With the Wimbledon tournament set to replace line judges with robotic artificial intelligence, another sporting tradition dies (“Wimbledon ditches line judges after 147 years”, Wednesday 9 October). John McEnroe will be spinning in his commentator’s chair.
Wimbledon has its faults, but for 147 years, humans have officiated – and it is still one of the greatest sporting competitions. Let’s leave it in old hands, rather than with a new bucket of bolts.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne
A race to the right
Whether it was a case of tactical voting going completely wrong or Tory MPs losing the plot, we have two right-wing candidates slugging it out for the leadership (“What now for the plotters and schemers of the Tory party?”, Thursday 10 October).
Centrist MPs and many members of the party must be holding their collective heads in despair.
James Cleverly appeared to be a more “normal” and moderate candidate. I, and I’m sure many others, thought he would be the frontrunner to unite the Conservatives and form a viable opposition.
His elimination was certainly a shock. Whatever Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch have to say, they are in a race to the right.
Judith A Daniels
Norfolk
Jenrick has shown his true character
When 13 Tory peers this week declared Robert Jenrick as their candidate of choice to lead the Conservative Party, they cited his resignation over “the failure to reduce immigration” as evidence that he would not compromise his principles (“Robert ‘Generic’ was seen as a moderate – what changed?”, Thursday 10 October).
At the time, I was left with the opposite impression – that, by failing to stay the course and continue his fight, Jenrick lacked resilience.
Perhaps he realised that his proposals would not work, that the Rwanda scheme (rightly branded a gimmick) was doomed, and that his own judgement was coming under increasing scrutiny.
A worrying insight into Jenrick’s character was revealed in a recent BBC Radio 4 interview with Mishal Husain, in which he offered no evidence to support his claim that our special forces are killing, rather than capturing, terrorists.
Time and again, he avoided giving a straight answer to Husein’s repeated questions about his claim. What principles were guiding him then? Candour, responsibility, and transparency appeared to have left the room.
A man who has grand ambitions to become his country’s leader must have the courage to answer difficult questions with a straight tongue, not hide behind weak obfuscation.
David Platts
Newark
Bring pensioners in from the cold
Today’s pensioners will have dedicated more than four decades of their lives to building this nation, contributing through hard work and taxes, and sharing a vision of a better future.
Yet it is clear that the generation is now to be ignored – and, worse, made to feel surplus to requirements (“Shock analysis shows four in every five pensioners struggling with money will see winter fuel payment cut”, Wednesday 9 October).
The removal of the winter fuel allowance was made without proper consultation or any transparent impact assessment. With energy prices soaring, cutting off this lifeline will undoubtedly push more pensioners into hardship, a reality the government seems to have dismissed or ignored.
Reinstating the winter fuel allowance and uplifting taxable allowance would be small but significant steps toward restoring dignity, and recognising the contributions pensioners have made – instead of leaving them out in the cold.
Anna Hawkins
Croydon
A wonder to behold
Many comparisons have been made between Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, the man the former president himself once proudly called “Britain Trump”.
At the time, this was considered to be a somewhat outrageous assertion – but with Johnson promoting his liberal-with-the-truth account of his time in office, the parallels between them are becoming undeniable (“Boris Johnson’s Unleashed: A memoir that’s twisted, sour and full of yet more lies”, Friday 4 October).
The serial adulterer’s continuing refusal to accept the reality of his defenestration even to this day is outrageous. That he still endeavours to call out his opponents for alleged corruption, although none of it is even in the same ballpark as his own, is beyond ridiculous.
During his brief foray into the political arena, Johnson normalised lying to the public and the use of scurrilous slurs and insults in the place of serious debate. He undermined the democratic process. His unassailable level of self-belief, in the face of all of this, is a wonder to behold.
Both Johnson and Trump represent a nadir in the political history of their respective nations. The idea of either of them making comebacks is too shocking to contemplate.
Julian Self
Milton Keynes
Hooray for ‘Brollywood’!
It is heartening that our government intends to encourage investment in the British film industry by granting generous tax breaks for home-grown film projects (“Keir Starmer pins hopes for economic growth on British Hollywood – with new tax relief on its way”, Wednesday 9 October).
For an example of how successful such a tax regime can be in growing the film and media industry, one only has to look across to Ireland and its thriving film productions – some of which have recently been nominated for Oscars.
America has Hollywood, India has Bollywood – so given our lovely weather, will our industry become “Brollywood”?
Kate Hall
Leeds
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