Keir Starmer is right about Boris Johnson – he is a trivial man with trivial policies

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Wednesday 06 October 2021 13:39 EDT
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Boris Johnson arrives to deliver his speech at the Conservative Party conference
Boris Johnson arrives to deliver his speech at the Conservative Party conference (PA)

Keir Starmer was right about Boris Johnson. He is a trivial man with trivial policies. His speech was full of rhetoric and pathetic jokes but where was the policy?

He plays to the gallery but avoids difficult questions as has been seen by his recent efforts on radio and TV interviews. When he speaks everything he say reminds me of the lyrics of the “Kings New Clothes” by Danny Kaye. He takes the electorate for fools but one day it will be realised that he is naked and without substance.

Graham Jarvis

Leeds

Why are the Tory faithful so happy while the rest of the country endures the misery of endless fuel and labour shortages and its poorest families face perhaps the tightest squeeze on their living standards since the welfare state began?

Could it be that its cossetted 100,000 members are entirely insulated from the realities of life in Britain today?

Tories who have dared champion the cause of the poor and unemployed such as Harold Macmillan and Ian Gilmour under the ideal of “One Nation” are notably rare, and in Boris Johnson’s Tory Party appear to be entirely absent.

Paul Dolan

Northwich

Free market failure?

I was always led to believe that the Tories were great advocates of the free market, frequently arguing that negative aspects of the economy were the result of market forces. So it’s a bit rich to hear them say that the empty shelves are “a failure of the free market, not the state”. As for expecting business to start paying higher wages, those same unstoppable market forces combined with shareholder pressure for profits will always work against pay rises. Indeed it was Tory governments in the past who decimated the ability of trade unions – who in many cases were the only ones who achieved higher wages for their members – to act.

G Forward

Stirling

A genuine and accountable partnership between government and business is needed to change the UK economic model and tackle the country’s productivity woes.

Investors hold companies to account over their business strategy to ensure they survive and thrive, with some leading industrial organisations modelling the risks and opportunities over the next 50 years to secure investment and drive returns. If the government is realistic about changing the UK’s economic model, perhaps government could take a leaf out their book and work in partnership with businesses to create a long-term productivity strategy for the UK.

Andrew Harding

Chief executive – Management Accounting

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Equal access for the young

The extension of the Kickstart scheme announced by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, at the Conservative Party conference this week is to be welcomed, but we know a lot more needs to be done to improve equal access to the best jobs and salaries for young people, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

Many students still get a head start as they begin their career, due to the benefits of the family, social and educational networks they have around them

If companies are to compete, they need access to the best talent from all parts of society. To do this, industry must focus on two things – greater use of technology in hiring processes to spot talent based on potential, instead of a well-polished interview technique; and creating and spotlighting role models within industries. Young people want to see and connect with people that resonate with them, and who are doing well at an organisation.

Ultimately, equality, diversity and inclusion are intrinsically linked to business performance and business profits. Those who do not embrace it risk losing a competitive edge.

James Uffindell

CEO and founder, Bright Network

A fitting image

An inquiry into the “systematic failures” of the Metropolitan Police announced by Priti Patel is, of course, welcome. But who can forget the pictures of the police forcibly apprehending women at the peaceful and emotional vigil for Sarah Everard? If ever there were an image of low-level misogyny, that was it.

Beryl Wall

London

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