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A prayer for Farage
Our Farage, who art in Clacton, growing be thy fame / Thine election come, Reform will be done, in Westminster as it is in Maga / Give us this day our daily Doge, And forgive us our taxes, As we deport boatmen who trespass against us / Lead us not into frustration, But deliver us from Starmer / For thine is the election, The power and the glory / Four years, then ever and ever, Amen. Edward Mitchell, West Byfleet
Are seagulls ‘pests’?
So Mr Collier (MetroTalk, Tues) regards gulls as ‘pests’. I wonder how that thought was planted in his head.
Perhaps he was traumatised as a child when one of the pesky critters ‘lifted his ice-cream’ or perhaps he doesn’t think too much before voicing his views.
It’s a mystery (to me at least) why these birds are so disliked by some.
Pests, vermin, call them what you will but I do remember my late father telling me when I was a fair bit younger that the type of vermin to be wary of are the two-legged variant, possibly based on his war experiences in World War II and the behaviour of some of his own side when in a foreign country and what he witnessed first-hand. John Blackwell, Huyton
Reader defends Bee Network
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John from Bury (MetroTalk, Tues) decried Manchester mayor Andy Burnham spending ‘half a million’ pounds on repainting the city’s buses yellow.
I would kindly remind John that the Bee Network has seen patronage levels increase by nearly 14 per cent in some areas of Manchester, reliability data improve to over 80 per cent across the network and an overall uptick in annual revenue. It’s the only public transport network outside of London run in the interests of its passengers. Yann, Manchester
Reader says Ed Miliband lives in an ‘alternate universe’
Ed Miliband believes Sir Keir Starmer can win a second term (Metro, Thu). It must be nice living in an alternate universe – I’d like some of that optimism he’s drinking. Roger, Wolverhampton
Reader is sick of hearing about Reform
Is anyone else totally fed-up with politicians? Firstly, Ed Davey spent most of the Liberal Democrat Party conference talking about Nigel Farage and Reform.
Now we have to endure Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy at the Labour Party conference doing exactly the same.
I would like to hear about the policies of the political parties and what they propose to do to improve the terribly depressing state that the UK is in.
I do not want to constantly hear their thoughts about Nigel Farage and Reform.
Could it be that the Lib Dems and Labour do not actually have any idea what to do about the migrants crossing the Channel, how to improve day-to-day life for ordinary people or how to rescue the failing NHS?
Unless the various political parties start telling us what they stand for and what their policies are, it is quite likely that Reform might succeed at the next election JD, London
Who will look after Reform supporters when theyare senile?
Thirty years from now, most Reform fanboys and fangirls will be in care homes, not being visited by their children and being cared for by foreigners. Darren, London
Reader says ‘stamp duty on share trading should be abolished’
We welcome the announcement that the Treasury is set to give a stamp duty holiday to new London stock exchange listings as a positive step forward but would like to see more.
Stamp duty on share trading should be abolished across the board if the UK is serious about revitalising its capital markets.
The UK is now an outlier internationally, with very few other markets applying such a levy. At just 0.4 per cent of overall tax receipts, stamp duty is a negligible contributor to Treasury reserves, especially when set against the financial services industry’s role in generating around 12 per cent of total national tax revenue. Full abolition would remove a clear barrier to international investment in UK equities, help unlock the large pool of retail investors currently sitting on cash, and encourage those favouring US markets to re-engage with their home market.
It would improve liquidity, strengthen London’s competitiveness and send a message that the UK is open for business.
While Labour’s proposal may offer a short-term boost for new listings, a comprehensive removal of stamp duty is needed to support the long-term health of the City and restore confidence in London as a leading global listings venue. Andrew Bresler, CEO Saxo UK, Canary Wharf
Does Labour consult those affected by policies?
This government imposed VAT on private schools without consulting teachers, imposed inheritance tax on farms without consulting farmers and tried to cut disability benefits without consulting the people who rely on them.
Now they’re trying to pave over our countryside with runways, roads and housing estates without consulting the people who live and work in these places.
Surely the best political decisions come from talking to the people involved – those who know how the system works, why it doesn’t and how to fix it.
If you want to improve GP services, for instance, you’re going to do a much better job if you talk to GPs and other care professionals (not to mention the patients themselves) and take their ideas on board – rather than trying to impose a plan cobbled together by civil servants and advisers in Whitehall by people who don’t know how the NHS operates on the ground.
If the Starmer regime keeps forcing through half-baked schemes and ignoring the workers and public, then they will end up with a lot of failed, broken policies – and a lot of angry people who should have had a say. Rob Slater, Norfolk
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