Letters: A damp squib of a Budget from a government at the end of the line
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SIR – Jeremy Hunt’s Budget was the dampest of squibs.
The cut to National Insurance in the Autumn Statement did not jump-start the economy when it came into effect in January. Why should another one do it now? Mr Hunt could have set the course for a real Conservative future: cutting the basic rate of income tax, raising personal allowances, scrapping inheritance tax, abandoning ruinous net-zero targets and building up our Armed Forces. Instead it was same old, same old.
The Tory party now faces electoral catastrophe. And it will deserve it.
John Hicks
Manchester
SIR – Do Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak really believe that this Budget will close the gap between the Tories and Labour in the opinion polls? Don’t they realise they have nothing to lose by being radical?
The only hope is that the next election manifesto abandons Left-of-centre policies and returns to Conservative principles. For example: making living off benefits as opposed to working an unattractive lifestyle choice; outlawing working from home in the Civil Service and cutting its workforce by 20 per cent; and abolishing the triple lock on pensions.
If, however, the Tories’ offer looks little different from that of Labour, voters will choose the latter on the grounds that it could hardly be worse.
Richard North
Stanford Dingley, Berkshire
SIR – I am sad to say that this Budget was akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. The non-doms are already in the lifeboats, taking their money with them.
Christopher Hunt
Swanley, Kent
SIR – As a pensioner I’m deeply underwhelmed by the Budget. What’s the point of keeping the triple lock on pensions if personal tax allowances stay frozen? That’s simply giving with one hand and taking with the other.
Ann Wright
Cambridge
SIR – The Chancellor’s claim that the NHS is the biggest reason most of us are proud to be British is at odds with many people’s experience of it.
I am proud of the principles behind the NHS and grateful for its dedicated staff. But its performance is another matter. Shouldn’t the Chancellor be investing some of the extra funding announced in his Budget in an independent, non-political review of the health service?
Jos Binns
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
SIR – I was appalled by the behaviour of MPs during the Budget speech. Their standards have dropped below gutter level.
Nigel Strofton
Heath and Reach, Bedfordshire
Stuck in hospital
SIR – A few hours’ delay to discharge (Letters, March 6) would be a good performance in my local hospital.
My 93-year-old mother was admitted through A&E on a Thursday with a cracked rib; by Friday morning doctors said she should be discharged. Despite care being arranged at her home, the hospital couldn’t find a doctor to sign her discharge form until the following Tuesday evening. Thus she had five days in hospital that were medically unnecessary and blocked an emergency bed for nearly a week. All this led to her being very confused and distressed.
On other stays in the same hospital she has been given the wrong medicines – or none at all. The inefficiency and incompetence of the NHS knows no bounds; it must be reformed before we pour any more money into this failing system.
Mike Venables
West Lavington, Wiltshire
SIR – My wife, having been in hospital for a week, was discharged at 10am on a Saturday morning. It took until after 8pm (and much chasing) to be told that as the pharmacy had closed at 5pm, she would not be leaving that night.
My wife did not receive her medication until late the next day. The result was readmission and another week in hospital to re-stabilise her. It says a lot that the excellent staff were not surprised and that her bed was waiting for her.
Gideon Prais
London NW4
Energy uncertainty
SIR – I read Philip Johnston’s column with interest (“The Left still prefers myth to reality 40 years on from the miners’ strike”, Comment, March 6), having lived through the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s, when there seemed to be perpetual industrial strife in the UK.
Then, British coal suffered from two main issues: it was predominantly deep mined, and thus expensive and high in sulphur, which caused “acid rain” over parts of Europe. Later flue-gas desulphurisation retrofitting to coal-fired power stations helped the latter, but not the former.
Decades of “green” posturing have seen the destruction of our base-load coal-fired plants in favour of undependable renewables – and a wholesale dependence on imported gas to fill the deficit when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
Margaret Thatcher’s election pledge of 1979 promised 10 new nuclear plants, yet she delivered one – Sizewell B. That failure has been carried through every administration since, with just one new nuclear station – Hinkley Point C – due to generate. Even that is running years behind schedule and hugely over budget.
The rot that set in under Mrs Thatcher has led to energy uncertainty both in terms of supply and cost. Instead of eco-posturing, these are the issues that our politicians should be addressing as a matter of urgency.
Ian Ross
London SE25
Service dogs
SIR – At our regular Evensong we seldom – if ever – drop below 10 attendees. Recently, however, at five minutes to six we were only eight, when the door opened. A man came in and asked if he could bring his dog (Letters, March 4). Of course, he was told. An added bonus was that the dog was under 16, meaning an extra brownie point for the church.
There is now a notice in the porch stating: “Dogs welcome (preferably accompanied).”
Jo Heydon
Rock, Cornwall
Forgiveness for slavery
SIR – The Bishop of Croydon, in demanding £1 billion of reparations for slavery from the Church of England, says: “No amount of money can fully atone for or fully redress the centuries-long impact of African chattel enslavement” (report, March 5). But nowhere among all the references by her and other Church leaders to healing, atonement, racial justice and so on can one find any mention of forgiveness, a basic Christian duty.
The British apologised for slavery long ago by abolishing it in the Empire, and making strenuous efforts to abolish it throughout the rest of the world. It is surely now time for forgiveness.
Professor Christopher Hallpike
Tetbury, Gloucestershire
SIR – It cannot be right to oppose the Church of England’s wish to make amends for its historical connections to slavery, and I will not do so. In fact, a mere £1 billion would only be a drop in the ocean of necessary recompense. Yet I do still object to the general wokery that is pressuring the Church and other organisations to attempt to appease the “sins” of the past.
I would be happier if, at the same time, the Church commissioners were to look at today’s needs closer to home. They should urgently set up an endowment, with government backing, to support the mission of their rural parishes and their requirements in terms of their ministry and buildings.
They could do that and still have several billion to spare on reparations for past injustices.
Christopher Whitfeld
Shillingstone, Dorset
Bruckner’s character
SIR – The organisers and performers at the Glasshouse in Gateshead deserve congratulations for their bold initiative last weekend in performing many of Anton Bruckner’s works.
However, I must challenge Ivan Hewett’s comments (Arts, March 4) about Bruckner’s character. Bruckner simultaneously held two professorships in Vienna – one at the conservatorium and the other at the university – while he was chief organist at the Imperial Court Chapel. Not only was he probably the best organist of his time in Europe, but he was also a Latin and physics scholar. As well as 10 numbered symphonies, he composed more than 100 other works.
To call Bruckner naive and not “one of us” is unfair and unjustified.
Gordon L Thomas
Worcester Park, Surrey
How to ensure that your mustard keeps its kick
SIR – I have the perfect solution for Tim Wilson (Letters, March 5), who feels Colman’s mustard has lost some of its fire.
Buy dry mustard powder, which contains no additives, and prepare as required. I find that mixing it with tepid water about 10-15 minutes before consumption provides the optimal level of heat.
Nick Pope
Woodcote, Oxfordshire
SIR – Some time ago I concluded that a jar of Colman’s was becoming too expensive and decided to try Tesco’s own brand, which was considerably cheaper.
Expecting it to be slightly inferior, I was delighted to find that it had, in my opinion, a superior taste. I have continued to use it ever since.
Bill Mason
Chorley, Lancashire
Night-time saviours of frogs, toads and newts
SIR – When we lived in Hertfordshire, the nightly migration of amphibians (Letters, March 6) took place in our lane.
Several adults and children armed with buckets went to the rescue each evening, collecting the creatures and helping them on their way to safety. The children loved it and called themselves “the frog, toad and newt gang”.
It was the start of a lifetime of caring for wildlife and the environment.
Jo Love
Broadway, Worcestershire
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