrendous stories have emerged about some travellers who’ve had to stay in hotel quarantine upon their return to the UK in order to minimise the import of Covid-19. Yet, the climate minister has been jetting on state business to multiple red list countries with no need for quarantine.

Maybe the climate minister’s endeavours were part of a long-awaited pilot aiming to show that hotel quarantine is not vital in tackling the pandemic and alternative measures such as regular testing can have the same effect?

Bambos Charalambous

Manchester

Stealth travel tax

Freedom day will soon have hit all of the UK. Scotland reaches near normal on 9 August. Restrictions are going, nightclubs are opening, football fans are back in their thousands, free movement is back and to keep a check on things lateral flow tests are widely available. You can even go online and order a PCR test even if you have no symptoms, all free to use, and why not? It keeps the virus in check.

Even the self-isolation rules are to be relaxed – it all sounds too good to be true. Well, if you are thinking of taking a holiday in the sun to celebrate this avalanche of good news, think again. There are no free PCR tests on your return – it will cost at least £100 per person and you might need one before travelling and two on return so do the maths. Certainly, a good time to own shares in a testing company? Of course, none of our esteemed Tory government will be prospering from this, that would be a ridiculous accusation, as this stealth tax on travel is essential to keep us all safe.

Paul Morrison

Glasgow