The Times - UK (2022-06-08)

28 Wednesday June 8 2022 | the times

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should be sent to

[email protected] or by post to

1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

The greater problem for the prime

minister is that by telling

Conservative MPs “I’d do it again” he

may already have driven into the tree.

Lord Norton of Louth

Professor of government,

Hull University

Sir, William Hague writes that “no

individual in politics matters more

than the health of our democracy”.

Sadly we have a prime minister whose

lack of integrity has shown contempt

for such a notion. This was evident

years ago when Johnson hesitated

over which side to support in the EU

referendum while he worked out

what would serve his self-interest

best. As a natural Tory I pledge not to

vote for the Conservative Party, either

at local or national level, while he

remains the face of the party.

The Rev Canon Peter Holliday

Coventry

Sir, An “extremely good” and

“decisive” result: nothing encapsulates

more perfectly the problem with this

prime minister (“A wounded victor”,

Jun 7) than his response to the

confidence ballot on his leadership.

Frederic Reynold QC

London W 11

Sir, No one should be expected to

insult the majority of the population

by asking questions that only a few

years ago would rightly have been

considered outrageously rude (“Scrap

the census and give Big Data the job”,

comment, Jun 6; letters, Jun 7).

Having agreed to carry out an exit

survey at a local Christmas fair my

fellow volunteers and I were

discomforted to discover that we had

to ask the visitors if they were male or

female. The dilemma was that if we

tried to skip this inquiry our iPad

refused to move on to the next

question, but were we actually to ask

a broad-shouldered Geordie if he

thought of himself as a lad or a lass

we risked being given a black eye.

Our solution was to avoid insulting

the Christmas shoppers by hazarding

an intelligent guess.

Mary Stastny

Barnard Castle, Co Durham

Sir, James Kirkup writes that the first

modern national census was run in

1841. In fact the Census Act was
      passed in 1800 and the first census
      was held in 1801. The results of this,

Sir, In the interests of transparency I

suggest Sir Graham Brady publish a

list of those MPs who have lodged

letters of no confidence in the prime

minister, so that those members of

the electorate whose “moral compass”

may differ from that of the Tory

leader can cast their vote accordingly

at the next election, in the knowledge

of whether their local MP possesses a

suitable level of integrity.

Neil Kennedy

Burnham on Crouch, Essex

Sir, Matthew Parris is right (“Dead

man walking? Times commentators

give their verdicts”, Jun 7). The PM

can defend the indefensible until he is

blue in the face but if he insists on

staying, the country will see what the

Tory party could not, and the dawn on

election day will be red, not blue. Lies

and jests will not wash with voters.

Caroline Mallin

Eastbourne

Sir, All I want in a PM is someone

who is not a serial liar, has a mastery

of detail and (perhaps I’m being a bit

picky here) is not a serial womaniser.

Surely that is not too much to ask.

Elizabeth Balsom

London SW15

NHS drops ‘woman’

Sir, I read with horror your report

“NHS drops the word ‘women’ from

online health guidance” (Jun 7). I was

born female and am proud to be a

woman, wife, mother, grandmother

and great-grandmother; I find this

“desexing” (is that actually a word?)

insulting and belittling. Far from being

inclusive, “desexing” excludes the

majority of men and women, who are

happy being addressed as such. I also

think this continual attempted

revision of normal gender terminology

is not helping the cause of people who

want to change their gender.

Jill Hulbert

Hailsham, E Sussex

Living longer

Sir, Martha Gill is right that we are

living longer because we are healthier,

fitter and sharper (comment, Jun 6).

After a lifetime of working and

bringing up a family I finally went to

university at the age of 71. Four years

later I graduated with a first-class

honours degree in religion, philosophy

and ethics. Now, at 77, I am completing

a research masters’ in humanities. I

would love to continue to a PhD but

am hampered by the cost: students

over 60 can no longer apply for a

student loan. Studying in old age has

changed my life: it has given me

confidence and motivation, and I am

reluctant to give it up. Even if I do not

use my newfound knowledge to get a

“proper” job it should help to keep me

fit and healthy for years to come and

thus save the NHS a fortune in care.

Carole Taylor

Gloucester

Sir, Martha Gill is right that “She’s

had a fall” categorises someone as old.

Young people simply “fall over”. The

day you find yourself on the ground

and the response is “She’s had a fall”,

you will know you have officially

crossed the line into old age.

Dr Fiona Cornish

GP, Cambridge

Stile guru

Sir, Sean O’Neill makes an important

point about the loss of stiles (“Quaint

relics of our rural heritage should be

saved”, Jun 7). Although it is claimed

that the Thames Path national trail

has replaced all stiles (even in remote

parts of Oxfordshire), Cricklade in

Wiltshire retains its traditional stone

stile by the infant river while allowing

a gate to be placed alongside.

Leigh Hatts

Author, Walking the Thames Path

Altitude problem

Sir, Giles Coren writes of his irritation

at being overtaken on the near side by

a bicycle (Notebook, Jun 7). A similar

thing happened to me when I was

learning to fly a Tiger Moth over the

South Downs: I was overtaken from

above by a glider. The cockpit went

dark and I looked up to see the

underside of the glider only feet away.

It was not quite the Tom Cruise

head-to-head meeting with the Mig

in Top Gun but it felt it. I pulled up

beside him and made the usual hand

signal one uses on these occasions,

but he did not reply: he appeared to

continue reading his flight manual.

Kevin Lawton

Rock, Cornwall

Corrections and

clarifications

The Times takes
complaints
about editorial
content seriously. We are committed to
abiding by the Independent Press
Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules
and regulations and the Editors’ Code of
Practice that IPSO enforces.
Requests for corrections or
clarifications should be sent by email to
[email protected] or by post to
Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1 9GF

Working like a lord

Sir, It is often said that our
parliamentarians would benefit from
more experience of the world beyond
politics. In the House of Lords we
have that in abundance. People who
run businesses, charities and think
tanks, scientists, doctors, diplomats,
military chiefs and environmentalists.
They contribute to law-making where
they have expertise, or long-term
institutional memory about successes
(and mistakes) in their field.
The reason why some are not full
time in the House is because they are
busy doing jobs, which brings the
real-world perspective that we sorely
need in politics these days.
In his column “Work like a lord?
No, I don’t think I could handle a
once a month shift” (Times2, Jun 7),
Robert Crampton rightly points out
that certain peers showing up only
once a year to the Lords is
unsatisfactory. However, as members
are not paid salaries it is worth noting
that it costs the taxpayer nothing
when they do not attend.
I have recently written to the prime
minister to ask, among other things,
that he consider reforming the
appointments system to ensure that
new members are committed to
making a meaningful contribution
and adding value to our role as a
scrutinising chamber.
Lord McFall of Alcluith
Lord Speaker, House of Lords

Flights of fancy

Sir, Further to Alaric Evans’s letter on
the words for matches (Jun 6), I have
often been curious about the origins
of the various language names for
butterfly, including schmetterling
(German), papillon (French), mariposa
(Spanish), farfalla (Italian),
sommerfugl (Danish) and vlinder
(Dutch). All totally different.
Glenda Campion
Beylongue, France

Day of reckoning beckons for Boris Johnson

Sir, A crisis at some point over Boris

Johnson’s premiership was, perhaps,

inevitable. That it has turned so

messy since the weekend was not.

The problem flows from the system of

confidence votes organised by the

1922 Committee. As you report

(“Pyrrhic Victory”, leading article,

Jun 7), most backbench Conservative

MPs voted to remove Johnson as

their leader. The prime minister is

able to limp on because he was saved

by the payroll vote.

The 1922 Committee exists to

represent Tory backbenchers.

Suppose it had done so this week. It

would have honoured the electorate’s

wish to depose Johnson, the need for

effective government and the

electoral interests of the Conservative

Party — had its rules allowed it to bar

ministers and their aides from taking

part in Monday’s vote. Johnson would

be out, as should any party leader

who cannot retain the loyalty of their

backbenchers.

Peter Kellner

Former president, YouGov

Sir, William Hague (“Boris Johnson

should look for an honourable exit”,

Jun 7) likens the prime minister’s

position to driving with two flat tyres.

Sir, Kat Lay’s article highlighting the

number of GPs planning to leave their

profession because of burnout reflects

both patients’ and doctors’ poor view

of the service that provides more than

90 per cent of NHS appointments

(“Almost half of family doctors plan to

retire by 60, poll shows”, Jun 7). Last

December the GP service provided

29.1 million appointments, of which

45.8 per cent took place on the day

they were booked. If GPs were allowed

to limit the number of patients in their

practice list to those who could be

seen safely, then the NHS would

allocate patients without a named

doctor to a GP service in the nearest

A&E. That department could employ

GP associates and advanced nurse

practitioners to treat those patients.

This would balance the increased

patient demand and limited NHS

resources more equitably. This would

also persuade more GPs to stay in

general practice and provide the

quality of care they have been trained

to offer, and would provide the best

possible care for patients.

Dr James McKelvie

Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute

GP exodus solution Insensitive census

and the next three censuses, were

(with a few exceptions) destroyed.

Thus the 1841 census is just the first

for which the data has been preserved

and is available.

Phil Ridgway

Woodbridge, Suffolk

from the times june 8, 1922

MURDER

AND ITS

PUNISHMENT

Risk management

Sir, I admire Amanda Owen for the
way she is bringing up her family
(“Children need risk, says TV
shepherd”, Jun 7). There is a happy
medium to be had in protecting
children from possible danger, which
can be taught or discovered through
activity. I am 85 and have managed to
survive life even though I have never
worn a helmet when cycling or
climbing trees, etc. What a woke
country we are becoming.
Colin Heathcote
Bogmoor, Moray

thetimes.co.uk/archive

Greedy restaurants

Sir, I was disgusted to read that

Varanasi cancelled 240 reservations

so that a wealthy actor could throw a

party for his mates (“Depp spices up

Birmingham with tale of a £50K curry

bill”, Jun 7). I’ve been a chef for 58

years and am still working. Our family

restaurant, the Drum and Monkey,

won restaurant of the year at the

Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism

Awards this week. A few years ago Bill

Clinton’s security guys came in one

lunchtime and demanded two tables:

one for him, the other for them.

Certainly, was the reply, there are

people waiting for tables so could you

please join the queue. They departed,

declining to wait. I hope many of the

240 disappointed diners do what I

would do: tell Varanasi to push off and

go elsewhere next time.

Ray Carter

Wath-in-Nidderdale, N Yorks

Letters to The Times must be exclusive

and may be edited. Please include a full

address and daytime telephone number.

Henry Jacoby, a self-confessed and

convicted murderer, was hanged

yesterday at Pentonville for the

murder of an elderly woman. He was

almost nineteen. On this account,

and upon another with which we are

not immediately concerned, the jury

that found him guilty recommended

him to mercy. Up to the last, it seems

to have been expected in some

quarters that the Home Secretary

would recommend commutation of

the death sentence. We are glad that

Mr Shortt has been proof against the

appeal of sentimentality. If the

criminal law of this country in

regard to murder has not, though we

think it has, the support of public

opinion, the sooner it is altered the

better. So long, however, as the law

provides that one old enough to play

a man’s part in the normal affairs of

life is also old enough to pay a man’s

penalty for crime, that law must be

upheld. Henry Jacoby, upon his own

admission and according to the

Court that tried him, had committed

murder. In the prosecution of a

criminal design he had, with ruthless

violence, taken life. Upon what

grounds was he entitled to special

consideration? If youth be unduly

responsive to influences or lacking in

control, is it not proportionately

susceptible to deterrence by the

grimmest aspect of justice? From the

standpoint of nineteen, with its

extravagant conceptions of the

length of human life, penal servitude

presents terrors different in degree

and kind from those it possesses for

the mature. If capital punishment be

justifiable on grounds of experience,

is there any but a purely sentimental

argument that deprecates it at an

age deemed in other circumstances

an age of discretion? Sentiment of

this kind is of doubtful service. The

law that still demands a life for a life

does not survive at the whim of the

Legislature. It is a well-tried barrier

against deeds of violence. Society in

this country is ordered by equitable

sanctions, and preserving their

efficacy outweighs the questionable

advantages of flexibility. It is far

easier to undermine institutions of

this nature than to re-establish them

if once they fall. They exist because

public opinion finds better reason to

sympathize with the victims of

offences than with those who

perpetrate them. It is a rule founded

both upon common sense and the

essential elements of human justice.