The worst of Cameron's legacy can still be turned around

There seems a consensus that David Cameron will be remembered by history for Brexit, like Blair for Iraq and Eden for Suez – in other words, for a bad mistake culminating in disaster.

The mistake has been made, but why are we carrying on with the disaster?

Pam Smith

Ingarsby, Leicestershire

It is wrong for Richard Milne to suggest that "52 per cent of Britain" voted for Brexit and 48 per cent to remain. About 38 per cent of the electorate voted for Leave, and the electorate is about 67 per cent of the UK population, hence only about 26 per cent of the British population voted Leave and about 24 per cent Remain.

Even considering only the electorate, substantially fewer than half voted for such a massive change. Can the Leavers really claim such a huge mandate or indeed any mandate for this?

Philip Nalpanis

St Albans

I am surprised by your rather generous summation of David Cameron's achievements in today's editorial. My opinion of him, formed in the first few weeks after the 2010 election, was "Incompetent at home; embarrassing abroad". I have seen no reason since to revise that assessment.

John Sculpher

Wickham Market

I voted to remain, and was devastated when the result was to leave. However, the only way for us to prosper is with optimism in our future. At the moment we rely heavily on foreign investment, perhaps that now can change, and we can see a return to high reputation British goods, made by British companies, in Britain; perhaps even resurrect our own motor industry. That is my hope for our future outside Europe.

John Hudson

Alvaston, Derby

The other mainstream political parties have agreed not to contest Labour’s retention of the Batley and Spen seat at Westminster. This is a display of respect for the late Jo Cox MP and of abhorrence at the manner in which the vacancy arose.

It also creates a rare opportunity to trial an innovation which might have become general practice had the AV electoral reform been adopted. That is for one party to field more than one candidate in the same constituency, effectively combining a primary election or final stage of the candidate selection process with the parliamentary election itself.

In calmer times this could simply have been an opportunity for one party to put up two different personalities for the electorate’s final decision, or perhaps a man and a woman or indeed a Europhile and a Eurosceptic. Given, however, the potential for schism between Labour's parliamentary party and its new party membership, it could provide a valuable test of the claims made by the rival factions to reflect the views of the wider electorate.

John Riseley

Harrogate

For champagne socialists, Labour’s National Executive Committee members and those on national average earnings, £25 is as of nothing. For those on the minimum wage, the self-employed earning less than that wage, and those on benefits, £25 is a large chunk of a week’s income. Thus it is that even Labour’s NEC seeks to silence the voice of the poor. Thus it is that once again we see how money — be it through party funding inequalities, wealthy media distortions, or assessments from well-paid vantage points — is used to affect election results. And thus it is that the fairness of elections and election results is something of a myth.

Peter Cave

London W1

Corbyn's unelectable policies.... Anti-Trident? Anti-austerity? Surely such unpopular policies make any major political party in these isles unelectable? Try telling that to Nicola Sturgeon!

Kevin Chandler

Holmfirth, West Yorkshire

Which part of the word "challenger" do so many Labour MPs and media commentators apparently have so much difficulty in understanding?

How could the incumbent of any post ever be construed as a "challenger" for that post?

David Maugham Brown

York

In the rush to embrace Chinese teaching methods for mathematics, we need to tread carefully. Last week I met a Chinese family during a walk and we ended up having lunch together. The father, a business man from Hong Kong, was intending to bring his young family to the UK so that his children would have an English education; he had two reasons for this move. Firstly, the Chinese system put too much strain on children - to achieve the results, they had to work until midnight. Secondly, the Chinese system, because it emphasised rote learning, did not encourage creativity. His exact words were that the system produced "good labourers".

This is not to say that our system could not be improved, but we should be aware of the limitations of rote learning encouraged by government education policies.

Brian Dalton

Ecclesall, Sheffield

Many complain that politicians aren’t worth their £74,962 annual salary (plus supplementary entitlements and expenses), yet they must be applauded for producing an impromptu out of season pantomime this summer while performing their ministerial duties as well.

I haven’t been so consistently entertained since House of Cards was on TV. Tony (“Oh no I didn’t!”- “Oh yes you did!”) Blair and David ("Booooooooooo!") Cameron are dastardly evil villains; Jeremy Corbyn is outstanding as the courageous under-siege hero (“They’re behind you!”) and Owen Eagle is brilliantly cast as the ludicrous, bumbling dame. Keep up the good work, BBC; this is reality TV at its very best!

Andy Halewood

Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire