Bernie Sanders has let his supporters down

Bernie Sanders had failed to live up to the expectation of his people in the wake of the controversy surrounding the nomination process.

He might have chosen to go with the flow to avoid rift in the party – a move that would weaken their momentum and strengthen their adversaries.

He might have chosen the principle of forgive and forget for the betterment and wellbeing of the party and to create a unity to defeat Donald Trump in the election.

But those who have trusted him will feel betrayed. They have expected a lot from him when he had the chance to speak to the American people on the first night of the Democrat convention.

He could have chosen a different path in support of principle and conviction by offering a viable alternative to those who are not satisfied with how things are going. He could have risen to the challenge by forming an alternative to both Trump and Clinton. He would have made history if he had reinvented the wheels and created a hole in the room for people to get some fresh air.

Abubakar Kasim
Toronto

As a Brexiteer I feel insulted by the Remainer political and journalist elite who continually insist in the national press that the referendum should never have been held and the result is a disaster.

For them it may be, but for the rest of us it is the first and last chance to say that we do not wish to be part of a federal Europe. The result alone shows that the referendum was necessary, otherwise democracy would have died in this country. Whether or not it is a disaster cannot be answered now; maybe 20 years down the line we will have some idea, but this continual patronising pessimism may well be self-fulfilling.

For myself, I voted out to give our children and grandchildren the chance of a global future, rather than being tied to a failing European Union, and the fact that China, Australia and several other countries are already queuing up to sign trade deals with us is an indication that the future is there for the taking if we are big enough to pull together and make it happen.

Once again, Britain is leading the way and it would be interesting to know how many other peoples of Europe would do the same thing given the chance, but maybe democracy is already dead in their countries and they won't be allowed a referendum in case they make “the wrong choice”.

Gwen Cartwright
Address supplied

Michelle Obama spoke so impressively at the Democratic convention I found myself hoping that the next dynastic evolution in US presidential politics will involve First Ladies immediately succeeding their husbands to the Oval Office.

Hillary should step aside – she missed her turn a while ago.

John Gemmell
Birmingham

Andrew Grice says that Sir Philip Green’s knighthood should be taken away from him. Surely if that happened now it would increase the likelihood that Sir Philip would wave two fingers at the government, literally or otherwise, and retire to Monaco to enjoy his money. The first priority should be to persuade him to pay up £600m to cover the BHS pension deficit. The knighthood can be dealt with later.

Gordon Elliot
Burford

After the recent series of terrorist attacks in Europe, and the generally accepted view that this form of terrorism constitutes the greatest threat to civil society as we know it, could anyone explain to what extent the eye-wateringly expensive investment in Trident, just voted for by our Government, is going to mitigate this threat?

Margaret Bamford
Findon

After seeing Now We Are Here and then reading Paul Taylor's excellent review, it occurred to me that all those who abuse and attack refugees ought to me made to see this superb play. Maybe, they will then realise how lucky they are, and that refugees are human beings like them, but most of whom have experienced appalling conditions in their home country.

Jimmy Walker
Bedford