The Conservative Party has lost its moral compass

Your account of the dire consequences of our “Conservative” government’s deplorable refusal to negotiate over barristers’ pay demonstrates that the political party that used to pride itself on being the party of law and order no longer cares much about either law or order.

Further evidence of this, if any were needed, is to be found in polling outcomes that reveal the extent to which Conservative Party members are mourning the demise of Boris Johnson, regardless of Johnson’s uniquely disgraceful history of dishonesty and immorality.

Could there ever be starker evidence of a political party that has lost its moral compass?

D Maughan Brown

York

There’s more than a whiff of pretension in the air. Honestly, if Liz Truss appears on the next TV show – assuming she appears on one at all (was she hiding in a fridge?) – I’d not bat an eyelid if she started a refrain of “The Great Pretender”. Well, perhaps if she could sing it well, I might.

The pretension of which I speak is that of someone pretending to know what they’re doing, or to care. Or both. And frankly, that pretension is extending to the rest of the ruined folly that is the Tory government. 

Having promised to hit the ground running immediately on assumption of Number 10, Liz is definitely missing the “running” part by insisting on waiting until she’s prime minister before putting forth any plans to deal with the crises the country faces.

It implies she doesn’t have any solutions, beyond the tax cuts that could crash the economy, according to the IFS.

I do love the smell of pretension in the morning. Shame we can’t eat it, or heat our homes with it.

Ian Henderson

Norfolk

As we reach the climax of this seemingly endless Tory leadership saga, it’s worth again revisiting the ridiculous system of determining that leader. The rest of us are constantly told, by the major parties and especially by the Conservatives, that “first past the post” is the best and most appropriate electoral system for Britain.

Meanwhile, it takes five rounds of voting to narrow down the party leadership field to two “finalists” before handing over to a completely different group of people – who probably wouldn’t have selected those two finalists themselves – to determine the winner. How does that make any sense?

It’s also worth nothing that this leadership contest exposes the major flaw in democracy, no matter what the voting system – you can only vote for the candidates that put themselves forward.

Given a free selection of anyone in the country, would anyone seriously select Liz Truss as a prime minister? How has it come to this?

John Maxwell

Bournemouth

I’ve never been much of a history buff, but I’ve read a bit about the Titanic and I’ve seen the James Cameron film.

As I recall it was quite long, and it’s entirely possible that I may have zoned out for a while, but I must say that don’t have any recollection of the part where, having steered full steam ahead into the iceberg, the captain took a leave of absence while the crew got together and spent the next few precious hours electing a new captain whilst the ship lurched alarmingly, the passengers were overcome by the rising waters and the craft sank forever beneath the waves.

And quite right too – while certain liberties can understandably be taken with the facts for the sake of creativity, there’s such a thing as stretching a story beyond credence.

Julian Self

Wolverton

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If Liz Truss is deemed to be the best person to lead the country, then the Conservatives have truly lost their way. She is a loose cannon who will cause even more damage to our reputation on the world stage.

In her eagerness to win at all costs, she will not care who she insults, who she walks over and she certainly won’t give a single thought to the thousands of people who are falling into the huge sinkhole that is opening before our very eyes.

We need honest and intelligent leadership, someone with integrity, someone who we can respect and trust. We are isolated now, and Truss, with her lack of sensitivity and her dictatorial and aggressive demeanour, could cause irreparable damage to our country and the people who deserve better.

Annie Beagent

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