What a sad chapter in Andrew Neil’s heavyweight career

I think it was Enoch Powell who said: “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and human affairs.”

Surely, now that Andrew Neil has resigned from the disaster that is GB News, we shall see this quote adapted for media broadcasters. Furthermore, whatever part of the political spectrum one occupies it does appear to me to be a sad end to a heavyweight career, caused ostensibly by an inexplicable decision to join a ship which was clearly sinking before it had even left port.

Robert Boston

Kingshill

You report that Dr Bharat Pankhania, who is a former Public Health England consultant on communicable disease control, says that it is difficult to get vaccinators into schools because of the issues about security clearance and child safeguarding issues (News, 14 September).

First aiders like me who exist in all education settings could easily be trained to administer the vaccines to children and we already have all the clearance and safeguard training which is required. But is the government going to quickly roll out a training programme for us before cases escalate?

Kartar Uppal

Sutton Coldfield

It’s a while since the welcome announcement of an additional £5.4bn of funding to be made available to the NHS over the next six months. But I’ve waited in vain to hear from where the additional resources other than the money are to come; there is a limited supply of doctors, nurses and hospital beds. Indeed, the procurement of such an enormous resource will be challenging in such a short timescale, let alone its deployment. Is this really new money and I wonder if it is truly expected that it will be spent?

Tim Sidaway

Hertfordshire

We all know that Nicola Sturgeon had to wax loud and long about a referendum when addressing her troops at the weekend. Some, at least, are restless and require to be assured that Scotland’s first minister will stage a referendum imminently. She can bloviate about this as much as she likes because she knows that there is no risk of her having to make good her demands. The prime minister has told her – again – that now is not the time. As the constitution is reserved to Westminster, there is nothing Sturgeon can do about it, other than complain, because she leads a devolved administration and does not have the authority to call a referendum that would have legal status. Any other kind of referendum would have no legitimacy, with half of the population – and, no doubt, municipal officials such as returning officers – refusing to take part. No foreign country would recognise any separatist “victory” in such a farce.

I wish the Westminster government would tell Sturgeon in unequivocal terms what the situation is: she wants to break up the UK, because that is what she wants. Which other European country allows its constituent parts to choose to leave it? We know that Spain doesn’t. But do Italy, France, Germany allow secession? Are the Hungarians in Transylvania allowed to leave Romania and join Hungary? No, they are not.

Scotland leaving the UK would be bad for the UK but disastrous for Scotland. The sooner Sturgeon publicly acknowledges that – instead of foolishly denying it, in public, at least – the better that will be for all of us.

Jill Stephenson

Edinburgh

A country does not need royals to survive. The country needs good, strong, honest government. Defrock the whole flea-bitten set up. The institution has gone beyond the pale. The vulgar display of wealth is very upsetting to the majority of the British people.

Malcolm Hodgson

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