Letters: Why has defence been given such short shrift during this election?
SIR – I watched the BBC debate between the two main party leaders on Wednesday (“Sunak’s plea to voters: Don’t surrender Britain to Labour”, report, June 27).
Not a single question was put forward about foreign policy, the current threats from Russia and China or the future security of our nation.
Is Britain asleep?
Dr Michael Pelly
London SW6
SIR – Rishi Sunak won the BBC debate, making strong points and giving straight answers.
I fear, however, that the horse has already bolted.
Peter Dann
Haslemere, Surrey
SIR – Sir Keir Starmer, a KC, had years of training in marshalling and presenting cogent arguments in court.
When exactly did he abandon this to indulge in half-truths, obfuscations, equivocations and fudges? I wonder what would happen if his former self cross-examined the man he is today.
Dr Kevin M O’Sullivan
Plymouth, Devon
SIR – Labour claims to have developed an economic approach called “securonomics”. There has been little detail on what it will involve, but previous Labour governments have consistently failed to achieve a secure economy.
From Ramsay MacDonald’s government in the late 1920s through to New Labour’s handling of the financial crash, all Labour governments have experienced a crisis reflecting poor economic policy. It is worth remembering this.
Dr Bruce Morley
Corsham, Wiltshire
SIR – When, in a couple of years’ time, Prime Minister Starmer is interrogated on why he has failed to do things he said he would do and done things he said he never would, I suspect his response will be to point to his majority and ask: “Am I bothered?”
Eldon Sandys
Pyrford, Surrey
SIR – Watching the television debate on Wednesday, I was reminded of Lord Salisbury’s reported remark in the late 19th century: “Why do we need change? Aren’t things bad enough as they are?” I shall vote for Rishi Sunak.
Nigel Theyer
Plymouth, Devon
SIR – During the leaders’ debate, a man in the audience called Robert Blackstock asked: “Are you two really the best we’ve got?” I felt this was akin to booing the England football team off the pitch, and wonder how many in the audience had even served on their local council. As a country we do a great job of denigrating those who put their heads above the parapet, in spite of the heavy price some pay.
Sandra Jones
Old Cleeve, Somerset
Tennant’s trans rant
SIR – Ed Cumming asks: “Who does David Tennant think he is?” (“Privileged and liberal but happy to silence those with whom he disagrees”, Features, June 27).
He is one of many luvvies who think success in their day job gives them an opportunity to display their Leftist, woke credentials.
Political parties of all colours have always been keen to attract support from celebs – think Steve Coogan, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson – not to mention football commentators. In the United States, a B-list actor even became president.
Martin Henry
Good Easter, Essex
SIR – Laurence Fox had difficulty getting acting work after expressing Right-wing views.
Will the same fate befall David Tennant after his attack on Kemi Badenoch? I’m not holding my breath.
David E P Judge
Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire
Same-sex blessings
SIR – You report (June 27) on a spat between senior Church of England clerics concerning same-sex blessings.
I do wonder if they have considered whether this is the matter upon which their efforts should be concentrated. I have been going to church of my own volition for 45 years in London, Canterbury, Bristol, Sussex and abroad. Not once have I heard anyone raise same-sex relations and their blessing in church as a matter of the remotest concern.
The dwindling attendances, the inability to attract young families, and the need to help others and preserve Church buildings are, by contrast, subjects of almost constant concern.
If the Church does not grasp this point quickly, there will be no congregations to which clergy will need to minister – and, what’s more, no one to finance them either.
Tim Reid
Mayfield, East Sussex
Deserted skies
SIR – The sky is certainly not full of avian life (Letters, June 27) in our part of the Hampshire Downs.
The house martins and swallows have not returned this year, and a neighbouring dairy farmer said his house martin numbers were the lowest he’d known in 20 years.
Alarm bells should definitely be ringing. Verges have been left long and pollen and nectar plots planted, but these summer visitors have not returned in their usual numbers.
Patricia Bright
Kings Worthy, Hampshire
Glass from the past
SIR – By scratching away the earth in their run, our hens have uncovered what our ancestors did with their used glass bottles and jars (Letters, June 26). My great-grandfather, a widower from a young age, was clearly a lover of port and Dundee marmalade.
Charles Carter
Llanteg, Pembrokeshire
SIR – I had the pleasure of meeting Felicity Thomson’s grandmother (Letters, June 26) when, as a 19-year-old student, I was invited for drinks at the time of the Budget.
Mrs Thomson was distressed to learn that the government was planning to raise the price of a bottle of gin by five shillings, despite the fact that the drinks cabinet revealed at least a 10-year supply of Gordon’s.
She was a lovely lady.
Jeremy Burton
Wokingham, Berkshire
MPs’ moral compass
SIR – Sir Philip Davies, a Conservative candidate with a majority of more than 6,000, has been accused of betting £8,000 that he will lose his seat in the general election (report, June 27).
I wonder how hard he has been campaigning. The Conservatives should be in no doubt about why so many of their supporters are switching to other parties. They appear to have lost their moral compass, throughout the party hierarchy. This behaviour is anathema to anyone with a set of principles.
Jonathan Ward
Long Melford, Suffolk
SIR – Sir Philip Davies is a disgrace to his party and country. He is clearly not trying hard enough to win.
Not the sort of chap to have in your golf or bridge club.
John M Scott FRCS
Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire
SIR – Whatever the odds of the bet that Kevin Craig, the Labour candidate, placed on his losing (report, June 27), they are unlikely to have matched the 500-1 against an England victory at Headingley in 1981.
Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, the Australian bowler and wicketkeeper respectively, put a tenner on “for a laugh” and kept the winnings – along with their places in the team.
Tom Stubbs
Surbiton, Surrey
Digital discontent
SIR – I found much to agree with in your article, “We used to just pick up and dial: how tech has made life needlessly complex” (Features, June 26).
I have just changed my mobile phone and spent hours setting up passwords. It was a nightmare, and I am tech savvy. I do feel for those who are not.
Another point is how easy it is for people to let you down now. I remember, in the 1990s, simply agreeing to meet friends, and everybody then turned up. None of these last-minute messages making excuses.
Miriam McKenna
Ferndown, Dorset
SIR – Robert Barlow (Letters, June 27) asks readers to name unnecessary apps for smart devices.
I suggest he stops using online shopping and banking, along with satnav, to name a few. These all have non-digital alternatives that might be considered easier to use.
Phil Stewart
London SW14
How not to drink your beer in Germany
SIR – Your report (June 25) on small German beers being served to England supporters reminded me of when I first went to work in Germany.
At the end of a long day, we went to a bar and I ordered ein grosses (a large one). The barman looked at me and said that I must be new in the country. I asked why, and he said that any self-respecting German would not have one large beer, but two small ones – frisch gezapft (freshly drawn), cool and with exactly the right head.
Patrick Fossett
Cobham, Surrey
SIR – How typical of English supporters abroad to be frustrated by the small beer measures being served in Germany.
Has no one explained that the reason for the 200ml glasses is that the beer is always fresh and cold? Moreover, if you are polite and accept the local norms, the staff will ensure that your 200ml glass is never empty.
Of course, the way most English supporters drink their beer, it never gets the chance to warm up or lose its sparkle.
Geoff Smith
Endon, Staffordshire
Putting prisoners of war to work in the garden
SIR – In 1948, my brother was waiting to be called up to the Royal Marines. To get fit, he dug a swimming pool in the garden, removing 90 tons of earth.
When he left, my father – just retired from the Admiralty – took over with two German prisoners of war (Letters, June 27) who were retained by Clement Attlee to “rebuild Britain”.
My father knew German and was an interpreter for the Navy, so he motivated Willy and Hans, and paid them 2/6 an hour. It transpired that one of these helpers had been in Hermann Göring’s SS guard.
Caroline Osborne
Elmswell, Suffolk
SIR – In 1945, my parents entertained two German PoWs for Christmas. As gifts for my sister, brother and myself, they brought carved wooden-jointed Mickey Mouse toys, together with 18-inch wooden slopes that the mice walked down. Reaching the bottom, they remained standing upright.
These clever gifts still take pride of place each Christmas among our decorations.
Leslie Kotting
Shalbourne, Wiltshire
SIR – A German PoW from a nearby farm, Lothar, once came to our house for tea. He’d worked in his family’s brush-making business. After the meal, my mother packed a food parcel for his family. I don’t recall what was in it, but I remember thinking it was odd, as rationing was still in place here.
Margaret Winstanley
Bury, Lancashire
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