It’s time for this government to do the heavy lifting

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Saturday 08 October 2022 21:51 BST
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It is not a strong-arm management style, just common sense from a government that needs now to wise-up to the public’s legitimate concerns
It is not a strong-arm management style, just common sense from a government that needs now to wise-up to the public’s legitimate concerns (Getty Images)

I quite agree with John Rentoul that it is in the remit of the prime minister to advise and make recommendations to the public, especially in the looming blackout scenario for the winter.

It is not “nannying” but part and parcel of the responsibilities of the prime ministerial role. She is mistaken, if she thinks that the vast majority of the public are aware and cognisant of all the issues affecting this country. An advertising campaign is a sensible and proactive way to alert people and advise them of the necessary ameliorative steps.

Leaving us to our own devices is a negation of what governments are all about. It is not a strong-arm management style, just common sense from a government that needs now to wise-up to the public’s legitimate concerns. I also agree that not raising benefits with inflation is morally wrong and she will face a real backlash. No, this is certainly not the time for the government to get out of the way, we want them supporting, advising and doing the heavy lifting in what is a crisis-ridden period for us all.

Judith A. Daniels

Norfolk

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

The prime minister’s conviction that deregulation and the removal of any restrictions on personal freedom and choice will “deliver” growth is economically simplistic and morally repugnant.

As John Rentoul says, it is the responsibility of the government to provide direction, guidance and instruction in order to serve the best interests of the nation as a whole. The Tory party, in its current iteration, has allowed the mask of responsible custodianship to slip and reveal the face of unbridled and profligate opportunism that is predicated on a belief in the survival of the fittest.

It is they, I fear, who are ‘Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.’

Graham Powell

Mersey music to my ears

Graham Norton made the announcement on the BBC’s The One Show that Liverpool is to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Home of Lennon and McCartney, The Beatles were the undeniable song smiths of the day. Their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band could not be more telling of today’s fractured world. Home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the city ticks all the right boxes and this event is in keeping with Liverpool’s Unesco City of Music status.

Naming Liverpool as host city of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest is a triumph of hope over adversity.

Kit Thompson

N. Ferriby

Boris still causing mischief

Are we mad to allow an ex-prime minister who had to resign in disgrace for lying, dishonesty and criminal behaviour to appoint anyone at all to the House of Lords as they depart?

I am a fan of the Lords even now, because it has members with great experience and expertise who can vote on and moderate vital legislation without concerns over currying favour for their own re-election.

But honestly – wouldn’t it be much better if appointments to the Lords were made by an independent, regulated and unbiased body, not the rascals who reward their donors and sycophants?

I’d vote for a party who would reform the system – we need two houses, not one stuffed with cronies.

Edward Sturmer

Tring

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Political racket

Both the Tory and Labour parties are appointing members to the "bloated House of Lords" with further bloating to take place with the resignation honours nominations of our former disgraced prime minister.

It must be clear by now that the Lords is democratically intolerable and something we cannot afford. It is an expensive and anachronistic political racket and should be wound up and replaced by an elected second chamber as soon as is feasible.

David Nelmes

Newport

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