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| The root causes of Leave voters’ anger must be addressed | |
| (4 months later) | |
| Sun 24 Sep 2017 00.04 BST | |
| Last modified on Sat 2 Dec 2017 02.41 GMT | |
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| Your editorial was a sound start but insufficient (“Boris Johnson’s analysis of Britain’s ills”). The UK has been “failing on many fronts” since long before this Tory government and your fronts are too narrow. That’s why many Leave voters were so angry. We do indeed need “a wholesale refashioning of [our] economic and social model” but also of our models of governing, media and democracy. In or out of the EU, those need addressing to ease our divisions, shame and failures. | Your editorial was a sound start but insufficient (“Boris Johnson’s analysis of Britain’s ills”). The UK has been “failing on many fronts” since long before this Tory government and your fronts are too narrow. That’s why many Leave voters were so angry. We do indeed need “a wholesale refashioning of [our] economic and social model” but also of our models of governing, media and democracy. In or out of the EU, those need addressing to ease our divisions, shame and failures. |
| The Boris-led Leave leaders included one who put personal ambition and jokes before country, one who put personal interest before ministerial responsibility, an “intelligent” one who derided expertise and knifed a friend in the back and one who pandered to xenophobia and racism for personal inclination and political advantage. These leaders played on Leave voters’ anger – justifiable anger at being ignored and misled politically, treated unfairly economically and swamped with change unmitigated by government. As the leaders had been part of the cause of this anger, they misdirected voters to blame other politicians or bureaucrats or the EU or foreigners or experts or… In doing so, they fostered a latent yobbish culture at odds with the UK’s claimed values. | The Boris-led Leave leaders included one who put personal ambition and jokes before country, one who put personal interest before ministerial responsibility, an “intelligent” one who derided expertise and knifed a friend in the back and one who pandered to xenophobia and racism for personal inclination and political advantage. These leaders played on Leave voters’ anger – justifiable anger at being ignored and misled politically, treated unfairly economically and swamped with change unmitigated by government. As the leaders had been part of the cause of this anger, they misdirected voters to blame other politicians or bureaucrats or the EU or foreigners or experts or… In doing so, they fostered a latent yobbish culture at odds with the UK’s claimed values. |
| To refashion our country and continent, try working with and for 17 million who voted Leave and near 50 million who did not. The causes of the anger, our failures, must be addressed. Many have nothing to do with the EU.Peter WattsBerwick-upon-Tweed | To refashion our country and continent, try working with and for 17 million who voted Leave and near 50 million who did not. The causes of the anger, our failures, must be addressed. Many have nothing to do with the EU.Peter WattsBerwick-upon-Tweed |
| Benefit reform a backward step | Benefit reform a backward step |
| Housing benefit was originally introduced for local authority tenants who were in receipt of supplementary benefit or rent rebates (“Universal credit brings misery to millions”, Editorial). Rent payments direct could be made at that time only when arrears built up and eviction was threatened. Using rent payments to buy kids’ shoes or pay the electric bill in the forlorn hope you would catch up had become the norm. Although direct rent payments reduced claimants’ ability to rob Peter to pay Paul they kept a roof over their heads. Housing benefit was a welcome innovation for benefit processors, tenants and local authorities alike. | Housing benefit was originally introduced for local authority tenants who were in receipt of supplementary benefit or rent rebates (“Universal credit brings misery to millions”, Editorial). Rent payments direct could be made at that time only when arrears built up and eviction was threatened. Using rent payments to buy kids’ shoes or pay the electric bill in the forlorn hope you would catch up had become the norm. Although direct rent payments reduced claimants’ ability to rob Peter to pay Paul they kept a roof over their heads. Housing benefit was a welcome innovation for benefit processors, tenants and local authorities alike. |
| Those of us working in the DHSS on the conversion were less happy with the extension to private tenancies that not only opened a floodgate to housing benefit fraud but surely played a part in rocketing private rents. | Those of us working in the DHSS on the conversion were less happy with the extension to private tenancies that not only opened a floodgate to housing benefit fraud but surely played a part in rocketing private rents. |
| Universal credit is moving us backwards to the days of rent arrears, evictions and homelessness. Rocketing rents and housing shortages are all part of the same problem. What comes next with this government – the workhouse?Jacqueline SuttonHethersett, Norfolk | Universal credit is moving us backwards to the days of rent arrears, evictions and homelessness. Rocketing rents and housing shortages are all part of the same problem. What comes next with this government – the workhouse?Jacqueline SuttonHethersett, Norfolk |
| Principled pints and pasties | Principled pints and pasties |
| Thank you for once again reminding me why I no longer visit Wetherspoon pubs (“Wetherspoon could call last orders on EU”, Business). The previous occasion had been some time ago when an article on the chairman, Tim Martin, had revealed his donation of £200,000 towards Brexit funds. | Thank you for once again reminding me why I no longer visit Wetherspoon pubs (“Wetherspoon could call last orders on EU”, Business). The previous occasion had been some time ago when an article on the chairman, Tim Martin, had revealed his donation of £200,000 towards Brexit funds. |
| As a further matter of principle, neither do I purchase Cornish pasties from a certain manufacturer in the south-west because its chairman has publicly contributed a large sum of money to this shambles of a Tory party we have to suffer as our government. | As a further matter of principle, neither do I purchase Cornish pasties from a certain manufacturer in the south-west because its chairman has publicly contributed a large sum of money to this shambles of a Tory party we have to suffer as our government. |
| I realise this in no way affects their otherwise huge profits – it just makes me feel a lot better and gives me a sense that I am at least “doing my bit” for what I believe in. | I realise this in no way affects their otherwise huge profits – it just makes me feel a lot better and gives me a sense that I am at least “doing my bit” for what I believe in. |
| Luckily, living in Macclesfield, I have a large number of other excellent pubs to visit that are every bit as good as – and better than – this chain’s establishment (which is pretty decent). And, just for the record, our pie-makers are second to none. | Luckily, living in Macclesfield, I have a large number of other excellent pubs to visit that are every bit as good as – and better than – this chain’s establishment (which is pretty decent). And, just for the record, our pie-makers are second to none. |
| I have no idea whether these local businesses support Brexit or vote Tory, but at least they do not make a public virtue out of it.Jeff TeasdaleMacclesfield | I have no idea whether these local businesses support Brexit or vote Tory, but at least they do not make a public virtue out of it.Jeff TeasdaleMacclesfield |
| All parties failed the homeless | All parties failed the homeless |
| I applaud Lynsey Hanley’s article, especially as she roundly blames the Tories (“We had dealt with homelessness. Why has it now returned?”, Comment). However, a note of caution; as Ms Hanley admits, Labour didn’t do very well on housebuilding. | I applaud Lynsey Hanley’s article, especially as she roundly blames the Tories (“We had dealt with homelessness. Why has it now returned?”, Comment). However, a note of caution; as Ms Hanley admits, Labour didn’t do very well on housebuilding. |
| And, as Ms Hanley doesn’t say, their policy on rough sleeping didn’t actually end street homelessness. | And, as Ms Hanley doesn’t say, their policy on rough sleeping didn’t actually end street homelessness. |
| I was working for a homelessness charity at the time when John Prescott’s department was given responsibility for this and we ground our teeth as his officials relied more and more on falsifying the figures. We all knew that there were still plenty of rough sleepers but street counts were constantly massaged down. | I was working for a homelessness charity at the time when John Prescott’s department was given responsibility for this and we ground our teeth as his officials relied more and more on falsifying the figures. We all knew that there were still plenty of rough sleepers but street counts were constantly massaged down. |
| Now, under Corbyn, housing policy is moving more to the front line, but it is still fairly vacuous and has, as far as I can see, very little sense of urgency at a time when we are warned that 120,000 children are currently in temporary accommodation, with all the damage that will do to their (and our) futures. | Now, under Corbyn, housing policy is moving more to the front line, but it is still fairly vacuous and has, as far as I can see, very little sense of urgency at a time when we are warned that 120,000 children are currently in temporary accommodation, with all the damage that will do to their (and our) futures. |
| We should be planning to manufacture tens of thousands of prefabs and put them up on every spare bit of land. | We should be planning to manufacture tens of thousands of prefabs and put them up on every spare bit of land. |
| If Labour does form a government, it will immediately be subjected to lobbying from the private sector housebuilders, anxious to protect their egregious profits. Labour’s feet will have to be relentlessly kept to the fire.Jeremy CushingExeter | If Labour does form a government, it will immediately be subjected to lobbying from the private sector housebuilders, anxious to protect their egregious profits. Labour’s feet will have to be relentlessly kept to the fire.Jeremy CushingExeter |
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