The Times - UK (2021-12-06)

28 Monday December 6 2021 | the times

Letters to the Editor

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cut instead of proper services, he is

taking a huge gamble.

George Bull

Consultant, RSM UK Tax and

Accounting Ltd

Sir, If I were the health secretary I

would be banging on the door of No 11

Downing Street beseeching the

chancellor to leave taxes as they are.

Rishi Sunak should bury his cynical

vote-catching plan and make sure we

are better cared for, rather than being

better off. The health service is

desperately short of staff; patients are

waiting months and sometimes years

for elective surgery; there is a shortage

of hospital beds; ambulance services

are stretched; and hospital staff are

overworked and underpaid. Sajid

Javid, the health secretary, should

knock hard on Sunak’s door and claim

the money that the chancellor thinks

he can afford to give away.

Robin Laurance

Oxford

Sir, Further to Rishi Sunak’s thoughts

on taxation, surely the biggest

imbalance is in construction. New

dwellings are zero-rated for VAT,

whereas conversions and repairs are

full-rated. There should be a level

playing field, possibly a VAT rate of

10 per cent on all building works,

which would encourage conversion

(which is more sustainable) rather

than replacement. This would not

affect new house prices but would

reduce the cost of land for potential

residential developers.

Martyn Pattie

Ongar, Essex

Sir, Earlier this year Rishi Sunak cut

foreign aid to 0.5 per cent of GDP, in

contravention of a Conservative Party

manifesto commitment to maintain it

at 0.7 per cent. Andrew Mitchell MP,

the former international development

secretary, has estimated that this

move could result in up to 100,000

deaths in the third world. The

chancellor, however, claims that

record borrowing and the national

debt made the figure of 0.7 per cent

difficult to justify. Now it appears that

he is to offer to cut VAT and income

tax, including possibly abolishing the

already reduced 45 per cent top rate

band for the very richest individuals.

Mysteriously this can apparently be

justified despite record borrowing and

the vast national debt.

Christopher Clayton

Chester Colonial museum

Sir, George Osborne makes a muddled

case for retaining colonial plunders in

the British Museum (“It’s right to be

proud of the British Museum”, Dec 4).

Other nations have histories too, and

keeping stolen artefacts to tell our

story deprives other nations of the

same privilege. Would we be happy if

the crown jewels were displayed in a

foreign museum? Osborne should do

the right thing and return what

doesn’t belong to us.

Ben Cope, age 22

Epsom, Surrey

Sir, The argument over the Elgin

Marbles has ignited passions all my

life (letters, Dec 3; Nov 26, 29-30).

When I was younger it seemed

natural justice that they should go

back to their homeland. Now I think

we should regard the British Museum

as a world museum and rebrand it as

such. This way nations might see their

contributions as a global honour

rather than as colonial loot.

Paul Larsmon

Burbage, Wilts

Question of taste

Sir, The head cook at my prep school

asked my class of seven and eight-

year-old boys to write down some

ideas for their favourite lunch (letters,

Dec 3 & 4) so that she could expand

the school’s repertoire. One of my

pupils suggested lobster thermidor.

Rosalind Mackarness

Hampton Court, Surrey

Sir, I was helping a boy to practise

reading in a village primary school

not long ago. His face lit up when I

explained the silent “t” in chalet.

“Just like the ‘t’ in merlot,” he said.

Susan Elks

Marlborough, Wilts

Country roads

Sir, Regarding the greatness of the

lyrics in country music (“Swift

debunking”, letter, Dec 3), surely the

greatest country lyric has to be from

Hoyt Axton: “Work your fingers to the

bone, whadda ya get? Boney fingers.”

Steve Albon

Stratford-upon-Avon

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Rationale behind

Cambo oil decision

Sir, You rightly say (“Politics of Oil”,
leading article, thetimes.co.uk, Dec 4)
that Shell’s decision to withdraw from
the development of the Cambo field
has both economic and reputational
dimensions. No doubt the corporate
memory of the company cannot
forget the damage it suffered over the
Brent Spar issue in 1995.
Shell had proposed, with the
approval of the UK government, to
sink in deep Atlantic water one of the
redundant structures from the North
Sea Brent field. Greenpeace then
mounted a campaign against the
proposal using some arguments it
later admitted were exaggerated. This
resulted in Europe-wide protests and
boycotts of Shell filling stations
(especially in Germany), and indeed
arson. In the face of this economic
and reputational damage Shell backed
down while insisting that, as the UK
government had agreed, its proposal
was environmentally sound.
The paradox is that the bigger and
more international a company with a
large retail market is, the more
vulnerable it is to damage from
pressure group-inspired mass
protests. No doubt Shell had that very
much in mind post-Cop26 in
reconsidering its participation in the
Cambo development.
To put it simply, a lesson from the
Brent Spar episode is that it is not
worth the company exposing itself to
market-wide reputational and
possible economic damage for what is
in its overall business terms a
relatively small issue.
Peter Mackay
Kincraig, Highland

Sir, Alexander McKay summarises
the Scottish situation very well (letter,
Dec 4) but only if one believes that
the serious consequences of climate
change are not imminent. Instead, it
seems probable that these
consequences, such as the loss of food
supply and mass migration, will
become true in too many parts of the
world sooner than expected.
I agree with Mr McKay, though, in
his comments on nuclear power. In
short: we need nuclear power, we
need to stop buying fossil fuel from
abroad — and we need to leave
Cambo’s oil in the ground.
Dr David I Smith
Alnwick, Northumberland

Sunak’s plan to slash income tax and VAT

Sir, Having weathered the storms

whipped up by breaking key tax

commitments from the Conservative

Party’s 2019 manifesto, the chancellor

is now signalling which taxes he plans

to cut, and by how much, before the

2024 general election (“Sunak plan to

slash taxes”, news, Dec 4, and leading

article, “Taxing Problem”, Dec 3).

At one level this makes perfect

sense. It holds out the prospect of jam

tomorrow for an electorate that is

weary of restrictions and hardships,

hungry for some good news. More

specifically, it may mollify voters

whose trust has been shaken by a

series of unforced error, from sleaze

to Downing Street parties. That might

also mitigate the damage at

forthcoming by-elections.

With economic growth unlikely to

fill the gap for the chancellor, this

statement of intent also raises the

obvious question: how will the tax

cuts be paid for? UK taxes may have

reached a historic high but many

voters recognise that the amounts

they pay are still not sufficient to fix

the roads, reform the NHS, sort out

policing, get education back on track

and address the climate emergency.

If the chancellor is hoping that in

2024 people will accept a modest tax

Sir, The question for Sir Keir Starmer

is not whether he has the charisma to

win a general election but whether he

has the policies (“Johnson’s broken

promises hit people in the pocket. It’s

toxic”, Dec 4). Labour’s postwar leader,

Clement Attlee, won by a landslide in

1945. Although devoid of charisma he
      had radical policies on education,
      health and the economy. These
      policies more than compensated for
      the flatness of his personality and
      largely explain his victory.
      Geoffrey Short
      London NW4

Sir, Sir John Curtice (report, Dec 4) is

correct to suggest that the Old Bexley

& Sidcup by-election result is a sign

of disillusion among Leave voters.

Many voted Leave because they saw

that the EU political project mirrored

the way many of its member states

governed themselves: high tax, high

spend, high levels of state interference

in daily lives and all run by an

opaque, non-democratically

accountable elite. Leavers wanted

something different for the UK. Since

his election, however, Boris Johnson

Political projects

appears to have lost sight of this and

he could not have governed the UK

in a more EU-like manner. Which

raises the question: was it all worth it?

David Cottam

Montauriol, Lot-et-Garonne, France

from the times december 6, 1921

ASCENT OF

MOUNT

KILIMANJARO

Compulsory jabs

Sir, I am deeply uneasy about the idea

of mandatory coronavirus vaccination

and hence have to respect a person’s

right to refuse it, even though I

disagree with their decision, which I

regard as scientifically indefensible

and utterly selfish. However,

individual rights should be balanced

by individual responsibility. I wonder

how many of those refusing

vaccination, whether because of a

perception of invulnerability or

because of a belief in conspiracy

theories, would be prepared to take

personal financial responsibility for

any Covid-related medical care that

they might need? Were this to be

required it would be an interesting

test of the strength of their conviction

and might lead to an increased

vaccination rate.

Barbara Ghodse

Little Tring, Herts

Sir, You report (thetimes.co.uk, Dec 4)

that cancer patients are being denied

hospital care at the expense of

unvaccinated Covid-19 hospital

patients. Perhaps unvaccinated Covid

patients should pay for private care.

Dr Janet Voke

Monks Risborough, Bucks

Sir, If GPs are allowed to defer routine

medical checks for patients over 75

they may breach the Equality Act

2010 (“Booster programme ‘on

steroids’ — but not for another ten

days”, Dec 4). Age and disability are

protected characteristics under the

act, and singling out certain age

groups for inferior treatment could be

deemed to be direct discrimination.

Helen Baws

Birmingham

thetimes.co.uk/archive

Dinner party farce

Sir, I share Polly Vernon’s abhorrence

of dinner parties (Weekend, Dec 4). As

a (largely happily) single person, my

heart sinks on the rare occasions I am

invited to one: the obligatory amusing

banter on arrival, signalling you’re

“good fun” while glumly hanging your

coat; and the inexplicable “boy/girl”

thing (why do women have to sit

between two blokes, and vice versa?

Just let people sit where they want,

they’ll be much happier that way). We

prod politely for conversation over the

escabeche: golf, work (“what do you

do?”, argh!) and, inevitably, children. I

feign interest in Ted/Holly’s university

progress, am thrown evil looks by the

woman opposite, who doesn’t realise

her husband is safe, and long to go

home. I’m up for meeting new people,

but enforced small talk over several

hours, and courses, with people I’ll

never see again is tedious beyond

belief. Fortunately DPs are now

largely the preserve of couples and I

just get people I love over for a few

G&Ts or a sausage supper, where we

talk to each other properly; there is no

nicer way to spend an evening.

Elizabeth Ollier

London W4

Bah! Humbug

Sir, I am astonished by the omission
of the 1951 version of Scrooge from
your list of the 12 best Christmas films
(Dec 4). In this household, Alastair
Sim’s transformation from a truly
chilling and selfish skinflint to a jolly
and indulgent employer of Bob
Cratchit is a wondrous annual delight.
Joseph Connolly
Letters to the Editor must be exclusive London NW3
to The Times and may be edited. Please
include a full address and daytime
telephone number.

Mr C Gillman, district engineer,

Tanganyika Railways, gives the

following account of his ascent, with

a companion, of Kilimanjaro, the

highest mountain of Africa: In 1889

this extinct volcano near the equator

in Tanganyika Territory (the former

German East Africa), was climbed by

Dr Hans Meyer with L Purtscheller,

the famous Alpine climber, and

seven German scientists and officers

have repeated the feat in the

following 25 years. Since the British

occupation in 1916, however, no

serious attempt had been made to

reconquer its icy height. On October

14 a party left Moshi, consisting of

the Hon Charles Dundas, Messrs P

Nason, P J Miller, and myself, all

officials of the Tanganyika Territory

Government. Four days of steady

climbing over the lower and middle

slopes took us across the cultivated

zone, then through magnificent

tropical and higher up, temperate

forest (6,500-9,000ft), over Alpine

meadows and low scrub (9,000-

14,000ft), and finally over Arctic

desert to the “Saddle Plateau”, from

which the two peaks of Kilimanjaro

rise, Mawenzi, to 17,570ft and Kibo,

to 19,720ft. At the eastern foot of the

latter we camped in a cave. Although

“hill-disease” had started to trouble

us we four white men and two

natives left for the final rush at

2.30am on October 19. The weather,

under a bright moon, was glorious in

spite of ice-cold winds blowing from

the glaciers above. Unfortunately,

the lack of oxygen affected most of

us and exhaustion forced Miller and

Dundas, as well as the two natives,

to give up the attempt. Nason and I

continued the grim fight over shingle

slopes ever increasing in steepness,

until we finally reached Ratzel

Glacier, where progress became

easier, though cutting steps with the

ice-axe was an additional burden to

our hardworking hearts and lungs.

At last, at 9.40 am, we stood on the

rim of the mighty ice filled crater.

The Union Jack was hoisted where

German climbers had left their

cards. Many photographs were

taken, and after an hour in the

wonderful solitude, 10,000ft above a

sea of clouds, we returned to the

cave in less than two hours, sliding

joyfully down the shingle slopes

which had been so severe a trial

during the ascent. After a second

night in the cave we descended into

Moshi the following day.