It’s time for the public to take back control of the water supply

When water was privatised 30-odd years ago, one of the stated reasons was to ensure sufficient investment in infrastructure. In the intervening years companies like Thames Water have done little in this regard, preferring to prioritise shareholder dividends and bonuses for senior staff.

Now, when held to account, they have told us they have a plan for investment, conditional on not being fined so much for not meeting targets, not being required to spend so much on capital investment, and a 40 per cent price rise to boot. What sort of world are these overpaid individuals living in?

G Forward

Stirling

The end of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s political career and leadership of Ulster unionism over allegations of sexual misconduct may alter the course of Irish history in a way not seen since the fall of Charles Stewart Parnell in the late 19th century. Donaldson denies the allegations against him.

When the scandal broke that Parnell had engaged in an adulterous affair with the wife of a fellow MP, he was at the height of his political powers, having become the unchallenged leader of his Irish nationalist party and on the brink of forcing Irish home rule on Westminster.

Donaldson likewise commanded his Ulster Democratic Unionist Party, having recently secured loyalist backing for a return to power sharing at Stormont with Sinn Fein and not vetoing Sunak’s Windsor Framework.

Donaldson’s departure will shock his traditional base, already feeling outnumbered and politically outmanoeuvred in a rapidly changing Northern Ireland.

Paul Dolan

Northwich

At this time of year, I am reminded of the time I worked in a large NHS rehabilitation unit. One member of staff had the responsibility for changing all the clocks to and from British Summer Time. He would start his round at 8am and it took him 40 minutes to get round the building.

The problem was that he set all the clocks at 8am, not accounting for the extra time it took him to reach them. None of us had the heart to point this out, and we had to creep around after him making the necessary adjustments.

Twice a year this brings a smile to my face.

Viv Pert

London

One must take most polls with a small pinch of salt, but the trend amongst such blunt instruments is only going one way. The latest one from Survation suggests that the Conservative Party will be left languishing on less than 100 seats following the general election. A landslide Tory defeat is beginning to look more and more likely by the day.

It always baffles me when politicians do not learn lessons from history. In 1906 the former PM and Tory leader, Arthur Balfour, lost his seat and the Tories found themselves with only 156 seats. The main reason for this disaster was widely considered to be around free trade, when Joseph Chamberlain and supporters split the party over demands for import tariffs, which would have increased the cost of food.

Now 118 years later we see the cost of most things on the rise. The government and others can blame Ukraine, Covid, and even Gaza – but the reality, as always, is that if you create trade barriers you get increased costs which are inevitably passed on to consumers. Brexit was always a bad idea, and all the incompetence which followed has just made things an awful lot worse.

Robert Boston

Kent