Just for once, Jacob Rees-Mogg might be right

I very rarely find myself in agreement with Jacob Rees-Mogg, but I can’t quarrel with his assertion that if/when Boris Johnson is deposed, there should be a general election (News, 26 January). Otherwise, only Conservative MPs and party members would have a say in the identity of his successor. As they might say, those are the rules. But how can it be right to have the prime minister chosen by fewer than 0.5 per cent of those eligible to vote?

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

According to Jacob Rees-Mogg, we are moving to a presidential system, about which he seems insouciant. Has anyone informed Her Majesty? Are the Jacobins at the gate? I had failed to spot that the Conservatives are now a republican outfit. Perhaps this is the inevitable consequence of an electoral system that is unfit and produces electoral dictatorships.

Philip de Jonge

Haslemere

Excusing Boris Johnson’s lockdown-breaking birthday in Downing Street in June 2020 on the grounds he was “ambushed by cake” proves the Tories are half-baked. Johnson’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Time for him to eat some humble pie, and go.

Sasha Simic

London

It is no surprise that the UK is the worst-performing European country for international visitor returns despite the prime minister stating that “the UK is officially one of the most open countries in Europe and ready to welcome visitors from across the globe”.

According to VisitBritain, shopping is one of the major motivators for international tourists. Retailers warned the government that ending tax-free shopping on 1 January 2021, making the UK the only European country not to offer this incentive, would put the UK at a major competitive disadvantage.

This is the result. Tax-free shopping data for Europe shows that spending by Middle Eastern visitors is already at 140 per cent of 2019 levels. But in the UK, it is virtually nothing. The chancellor has handed over billions of pounds of spending to our European competitors and made the UK one of the least attractive destinations for international visitors.

Paul Barnes

Chief executive, International Retail

This week, it’s been revealed that basic universal credit payments may soon be too low to cover essentials like heating, clothing and food, as the “woefully inadequate” safety net leaves people destitute. Prices are rising at the fastest rate in more than 10 years, and with rising energy bills, stagnant wages and tax rises, many people’s health and living standards will suffer as a result.

Here in Islington, we have one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country, and the cost-of-living crisis is going to have a real impact on families in our borough. That is why we recently announced council investment into financial support for local people on lower incomes, with cuts in their council tax bills and childcare subsidies. But we know more fundamental change is needed.

Poverty has a profound effect on individuals – from life expectancy to physical and mental health. The Covid-19 crisis has shown how entrenched deprivation has driven disadvantaged households further into poverty. Now, faced with soaring fuel and housing prices, benefit cuts and job losses because of the pandemic, many families trapped in poverty now face further difficulties.

Though councils are navigating funding constraints, their leaders must remain committed to providing help and support for households in financial difficulty. Old solutions won’t work for the new challenges and greater complexities we now face. Fundamentally, to tackle the rising cost-of-living crisis, it is crucial, especially in the wake of Covid-19, for the government and local councils to lead the way to a more equal future by actively seeking to understand people’s experiences and priorities.

In Islington, we have launched Let’s Talk Islington, a mass engagement programme to listen to local people and really understand the impact inequality has on their everyday lives. By gaining a deeper understanding of local people’s experience and using this insight to co-create solutions and policies with the groups they impact most, we can work towards improving health and wellbeing, employment, housing, and boosting young people’s life chances on a national scale.

We must make sure the less well-off households in Britain are to be supported through the cost-of-living crisis, then it’s crucial we challenge the causes of poverty head-on and create innovative approaches to tackling inequality in our society.

Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz

Leader of Islington Council

I recall that, many years ago, when I was a smoker, I read an alarming article linking smoking and heart disease in the Reader’s Digest magazine. The item got me so concerned and worried that I cancelled my subscription.

Lee Pascal

Richmond