The assisted dying debate highlighted one of our greatest human failings

I read your editorial about this monumental bill (”Keir Starmer must ensure that concerns about the assisted dying bill are met,” Friday 30 November) passing its second reading with interest. It is now signposted for committees and extremely forensic scrutiny. From a faith point of view, I am in one camp but completely understand the other argument.

But like this paper, I too am concerned about its many implications and conclusions. No one can doubt Kim Leadbeater’s concern to get this right and she is a powerful advocate, but my word, it does need great care and attention before it reaches the statute book, if indeed it does.

I admire Jess Asato, the Labour MP in a neighbouring constituency, for raising the very important concerns about coercion and voting accordingly. I feel too that this bill needed a far larger remit than parliament to decide and it still feels somewhat rushed. But the debate was second to none, in terms of respect and due diligence. Now comes the hard part and as rightly stated, the prime minister must indeed take responsible ownership because it is happening on his watch.

Judith Daniels

Cobholm, Great Yarmouth

I agree with those who have fears about the assisted dying bill, that palliative care should be improved and that society’s attitude to people with disabilities could be much more positive. But these are separate issues from that of assisted dying.

People who oppose the bill are afraid that choices will be diminished for vulnerable people with disabilities. But they seem willing to remove the choice of a good death from people with terminal illnesses.

One of the failings of the human race is that we tend to think we know best and that we have the right to impose our views on others.

Susan Alexander

Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire

Your recent article on public EV charging costs (”Cost of using rapid EV chargers ‘stubbornly high’ – report,” Friday 29 November) perpetuates unhelpful hysteria, ignoring the real reasons behind pricing, including factors largely beyond charge point operators’ (CPOs) control.

It was useful that Rod Evans from the RAC correctly pointed out that electricity accounts for only a fraction of the total cost, but it’s also worth noting that CPOs often enter fixed contracts, so we’re not paying 50p per kWh one month and then 9p per kWh the next. This is a good thing for customers as it gives price certainty rather than passing on volatility.

Additionally, the cost of the kit is very high. If a home user spends £1000 on installing a home charger, that’s an upfront cost which they don’t equate to an extra, say, 20p/kWh on their normal tariff but that is what happens when fronting the upfront cost in public charging.

I urge readers to look beyond the headlines and consider the challenges we face in enabling the UK’s green transport transition.

CPOs are taking substantial financial risks to support EV adoption, committing £6bn to develop a charging network that drivers want at a time when EVs account for just 3 per cent of vehicles on the road. Public EV charging prices reflect the realities of building a reliable, future-proof network – not profiteering.

Adrian Fielden-Gray, co-founder, Be.EV

London

I was shocked when I read the article about Jacob Rees-Mogg to find that he had to bang his own gong to summon the family to dinner. Surely that should be a job for the butler!

Jean Foster

Selkirk, Scottish Borders

While Starmer and Reeves are contemplating tax issues, may I use your pages to draw the following to their attention?

I am a pensioner on a pretty low income: above the heating allowance level but lower than minimum wage. As such, my council tax is around 10 per cent of my income. If my income were 100 times as much, my council tax in pounds would not change, therefore the rate would be 0.1 per cent. If council tax were visualised against income above the tax threshold (and why shouldn’t it be?), mine would amount to 33 per cent. That added to my 20 per cent income tax takes my actual tax, above threshold and before purchases, to 53 per cent.

In short, like many other pensioners and low-paid workers, I pay tax at a higher rate than the country’s wealthiest people. Obviously, council tax, a levy that hits the poorest hardest while diminishing to loose change in real terms for the richest, was created by the Tories in the interests of the people they represent. But surely, if the current Labour Party still has aspirations for a fairer society, it should see this as a monstrous injustice and attend to it urgently.

Name and address supplied