For the Tory party, running the country is all just a game

I suppose we shouldn’t be shocked any longer by the behaviour of many leading Tory ministers, but Rishi Sunak accepting a bet over flights to Rwanda getting off the ground is a new low. It shows just how seriously they take their job running the country. To these abundantly wealthy private-school boys and girls it’s all just a game.

Geoff Forward

Stirling

I completely agree with the opinion articulated by Femi Oluwole published on Tuesday in The Independent.

It is absolutely shocking that Sunak accepted a £1,000 “pub bet” with Piers Morgan on whether he would succeed in sending refugees to Rwanda this year.

Trivialising the welfare of those potentially being bundled off to Rwanda without recourse or access to human rights is beyond outrageous. It is, in my opinion, morally corrupt.

The people Sunak was shaking on are often victims of war or persecution, and despite risking their lives to reach our shores they can now do nothing whatsoever about how they are treated.

Linda Evans

London

On Rishi Sunak’s first day as prime minister he promised that he would lead a government of “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.

Now, 465 days later, in the course of a television interview, Sunak accepted a £1,000 bet from Piers Morgan that his plan to deport asylum seekers to camps the Tories have built in Rwanda will be up and running before the next general election.

This is Sunak’s definition of “integrity, professionalism and accountability” – the revolting spectacle of one of the richest men in the UK flaunting his utter contempt for the most desperate and powerless people on the planet. All Sunak has demonstrated in his time in office is that the Conservative Party has no sympathy for those seeking a better life.

Sasha Simic

London

It’s more than a decade since the UK parliament first introduced the Access to Elected Office Fund to support candidates with disabilities, from parish counsellors to MPs. They did this understanding that to have an effective democracy, we need to have broad participation from a wide range of people.

In 2020 the fund was closed, creating a dismal position for disabled candidates.

Up to 22 per cent of the population have disabilities but only five MPs identify as disabled. If it were a truly representative number, it would be nearer 130.

With the Disability Action Plan, published on Monday, the government has offered a glimmer of hope with one hand but has taken it away with the other. The good news is that funding will return – but not until 2025, which means disabled candidates risk being excluded from the next election. It’s not good enough.

In the grand scheme of things this is a very small amount of money to ensure fair representation for a healthy and energised democracy. Withholding these funds is a total own goal.

For blind and partially sighted candidates, the fund provides a lifeline; sighted guides, transport and much more to ensure access to the campaign trail. Without it, we’re missing out on a massive pool of talent.

The Disability Action Plan offers an interim solution – guidance for political parties who want to support their disabled candidates, to be published this summer, developed in collaboration with disabled people. That won’t fill the void that funding has left.

I would urge government to reconsider introducing the fund in time for the next election.

Covid has taught us we need a broad church in elected office. In other words, equity in public life. That’s how you retain and nurture real democracy.

Anna Tylor

Chair of trustees at The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)