The Daily Telegraph - 01.08.2019

The Daily Telegraph Thursday 1 August 2019 *** 17

A

mong the most sanctimonious

myths of our time is the one that,

in a BBC gospel drawl, describes

Leave voters as “left behind”. The

lost souls of this country are, in fact,

our bewildered liberal elite. Take the

Duchess of Sussex’s decision to edit

next month’s Vogue magazine. The

act in itself is, of course, an error: this

metropolitan bible of gaunt aspiration,

poured over with miserable reverence

in hair salons across the nation, is one

of Britain’s most retrograde luxury

brands. But worse still is the edition’s

cover, which celebrates 15 women

who are “trailblazing change-makers,

united by their fearlessness in

breaking barriers”.

As suggested by the air-whipping

rush of an empty blurb, the selection

of females is depthlessly “woke”. It is

an uncomfortable non-coincidence

that most of the choices happen

to be both ethnic minority models

or actors, and mediocre “change-

makers”. One can only deduce that

this problem has arisen because the

selections were made on the premise

that achievement is uncompelling

unless it can be adjectived by exotic

origins (Somali female boxer;

black ballerina) and comes with a

marketable Instagram following.

But the oddest thing about the

cover is how it transports us, in a soft

Californian hand clasp, to a strangely

archaic parallel universe. In this

ghoulish place – trapped somewhere

between the Kings Road during

the Summer of Love of ’67 and the

American Deep South – everyone

is defined by their race, and fame-

ravaged celebrities yearning for a

spiritual calling are boundary-pushing

“campaigners”.

Such an imagined reality is not just

blighted by gaping inconsistencies

(for example, a fixation with race is not

racist if your mission is to empower

minorities), it is completely oblivious

to the facts of the world today. Our

new PM has just appointed a Home

Secretary and a Chancellor who just

so happen to be of Asian ancestry.

Middle England, supposedly corroded

with “unconscious bias”, did not so

much as blink over these excellent

appointments, viewing Sajid Javid

as a competent pair of hands for

no deal and Priti Patel as the new

Norman Tebbit. Not that the elite have

any interest in the Right’s progress

towards a colour-blind meritocratic

utopia. They are too dazzled by

kaleidoscopic tokenism, and too fond

of uttering words like “diversity” and

“woman of colour” to take notice.

Liberal attitudes to conserving

the environment are similarly

antiquated. In the pages of Vogue,

Prince Harry has made a Malthusian

pledge to help save the planet by

only having two children. This

worrying celebrity trend is ultimately

rooted in a mathematically flawed

18th-century theory of Thomas

Malthus, and a somewhat airbrushed

interpretation of China’s 37-year

dabble in social engineering. Naturally

the movement is being spearheaded

by that crumbling-voiced prophet of

imminent world collapse, Sir David

Attenborough (patron of Population

Matters, which campaigns for a

clampdown on the world birth rate).

Meanwhile, eco-warrior Greta

Thunberg (who obviously made the

Vogue top 15) has announced that

she will sail to New York for the UN

climate summit on a zero-carbon

racing boat, sponsored by the Yacht

Club de Monaco and owned by a

German property tycoon.

Ms Thunberg’s green solutions

are regressive. She desires total

elimination of carbon emissions by

2025, even though such an endeavour

would cause world economic

collapse. This latest venture, which

vulgarly combines super-rich lifestyle

advertising with the impotent modern

activist’s weakness for pointless

stunts, only highlights further that

Leftie campaigners can offer us no

practical solutions. Cutting-edge

scientists, not woolly liberals, are the

ones really taking on the challenge of

saving the planet. British innovators

The liberal elite are fading into irrelevance

In a fast-moving world,

backwards, woke

metropolitans have

no solutions to offer

SHERELLE

JACOBS

I

n an interview in Vogue magazine, the Duke

of Sussex has revived the debate about the

burgeoning population by proposing to limit

his family to two children. The pledge was

made in the context of a discussion with Jane

Goodall, the primatologist, about how the

Earth’s resources and wildlife are being depleted.

The Duke said his commitment to the planet had

been strengthened by having a child, but he added:

“Two maximum.”

According to the most recent UN data, the

world’s population is projected to grow by more

than three billion people by the end of the century,

increasing from 7.7 billion now to 10.9 billion.

However, small changes in family size translate

into a difference of several billion people. Just half

a child less per couple on average would see the

population peak well before 2100, before declining

to 7.3 billion. None the less, the latest forecasts are

a marginal improvement on previous projections.

Dr Goodall is a patron, as is Sir David

Attenborough, of the neo-Malthusian organisation

Population Matters. Another patron is Paul Ehrlich,

the veteran American academic whose 1969

book, The Population Bomb, predicted that by the

following decade millions would starve to death as

the weight of humanity bore down upon the Earth.

At the time, the world’s population was half what it

is today.

The group believes the UK’s sustainable

population, based on current patterns of resource

use, is just over 17 million. The last time it was that

low was in 1850. Even if the motivation behind

them is laudable, such targets are completely

unrealistic.

In order for the population to grow, a fertility

rate of at least 2.1 per couple is required. The size

of families tends to shrink as nations become more

prosperous. The birth rate in the UK had fallen

below replacement levels by the Seventies, but the

population is growing at a record pace because of

immigration and greater longevity, and now stands

at 64 million. When the indigenous population

starts to fall, advanced countries import people

instead. Otherwise they end up with a large

number of elderly people with too few earners to

support them.

Poorer countries, in particular those in sub-

Saharan Africa, have the highest birth rates, not

least because of low life expectancy. If we want the

population to fall then we need to make the world

richer, not impoverish it.

Wealth is the key to

population growth

H

igh street shops are in such decline that, as

we report today, a third of primary school

children have never been inside a butcher’s.

This is bad in more ways than one. Butchers’ shops

are fine examples of skilled private enterprise.

They know where supplies come from and tailor

their goods to customers’ needs. They may charge

a lot for sirloin or chicken that tastes of chicken,

but a couple of kidneys, still fresh in their cocoon

of fat, are a bargain. More importantly, butchers’

show what eating meat really means. There is

nothing wrong with vegetarianism on principle,

but a child can graduate from dinosaur-shaped

nuggets to supermarket oven-ready pork belly

hog roast without ever making a direct connection

with meat in the form of a chicken or a pig. The

roast beef of old England has to go in disguise.

A good butcher’s

N

ot many people were aware of the existence

of the Public Duty Cost Allowance until a

few days ago, when it was disclosed that Sir

Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader, no longer

received it. The allowance, worth up to £115,000 a

year, is paid to former prime ministers for the rest

of their lives “to meet the continuing additional

office costs which they are liable to incur because

of their special position in public life’’.

Why Sir Nick was receiving it at all is anyone’s

guess. He was deputy prime minister, which is not

an official constitutional position. If it is to be paid

to him, why not to a former foreign secretary or

Lord Chancellor?

Sir Nick had been eligible for the allowance

since 2015 and claimed £113,000 in 2018/19, some

of it after taking up a highly paid posting with

Facebook. He has since taken himself off the list.

The rules for the allowance, introduced in 1991

by Sir John Major to help Baroness Thatcher,

explicitly state that it is to assist former prime

ministers. Who decided Sir Nick should receive

it and why?

Indeed, given the lucrative opportunities

now available to former prime ministers, either

through speaking engagements or book deals,

why should former premiers receive it either?

Tony Blair has taken more than £1 million,

despite his considerable private wealth. Sir John

Major, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and now,

presumably, Theresa May should she choose to,

all avail themselves of this taxpayer largesse. It

may not be a vast amount when measured against

overall public spending, but voters struggling to

get by will find this hard to stomach.

Unnecessary largesse

established 1855

driven by capitalism are already

immersed in game-changing green

research, in areas ranging from lab-

grown meat to electric planes.

But the prize of tragic lost liberal

luvvie of the week must go to

Alastair Campbell. The man who

invented synthetic spin-doctored

centrist “modernity” declared on

Tuesday that he no longer wishes

to be a Labour member, after being

suspended from the party earlier

this year. His politically homeless

status as his movement slowly self-

destructs carries powerful symbolism.

How ironic that the master of

triangulating should attack Jeremy

Corbyn so passionately for his Brexit

triangulation. The arch defender of

the Remain status quo is so terrified

of change that he has forsaken the

strategic philosophy with which he

took the political world by storm.

Clearly, then, in a fast-moving

world, our bamboozled elite possess

neither the optimistic big-picture

vision nor the practical skills to

analyse and solve the big issues.

And so they have retreated into a

fantasy world in which they are the

moral figureheads and enlightened

revolutionaries of an otherwise

ignorant, bigoted society. But as a

new dawn is ushered in, such lack

of self-awareness can only condemn

them to further irrelevance.

We accept letters

by post, fax and

email only. Please

include name,

address, work and

home telephone

numbers.

111 Buckingham

Palace Road,

London

SW1W 0DT

FAX

020 7931 2878

EMAIL

dtletters@

telegraph.co.uk

FOLLOW

Telegraph Letters

on Twitter

@LettersDesk

FOLLOW Sherelle Jacobs on Twitter

@Sherelle_E_J; READ MORE at

telegraph.co.uk/opinion

Letters to the Editor

SIR – Tim Stanley’s article (“Playing

golf in church is an act of desecration”,

Comment, July 30) makes sad reading.

In my lifetime, everything that

characterised the Church of England

has been stripped away. All its

dignitaries are still in place, but the

people have largely gone and its

cathedrals have become commercial

outlets. Here in Norwich, the shop is

in the nave. Parish churches, where

one could pray, are often locked. If you

do attend a church, it is unlikely that

your priest will visit you, even if you

are ill. Many churches survive on just

one service a week.

The Church I grew up in, with

its large congregation and all its

certainties, no longer exists. Spiritually

one can feel very much alone.

John Booth

Norwich

SIR – I read with interest (and perhaps

some scepticism) Tim Stanley’s article.

However, I am at a loss to

understand how a Christian priest

inviting people to meditate in a holy

building – in our case Peterborough

Cathedral – beneath an artwork

depicting the Earth, can be an act

of desecration.

The display of this remarkable

object underneath our central tower

from August 19 until September 15 not

only provides an amazing spectacle for

visitors during the school summer

holidays, but also prompts us to think

urgently about how we care for our

planet – all within an explicitly

Christian context and a staggeringly

beautiful building.

Very Rev Chris Dalliston

Dean, Peterborough Cathedral

SIR – On a recent visit to York Minster

it was impossible to hear the guide for

the cacophony from young, foreign

visitors sitting all over the pews,

combing each other’s hair and taking

selfies. Even an announcement from

the pulpit could not be heard.

A few weeks earlier we were

prevented from visiting most of

Lincoln Cathedral due to a school’s

leaving presentation. These beautiful

buildings were constructed so that we

mortal souls could praise, pray and

wonder, not chew gum, preen, take

selfies or collect prizes.

Meg Dutton

Newark, Nottinghamshire

SIR – Tim Stanley is being too precious

by half in his attack on the miniature

golf course in the nave of Rochester

Cathedral. Most people would agree

with him that one of the awesome

things about cathedrals is the quiet;

there are plenty of times when

Rochester Cathedral, an underrated

gem, is quiet. There have also always

been plenty of times when cathedrals

have been noisy, not just with glorious

choral music but with secular comings

and goings, concerts and exhibitions,

gossip and trade.

Cathedrals are, today, seen as

somewhat aloof, and aloof is not good.

People may differ about whether a bit

of crazy golf is tasteful, but this

light-hearted effort to lower the

barriers does not deserve the kind

of binary condemnation that Mr

Stanley gives it. He should come and

have a putt.

Richard Oldfield

Chairman, Rochester Cathedral Trust

London SW

SIR – Any cathedral that installed an

18-hole golf course could tell

Rochester (with its nine holes) that it

was “hole-ier than thou”.

Derek Wellman

Lincoln

Stripped of their purpose, cathedrals have become commercial outlets Ireland and Brexit

SIR – Ireland’s Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar,

still has not grasped that his country’s

economic future is in the balance.

So keen was he to please his

European masters that he gave no

thought to the consequences of

supporting them in their

determination to make the UK’s

departure from the EU as difficult and

destructive as possible. I hope his time

in the limelight was worth the

economic and political earthquakes

that will surely result once the Irish

realise what he has done.

Elaine McKie

Appleby, Westmorland

SIR – As Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s

first minister, wrings her hands at the

prospect of a no-deal Brexit, she fails

to mention some salient facts.

First, the EU has made it clear that it

is not prepared to offer a deal that any

self-respecting nation could sign up to.

Secondly, under the present

arrangements, Scottish citizens benefit

disproportionately, many would say

unfairly, from the Barnett formula.

Thirdly, an independent Scotland,

with an economy the size of Moldova’s,

might not be welcomed by the EU and

would find itself with precious little

clout, on this account.

Finally, surely Scotland would like

to keep its own fish?

Andrew Norman

Poole, Dorset

French connections

SIR – Charles Pugh’s interesting letter

(July 29) about how his parents

realised that Churchill was serious in

ordering the attack on the French fleet

at Mers-el-Kébir in 1940, lest their

excellent ships fell into Nazi hands,

offers a further lesson from history.

Admiral Somerville, in his flagship

HMS Hood, conducted this operation

with great reluctance. The terrible loss

of life caused great anger and bitter

sadness in France. But for many years,

we in the HMS Hood Association have

had the friendliest of relations with

our Mers-el-Kébir counterpart,

formed of those who escaped and

their descendants. There are regular

exchange visits between Brest

and Portsmouth.

Something to reflect on, perhaps,

for those who claim that Brexit will

permanently wreck our relationships

within Europe.

Rob White

Vice President, HMS Hood Association

London N

Public space invaders

SIR – I live in Atlanta, Georgia, where

we have had a growing number of

companies providing e-scooters

(report, July 27) over the last 18 months.

These are left all over the pavements

and parks, and are a real eyesore. They

are not supposed to be ridden on the

pavement but they constantly are,

with riders expecting pedestrians to

move out of the way.

Sarah Christiansen

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Playing with fire

SIR – The law on domestic bonfires in

England and Wales (Letters, July 26) is

very simple: there isn’t one. There is,

however, a law against any subsequent

nuisance that having one might cause.

A bonfire must happen frequently to

be considered a nuisance.

Owners of large gardens with trees

must be able to deal with years of

growth and occasional trees that are

dying or have been felled. They

should, however, try to do so when the

wind is favourable and the neighbours’

washing isn’t out.

Allan Wyllie

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Police recruitment

SIR – If Boris Johnson is serious about

police recruitment, he must reverse

the disastrous decision of his

predecessor to ship in managers from

other industries to senior roles.

It is easy to imagine the resentment

of a loyal and effective officer whose

promotion, pay and pension prospects

are blocked because the rank pyramid

suddenly narrows, while reporting

to a superintendent with 20 years’

experience in banking and none in

the police.

Malcolm Allen

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Railway line closures

SIR – Jack Marriott’s letter (July 29)

about the Woodhead tunnel highlights

an issue that protest groups have been

lobbying about ever since the line

closed in 1981. Like many lines,

hindsight has shown that it should

have been kept open.

Electrified in 1953, the line was later

closed instead of being upgraded,

based on the existence of a “parallel”

route through the Hope Valley.

The protests grew when the

National Grid proposed to lay very

high-voltage transmission cables

through the tunnel, thereby

preventing it from reopening. Again,

the government spokesman cited the

Hope Valley line as having enough

capacity for the foreseeable future.

Ray Wilkinson

Greetland, West Yorkshire

Misquire

SIR – Can somebody please tell me

what the female of “Esquire” is?

David Berry

London SW

The medieval nave of Rochester Cathedral is serving as a golf course for the summer

IKM PICS/JIM BENNETT/VANTAGENEWS.COM

SIR – On July 22, the cross-party

Defence Select Committee published

its third report in as many years

on the legal pursuit of Service

personnel and veterans long after the

conflicts in which they fought. Called

Drawing a Line, it proposed what we

describe as a “Qualified Statute of

Limitations” (QSL) with a presumption

against further legal action more

than 10 years after the events

concerned, unless compelling new

evidence emerges.

A QSL is emphatically not an

amnesty, which, as your leading article

(“End the witch-hunt”, July 30) points

out, would be opposed by the

Democratic Unionist Party. Instead, a

QSL ensures that, if a crime has been

committed, a prosecution can

continue to be brought indefinitely,

when strong and previously

undiscovered evidence is produced.

However, as it guarantees that

Service personnel and veterans cannot

repeatedly be investigated in the

absence of new evidence, the QSL

principle received both Government

and DUP support in a Commons vote

on July 9 on the Northern Ireland

(Executive Formation) Bill. This, we

believe, is the right way forward, not

only in Northern Ireland, but in

respect of foreign conflicts, too.

Dr Julian Lewis MP (Con)

Chairman of the Defence Select

Committee, House of Commons

London SW

Limitations on the legal pursuit of servicemen

SIR – You report (July 27) that Sir Nick

Clegg claimed some £113,000 in Public

Duty Cost Allowance expenses in

2018/19.

I am sure that many of your readers

are puzzled as to his justification for

this allowance on the grounds that he

is “still active in public life”, given his

very well remunerated senior

executive position at Facebook. They

may also be perplexed by the six-figure

sums paid in the same year to former

prime ministers Sir John Major, Tony

Blair, Gordon Brown and David

Cameron. With the exception of Mr

Cameron, their activity in “public

life” would seem largely restricted

to campaigning for a second

Brexit referendum.

Susan Zao Clode

London SW

SIR – I was particularly interested in

two articles in Saturday’s Telegraph.

The first was about how Sir Nick

Clegg, David Cameron, Sir John Major,

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had all

claimed six-figure expenses for public

duties. The second reported that

Mr Cameron has finally received

permission to build a snooker room in

his third home in Cornwall. I am sure

it is of great comfort to the British

public that these former MPs are not

struggling in their retirement.

Alan Bristow

Little Neston, Cheshire

SIR – When exactly does Tony Blair

manage to fit in any public duties? He

appears to spend most of his time

globetrotting and adding to his

multimillion pound fortune.

Surely there are better uses of

public funds than lining the pockets of

former prime ministers.

Kirsty Blunt

Sedgeford, Norfolk

Former prime ministers’ six-figure expenses

РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS