The Times - UK (2020-10-15)

26 1GM Thursday October 15 2020 | the times

Letters to the Editor

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Sir, Alice Thomson hits the nail on

the head. It is soul-destroying that the

government has dismissed the pleas

of all those who really understand the

value and benefits of locally produced

food. The standards we demand of

farmers in our country are far better

than those in most countries. Why

should we not expect others to

observe the same standards? Sir

James Dyson clearly understands the

potential for farming in this country

and he speaks for all our farmers

when he says “Why import when we

have some of the best soil in the

world and can grow most food here?”

Our politicians should sit up and

listen, if not to Sir James then to all

those who have signed the NFU

petition calling for the government to

reconsider the Agriculture Bill.

Claire Macdonald

Cookery writer, Kinloch Lodge,

Isle of Skye

Sir, If the consumer chooses US beef

over British beef, so be it. However,

the free market is underpinned by the

consumer being given clear

information so as to make an educated

choice. We have been blessed so far

with uniform and high standards of

production within the EU. We have

National unity

Sir, Daniel Finkelstein’s analysis of the

knock-on effects of different policy

options is spot on, and so is his

conclusion (“Why Johnson should

hug Starmer close”, Comment, Oct

14). The only way for us to confront

the issues involved in dealing with the

pandemic is for the government and

opposition to work together. There is

an imminent danger of party politics

taking control of decisions, brought

sharply into focus by the statement by

Sir Keir Starmer.

For the sake of the nation, Boris

Johnson needs to reach out to Sir

also been blessed with assurance

schemes such as Red Tractor and our

own supermarkets, which set and

inspect for high environmental and

welfare standards. However, very soon

complexities such as hormone feeding,

different rates of antibiotic use and

pesticide use, and different abattoir

methods, will be added to the

smorgasbord of variations in

production methods. None of this will

be overseen by our government or our

supermarkets and realistically none of

this will ever appear on a label.

Clare Lees

Organic beef farmer, Lytchett

Minster, Dorset

Sir, How are we to compete with

imports from countries that have little

or no regard for animal welfare, are

pumping livestock full of hormones to

make them fatten quickly and cheaply,

and produce hormone-tainted milk?

These animals have a very short

lifespan and are kept in appalling

conditions. Farming has no future

under this government; I am not

concerned only about our industry

but about the health of the nation.

Doreen Forsyth

Ret’d dairy farmer, Amble,

Northumberland

Dearth of humour

Sir, I enjoyed Libby Purves’s take on

my speech about our “crap” sherry

decanter (“Po-faced office culture is

killing our sense of humour”, Oct 14).

At last, someone who understands

that it was an attempt at humour and

not something darker. She is right

when she says that the modern

workplace is a hostile place for

humour. Nearly everything is off

limits, which is difficult because a joke

needs a victim to be funny.

Because I was forced to reinvent

myself after I left Ratners (my book

Reinvent Yourself comes out next

month) I now make speeches all

round Europe. I can get away with

making jokes in it because the butt of

the jokes is me. That said, given the

pandemic it’s possible that I will have

to reinvent myself again.

Gerald Ratner

Cookham, Berks

Race hate inquiry

Sir, Inciting racial hatred is heinous

but in this case the police really do

have better things to do (“Police

target Starkey over remarks on black

people”, Oct 14). David Starkey and

his interviewer may have been crass

but as a member of the public who

has been assaulted in street crime

more than once, I can’t help feeling

that Dr Starkey is a soft target and an

easy statistic. I would rather the police

concentrated on more serious crime.

Simon Bell

Coventry

Garden adornment

Sir, Glyn Hammond (letter, Oct 13)

resents the presence of bred pheasants

on his property. I could not agree less.

These visitors to my garden provide

the drama of territorial disputes, the

romance of courtship, the intrigue of

hidden nesting and the beauty of

plumage. And if they are in my garden

they are less likely to be slaughtered

across the valley by Hooray Henries

with more money than sense.

Jim Norris

Broadwas-on-Teme, Worcs

Sensational Swede

Sir, Not only did Bjorn Borg possess

all of Nadal’s qualities (letter, Oct 14)

but he also demonstrated those of

Federer and Djokovic, winning 11

grand slam titles and five Wimbledon

singles titles. But for his early

retirement Borg would have the best

record. And as well as being the

greatest ever player, he is the coolest.

Lindsay Blair

London N6

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Impact of ‘white

privilege’ theory

Sir, Professor Matthew Goodwin

observes that invoking “white

privilege” instantly confers a

dangerous status deficit to all

working-class boys from white

families, even before they commence

their education (“White privilege

theory ‘destroys’ prospects for

working-class boys, Oct 14).

As one such boy growing up in

Toxteth, Liverpool, and as a recipient

of free school meals, I don’t recall ever

thinking that I was disadvantaged but

I certainly never assumed I was

privileged. This attitude of white

privilege, and the lack of attention

given to white working-class children

compared with other groups, will

have grave socio-economic and

socio-political consequences. The

work of the Commons education

committee must help not only in

releasing the huge untapped

potential in this group of young

people but also in assuaging the

threat of a destabilisation of the fabric

of this country.

Professor Peter P Edwards, FRS

Department of chemistry, Oxford

University

Sir, I agree that “white privilege theory

‘destroys’ prospects for working class

boys”. They are unjustly neglected in

our new scheme of things. This has

wider implications. I was born in 1939:

am I responsible for the wrongdoing of

the British Empire in Africa? Is my son

(born in 1980) responsible for what

happened in the Indian sub-continent

over centuries? Are my grandsons

(born in 2016 and 2018) responsible for

what happened in Ireland? Are today’s

Americans responsible for the near-

extinction of Native Americans? On it

goes. Where does the burden of blame

start and end?

Melvyn Bragg

London NW3

Knock it back

Sir, When pouring limoncello,

the best place is the sink (letters,

Oct 13 & 14).

Richard Kerley

Edinburgh

Safeguarding the standards in British farming

Sir, Alice Thomson is right: this is a

critical time for British farming and

the decisions made now will have

implications for the food on our plates

for generations to come (“Tories are

squandering our greener future”, Oct

14). British farmers produce food to

world-leading standards. More than a

a million people have signed our

petition calling for parliament to have

better scrutiny of future trade deals to

ensure that our own food is not

undercut by imports that would be

illegal to produce here. Sadly, the

government has so far refused to

support calls from an extraordinary

alliance of farmers, environmentalists,

chefs and animal welfare

organisations, all urging the

government to take action to make

certain that this does not happen.

However, I met the prime minister

yesterday and hope that he now

understands why millions of people

want the government to take action.

We do not want special measures,

only to be treated fairly and for

politicians to be allowed proper

scrutiny of trade deals so that

parliament can take back control of

our trade policy.

Minette Batters

NFU president

Keir and include him and his team in

an operational capacity.

Martin Lindsay

Colston Bassett, Notts

Sir, I agree that it is vitally important

for Boris Johnson to include Sir Keir

Starmer in his deliberations and

decisions. Equally, he should include

the Scottish, Welsh and Northern

Ireland governments and they, in

turn, should engage with their own

opposition parties. At the moment,

restrictions are being ignored in many

areas because the culprits do not like

the political views of their leaders.

If we had a government of unity

political standpoints would be set

aside and the country would become

more united in the fight against

Covid-19. As things stand, when

the pandemic gets worse the blame

will be focused on the ruling party

and the country will become even

more divisive.

Alistair Forsyth

Aberlady, East Lothian

Religious opiate

Sir, You report (Oct 14) that going to

church is like drug-taking. Perhaps

Marx meant to say that Masses are

the opiate of the religious?

The Rev Dr J E Roulston

Bonnyrigg, Midlothian

from the times october 15, 1920

THE

MINERS’

STRIKE

Festivals must be

underwritten

Sir, The UK’s major festivals and

events are in danger of being invisible

during this pandemic, despite their

undoubted value. However, there is a

measure that would make a huge

difference in allowing our sector to

rebuild and to help to reboot the

economy: a government-backed

insurance scheme for major live

festivals and events. This has already

been introduced for the screen

industry, making direct compensation

available to cover losses from

Covid-related risks that are at present

uninsurable in the commercial

market. However, there has been no

parallel government response for our

sector. Without it, it is hard to see

how we can rebuild and give

confidence to our participants, supply

chains and audiences, which could

affect our global success in

showcasing our creative, sporting and

business excellence. We urge the UK

government to underwrite an

insurance scheme for major events

and festivals without delay, and

address this time-critical threat to one

of the UK’s truly distinctive sectors.

Sir Steve Redgrave, chairman,

Henley Royal Regatta; Fergus

Linehan, festival director, Edinburgh

International Festival; Hugh Brasher,

event director, London Marathon

Events; Martin Sutherland, chief

executive, Coventry UK City of

Culture; Shona McCarthy, chief

executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Society; Nick Rust, chief executive,

British Horseracing Authority

Plus a further 59 signatories at

thetimes.co.uk/letters

thetimes.co.uk/archive

Left right left

Sir, Dr Jo Deverill spotted the left-

sided appendix (letter, Oct 14). Maybe

my son was used as a model for the

diagram: he was operated upon at the

age of three weeks for an obstruction

and found to have his appendix on the

left. He has always had to be aware of

this and, at 50, still has his appendix.

Mollie Abdullah

Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex

Sir, Dr Deverill is to be congratulated

for her powers of observation. Clearly

this is a case of situs inversus (a

condition in which the positions of

the major organs are reversed), which

is said to occur in one in 10,000

people. The robot would be just the

job for such a case.

Roger Marcuson

Ret’d surgeon, London NW1

Letters to the Editor must be exclusive

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telephone number.

The correspondence between the

Miners’ Federation and the Prime

Minister will come as a shock to the

country. The eminent fairness of the

Government’s attitude during the

negotiations of the past few weeks

and the reasonable attitude of most

of the miners’ leaders, coupled with

the conciliatory spirit shown by the

coal owners, created a widespread

impression that there would be no

strike. Now the country learns that,

unless some way out of the difficulty

be found today or, at latest,

tomorrow, work will cease with the

professed object of “securing an

advance in wages of 2s per shift for

persons of 18 years and upwards, 1s

per day for persons between 16 and

18 years of age, and 9d per shift for

persons under 16 years of age.” This

announcement was made by Mr

Robert Smillie, as President, and Mr

Frank Hodges, as Secretary of the

Miners’ Federation. The delegates

are alleged to have expected that the

answer to the ultimatum would be

an invitation to resume negotiations.

If this were really their hope, it was

disappointed.

On the face of it, a strike would be

absurd and wicked. But, in some

coalfields, the men are stated to be

“spoiling for a strike”. Certainly they

have rejected the advice of their

most responsible leaders. On the

other hand, the Government have

taken up a position from which it

would appear impossible for them to

recede without serious loss of public

confidence. They cannot yield to the

demands of any sectional interest

without considering their impact

upon the national economy.

In our comment upon this dispute

we have striven to be scrupulously

fair. We have recognized the

strength of the men’s objections to

any proposal that would make

increases of wages contingent upon

output. The miners maintain, rightly

or wrongly, that the owners are

cutting inferior seams now with a

view to keeping the better seams

until control is removed, and that

therefore the men are powerless to

increase output. If this allegation is

true, the Government have it in their

power to prevent such practice from

being profitable to the owners. But,

in the interest of the whole

community, including the miners, we

urge that no means should be left

untried of averting what must be a

serious national misfortune.