Priti Patel’s hypocrisy won’t wash with England fans

Is the Priti Patel who has plastered social media with pictures of her in an England football shirt with the hashtag #FootballsComingHome the same home secretary who, just three weeks ago, denounced the England team for taking the knee in solidarity with the anti-racist movement? Is the Priti Patel now basking in reflected glory as the England side go into the final of Euro 2020, the same home secretary who said racists “had a right” to jeer at what she said was “gesture politics” from the England side?

Football may or may not be coming home. However, hypocrisy and political opportunism are already “home” in Priti Patel’s case.

Sasha Simic

London N16

Your editorial (“The England team has done the nation proud – and not just through their goalscoring”, 8 July) captured perfectly the importance of Gareth Southgate and England’s victory over Denmark in the context of the nation’s sporting, cultural and political life.

I did wince, however, at the line: “It is the first major tournament final for any British football team since 1966.” I suggest your writer looks up the records for the Uefa Women’s Championships (the Euros equivalent) in 1984 and 2009.

Philip Talbot

Arundel, West Sussex

Chloe Smith, the constitution minister, tells John Rentoul that she is in favour of introducing photo ID before people vote and that first past the post should be used in all elections (Voices, 7 July). If the Conservatives believe so much in combating voter fraud and giving the most popular candidate the win, then they will be in favour of allowing people to vote securely using their phones, which everybody now has access to. This would save so much money in staffing polling stations, but do the Conservatives really want to increase voter participation?

Kartar Uppal

Sutton Coldfield

If the triple lock pension is scrapped next year, it will be a broken manifesto promise. It would also be viewed by pensioners as the government lying for votes. The state pension is one of the lowest, if not the actual lowest in Europe. Pensioners witnessed Theresa May’s attempts to do the same and she lost the general election, just as Boris Johnson will if he lies to pensioners.

Helen Rowland

Essex

Last summer, Nicola Sturgeon told us she was on the way to eradicating Covid in Scotland; now the World Health Organisation tells us Scotland is the Covid capital of Europe. It is also, under the SNP, the drugs death capital of Europe. For years Sturgeon told us to judge her by her education record; the once-respected Scottish education system has tumbled down international rankings, despite dedicated frontline professionals’ efforts.

Sturgeon’s teenage dream is independence yet, after 14 years in power, she can’t even deliver a second referendum, let alone break up the UK. Maybe, despite her record of relentless failure, she’s become a wee bit too fond of being a big, if ineffectual, fish in a not very large pond?

Martin Redfern

Melrose

If we wish to tackle the problem of people with autism joining extremist right-wing organisations (“Children among ‘staggeringly high’ number of autistic people being drawn into terrorism, watchdog warns”, 7 July), it is worth considering the likely attraction of the far right to such individuals. Typically, they like to live a very ordered life, with few departures into spontaneity and apparently contradictory logical positions.

The far right usually provides apparently simple solutions, apparently supporting traditional values, without consideration of individuality and seemingly illogical diversity. Education of people with autism will probably need consideration of such factors.

Cole Davis

Norwich

It is nearly two years since the prime minister promised to “fix the crisis in social care” and yet he has done nothing.

When I was younger, I would get social care support to help me learn life skills, such as how to travel independently. Now I’ve got a job, have a family and own my home. I would like to see a lot more young people getting the support that I received to help them get their dream job, their own home and a family.

The prime minister must remember that it isn’t just older people who need help. Half of the social care budget is spent on working-aged disabled adults and nearly one in five people who receive long-term support have a learning disability.

The pandemic has been more challenging for people with learning disabilities. Seven in 10 people have had their social care support cut. This is not acceptable. One in six are still not receiving any help. It has left lots of people stuck at home with higher support needs and poor mental health.

Social care is important to people with a learning disability because many can’t live their lives without it. Some people have high support needs and need help getting dressed, eating, and budgeting, while others just need a bit of support to help them get out of the house. Social care helps people with a learning disability develop their confidence and skills so they can be more independent, lead the way and have good-quality lives.

Social care reform needs to be good news, not bad news, for people with a learning disability.

Ismail Kaji

Parliamentary support officer, Mencap