The government can’t do anything except try to right its own wrongs

This Tory government surely cannot honestly believe it is doing the job for which it was elected to do. With all the strikes Britain has had to endure this past year, it is truly unbelievable that the government is doing what it takes to properly run the country. We have families who can’t heat their homes and are using food banks. There is rampant inflation caused, in part, by our government. It seems that the government is simply righting the errors it has made over the past 13 years and doing nothing for a better future.

The Tory government has made a mess of this country and we, the electorate, are the ones suffering the incompetence of their governance. Grievously, the Cameron government took Britain out of the European Union. The Johnson government made us the laughing stock of the world. The Conservative Party compounded that with the prolonged election of Truss and her calamitous mini-Budget.

The longer we support this Tory government, the further Britain will sink to the bottom of the trough. The road to recovery is a long way off but we need to have hope for the future, and that will only come from a government with the will, energy and acumen to provide that future.

Bring on the election – the sooner the better!

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

Your report of the suicide of primary headteacher Ruth Perry as a possible result of a critical Ofsted inspection report raises serious questions about the purpose and nature of school inspections.

Diligent and committed school leaders deserve better than to be pilloried by a punitive inspection regime that, instead of assuring school improvement, names and shames those whose schools fall below standards that are spurious and simplistic. It is no wonder that so many headteachers resign through burnout or stress, and that there are few stepping forward to take on the burdens of headship.

School inspections should be conducted with compassion and understanding. The efforts and achievements of schools should be validated, areas for improvement should be identified and agreed with a school’s governors and headteacher, a programme of support should be provided, and crass judgement labels – that do no more than ruin a school’s reputation in its locality – should end.

Ruth Perry’s memory deserves better than the trite and pious comments made by those in charge of inspections. The past achievements of her school, which was until recently deemed “outstanding”, need to be acknowledged. Meanwhile, Ofsted should be called to account for the ways in which it conducts and reports on school inspections.

One would hope that those who inspect the inspectors show more sensitivity than some of those who inspect our schools.

Graham Powell

Cirencester

I am in support of David Nelmes’s letter on 18 March, in which he proposes another referendum. I anticipate at least a 4 per cent majority for rejoining the EU (as was the margin in the original referendum). And what then? I suppose we could always have a referendum on whether to hold another referendum.

Jan Hitchcock

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

If I may, I would like to propose a brief addendum to Tom Murray’s recent article regarding actor Sam Neill’s cancer diagnosis.

An overlooked milestone in Neill’s career was in 1983 when he starred as the eponymous hero in Reilly, Ace of Spies on the small screen. It was very popular – my parents loved it – and I believe it won a number of awards. I’d be surprised if one cannot find it available now on at least one streaming service.

Anyway, let us hope that the Jurassic Park star’s health remains on an even keel, and best wishes to him from this fan of good espionage dramas.

Robert Boston

Kent