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Weight-loss drugs on the NHS? That’s just an admission of failure

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

Wednesday 16 October 2024 18:31 BST

‘We should be trying to prevent obesity, rather than waiting for it to occur’ (PA Archive)

Both the prime minister and the health secretary have proposed that weight-loss jabs would help the unemployed return to the workplace (“Unemployed to be given weight-loss jab to help them back into work”, Tuesday 15 October).

Clearly, those whose health is compromised should be helped – but this is an admission of failure. Sadly, this governmental approach has little chance of success.

We should be trying to prevent obesity, rather than waiting for it to occur. We need lasting solutions to the obesity crisis.

Health policy in the UK has a history of dramatic failure. A Cambridge University review of nearly 700 policies concluded that they had “yet to have an impact on levels of obesity”.

The government already has a lot on their plate, but obesity condemns a majority of the population to an early death following decades of ill-health. It is one of the most urgent problems facing not only the government, but the entire human race. There needs to be more than the use of drugs after a problem has developed.

Professor David Benton

Swansea

Assisted dying ‘slippery slope’?

Archbishop Justin Welby has described a parliamentary bill that would give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to end their lives as “dangerous” (“Archbishop of Canterbury warns of ‘slippery slope’ ahead of assisted dying legislation”, Wednesday 16 October).

There are many complex discussions to be had around this issue, but do Welby’s arguments of a “slippery slope” seek to mask a simpler one – that he believes only his God can give and take life?

While this is a legitimate position for a minority of religious believers, it does bring into question whether he and the 25 other Church of England bishops should have voting seats in the House of Lords.

Neil Barber

Edinburgh

Labour’s tax hike will hit us all

The Labour Party swept to victory on a pledge to grow the economy, noting in its manifesto that “sustained economic growth is the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people”.

A few short months later – and despite continuing to trumpet his “pro-business” credentials – Sir Keir Starmer seems certain to hike national insurance on employers in the Budget, hobbling an already faltering economy (“Ex-Bank of England chief Mervyn King urges Rachel Reeves to raise national insurance in Budget”, Tuesday 15 October).

Additional burdens on business slay the golden goose of economic growth. Firms will likely stop taking on new workers due to the increased costs – and will have less money to invest in their staff.

Labour has clearly reneged on its manifesto promise not to raise taxes on “working people”. Firms are run by “working people”. Those that will be hit the hardest will likely be small, family-owned businesses, the sort that anchor local economies. This proposed tax hike will make every job in our local communities more expensive to maintain.

With faltering poll ratings, the very brief Labour post-election honeymoon with its promise of “change” is well and truly over.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

Stop playing the blame game, Sir Keir!

Labour has to get a grip and stop blaming the Tories. They wanted power, they got it – and now they have to deal with it (“Rachel Reeves’s impossible choice: break her tax promises or impose ‘austerity’”, Sunday 24 August).

Throughout their election campaign, they were very vague around what you would do once they reached No 10. Now in power, all they keep banging on about is the “£22bn black hole”.

Most of which is their own fault, as they choose to give doctors and train drivers massive pay rises, all while attacking the most vulnerable: the pensioners.

Just get on with it…

Andrew Davidson

Bolton