The Tory party may be on the way out, but the damage done will haunt Britain for generations

The Conservatives have left a legacy which will haunt Britain for generations: Brexit. With the recent changes to the political make-up of European countries, especially in France and Germany, it is becoming less likely that Britain will be considered eligible to ever be a full member of the EU again.

An added obvious disadvantage is the disastrous state of our finances and the size of our nation’s debt after 14 years of Tory mismanagement.

Hopefully, a new British government may find a way to persuade the EU that we are worth another chance. However, the stakes are much higher now, with European far-right parties gaining a very strong foothold. Keir Starmer and the labour government will a have mountain to climb if they are to reverse the disastrous state of the country.

So adding a return to the EU, in the first term of governance, may be too much to ask. But for the sake of the nation, our children and a real future for all British people, the Labour Party have to be decisive. Going for growth, Britain needs change and all the other rallying cries will only come to fruition if there is a solid, practical and sustainable way to produce the required economic income we need.

The Conservatives spent billions on vanity projects – HS2 and Rwanda are just two examples. They stand now with absolutely no benefit for Britain. Labour needs to select real areas of need, especially when it comes to reducing the costs of energy, travel, education and housing.

British people have been badly treated for many years and now it is incumbent on a Labour government to act upon the will of the people, not just listen.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

It is difficult not to revisit the subject of Ian Gribbin, the Reform UK candidate for Bexhill and Battle, whose opinions were exposed by Kate Devlin in a recent article – and who appears to have the continued support of his party leaders in his campaign for election.

The flexible Nigel Farage has decided not to disown the party’s candidate but rather put it down to ordinary “pub talk”. Some might be forgiven for believing the image of Farage as an ordinary multi-millionaire man of the people. Over the years, he has carefully curated a political platform known more for “down the pub speak” than the formulation of public policy.

There is, as yet, no published document declaring publicly the intentions, motives, views or policies of his Reform party. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have already produced their manifestos. Yet when questioned on this matter, Farage claimed, “we won’t call it our manifesto, because in most people’s minds manifestos equal lies”.

Whichever draft eventually appears from the Reform Party, it brings to mind a truism by the bard; “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”.

Changing the name from manifesto will not change its veracity. Perhaps further flexibility is called for?

David Nelmes

Newport

Virtually all politicians on the campaign trail have vowed to tackle tax avoidance. Keir Starmer, however, has neglected to mention specific areas of tax the Conservatives have not dealt with during their term in office, which makes his promise seem a glib throwaway.

The non-dom regime is being significantly overhauled per the Conservative Budget 2024 and we have already seen non-doms leaving the UK in droves, which was perhaps inevitable given that Labour is so far ahead in the polls.

Labour’s plans to remove the remaining benefits of the non-dom regime left in by the Conservatives will almost certainly cause many more non-doms to leave the UK.

It is doubtful that their changes to the regime will have the impact Labour suggests, as the number of remaining non-doms will fall dramatically as they can so easily relocate to friendlier jurisdictions.

Starmer’s pledge to keep taxes on “working people” low needs proper scrutiny – who are the working people he refers to? He pledges to end the Conservative chaos, but given recent infighting within the Labour Party as regards nuclear disarmament and union reaction to the VAT raid on private schools, makes it seems likely that they’ll deliver chaos in spades.

Miles Dean

London

As so well put by John Rentoul, Angela Rayner’s recent debate performance saw her own the political stage despite the ever desperate attempts of Penny Mordaunt to skewer her influential opponent.

If all goes to plan this could be a very interesting Labour government with a cabinet of strong personalities, counterbalanced by Keir Starmer’s ever steady hand on the tiller. The public want change from the political chaos of the last 14 years and it will be up to Labour to keep their promises and rebuild this broken and disillusioned country, with a positive and far-reaching offer.

I believe Keir Starmer when he states that he came into politics to serve and not be self-serving. That is what the beleaguered public want and rightly demand of politicians. But he needs also to foster real hope and a positivity that will revitalise our public services and grow our stagnant economy. Angela Rayner is a byword for Labour aspiration – she herself has come so far and fully appreciates the distance she has travelled. She recognises her party’s significant part in it.

Judith A. Daniels

Norfolk