Letters: Grave doubts about a tax-cutting plan without savings to balance it

SIR – Lord Frost, discussing Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget and the intervention by the International Monetary Fund (report, September 28) observes: “The only way forward for Britain is lower taxes, spending restraint and significant economic reform.”

Yet the Chancellor has given us no sense of what spending he intends to cut. So we have no idea what his “economic reform” amounts to.

The mini-Budget has no foundation. Liz Truss and her Government must take us for economic illiterates.

David Kelly
Broseley, Shropshire

SIR – In the IMF’s unprecedented and insolent intrusion, one can hear the voice of the establishment. Indeed, one can almost hear the sniggers as they contemplate the fall of our Prime Minister and Chancellor.

I sincerely hope that the Prime Minister will treat them with the contempt they deserve and press on with her plans. It is a great relief to have true Conservatives in Downing Street.

Jim Wood
Rossington, South Yorkshire

SIR – I am embarrassed to be a member of the Conservative Party. In the leadership contest I voted for Rishi Sunak – a pragmatic politician with a plan to steer us through hard times.

I would encourage MPs to submit letters of no confidence in Liz Truss.

Raymond Byers
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire

SIR – Terry Waters (Letters, September 28) reminds us that 364 economists wrote to The Times in 1981 opposing Margaret Thatcher’s subsequently vindicated economic policy.

Perhaps he ought to be reminded that the Budget in question – also set in a time of economic hardship, excessive taxation and high inflation – adopted precisely the opposite approach to that of Ms Truss: taxes were raised (including a windfall tax on banks) and spending cut in order to crank interest rates down. Nigel Lawson, whom Kwasi Kwarteng wishes to imitate in cutting taxes, said that it was on this basis only that his later tax cuts were possible. Is it not time we recognised that Liz Truss represents the ultimate repudiation of Thatcherism?

Alexandre Guilloteau
London W9

SIR – Every two months since December 2019, I have transferred the equivalent of £150 in euros to a supplier to my business. In view of the pound crashing, I thought I would look at my transaction history.

The latest payment, sent on Tuesday, was worth €167.19 to the recipient. The highest value was €179.03 in January 2022, while the lowest was €161.97 in December 2020.

The dollar is currently very strong, and that is important. But is the pound especially weak? Not against the euro, at least according to this (admittedly back-of-an envelope) calculation.

Andrew Mounsey
Whitland, Carmarthenshire

Labour’s opportunism

SIR – It is remarkable to hear Labour claiming that, on the economy, it is the “responsible” party.

When the Government put the country into lockdown – a shock to the economy far greater than anything in the mini-Budget – Labour not only supported the measures but demanded they went further. When Rishi Sunak announced the furlough package, spending money that was not there, Labour said it was not enough. Every time the Government proposed to lift the lockdown measures and restart the economy, Labour objected.

Now, Labour’s only response to the mini-Budget is to say it will reverse the top rate of tax, which everyone agrees will have little positive impact and is simply the politics of envy. This party is not responsible, just opportunistic.

Fr Seth Phipps
Reading, Berkshire

Total foie gras ban

SIR – I was surprised by Ben McCormack’s article in defence of foie gras (telegraph.co.uk, September 26).

The production of this so-called luxury food involves indescribable cruelty, and, although it’s not produced in Britain, we do continue to import it. How does that reflect on this country’s claim to be a world leader in animal welfare? It seems hypocritical to ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese on cruelty grounds here, while still allowing foie gras produced in this way elsewhere to be imported.

The Government has committed itself to banning the import of foie gras through its Animals Abroad Bill, but we are extremely concerned by reports that this ban might be shelved. If we want to call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, it’s time to duck out of this barbaric practice for good.

Nick Palmer
Head, Compassion in World Farming UK
Godalming, Surrey

Sure you're not a robot?

SIR – I’ve just asked Google to help with a recipe and, once again, been put through an extremely tedious test to prove that I’m not a robot.

Even when I correctly identify a fire hydrant, bicycle or set of traffic lights (something I’m sure an automaton can do better than I can) I have to go through the rigmarole several times more. Would it really be a huge security risk if a robot got hold of the secret to making dumplings?

Mark Rayner
Eastbourne, East Sussex

NHS delays

SIR – On Tuesday my husband received a phone call from the local hospital telling him to expect a call from the oncology department on October 5 – four weeks to the day since the scan to see how far his cancer has progressed.

Four weeks? Where have all the billions pumped in to the NHS gone?

Lynne Stewart
Tadley, Hampshire

SIR – The delivery of Covid boosters is oddly variable (Letters, September 28).

Luckily, we responded to a text from our local GP rather than one from the NHS. Not only were we seen before our allotted time, but we also got a flu jab. Friends who went to the NHS clinic had to wait more than two hours.

John Rattigan
Doveridge, Derbyshire

SIR – I was offered a choice of venues to receive my booster jab, so booked at a local pharmacy. I arrived at 2.10 in the afternoon for my 2.15 slot, and was jabbed and out by 2.20. My partner went to Guy’s Hospital clinic, where she received her jab one hour late.

John Skipper FRCS
London SW19

Thatcher and energy

SIR – Lord Howell (Comment, September 26) addresses most of the failures in decades of energy policy.

The short-termism he refers to, however, had much to do with Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation programme. This ensured that nuclear power would be unviable – expensive and long-term in construction, so unappealing to the private sector. The result was a “dash for gas” as base-load coal-fired generation was scrapped to appease the environmental lobby.

The current crisis was predictable. But as long as politicians handle this issue, it will only get worse.

Ian Ross
South Norwood, Surrey

Wellington as PM

SIR – It is good to see reference to the Duke of Wellington’s two terms as prime minister (report, September 26).

In the first (1828-30) he passed major reforms, sweeping away the centuries-old Anglican monopoly on public offices and opening them up to Protestant nonconformists and, most controversially, Roman Catholics.

He returned to power in November 1834 as caretaker prime minister while Sir Robert Peel came back from Italy. It was the shortest ever premiership, lasting just three and a half weeks. He ran the entire government himself, filling all the major departments. Crowds gathered to watch him making his way around Whitehall to ensure his orders were obeyed. “At last we have a united government,” said society wags, with “ministers all of one mind.”

The Duke laughed with them, and enjoyed referring in later years to his brief period of “ dictatorship”.

Lord Lexden
London SW1

Sloe substitute

SIR – We too have suffered a lack of sloes this year (Letters, September 28). We have, however, been blessed with an abundance of quinces, and I highly recommend the liqueur they make.

Janet Whiteway
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire

SIR – Sloes shouldn’t be picked until after the first frost. This splits the skin, so the juices flow. Otherwise, you are left with the traditional – yet laborious – task of pricking them with a pin, or putting them in the freezer overnight.

Percy Grainger
Theberton, Suffolk

Nothing elitist about received pronunciation

SIR – Received pronunciation is not “posh”, as the presenter Amol Rajan claims (report, September 28).

It is precise, which means anyone can understand it. In making speech accessible to all, it is the very opposite of elitist. Mr Rajan is hard to understand not because of his accent, but because he gabbles, slurs and swallows his consonants.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Northwood, Middlesex

SIR – When Amol Rajan calls broadcasters “posh”, he simply means that they speak properly.

He is right to complain that only 10 per cent of the population speak with received pronunciation. The tragedy, however, is that this figure is not higher. Broadcasters are in the communications business; if they employ people who use appalling grammar or have incomprehensible accents, they are doing viewers and listeners a great disservice.

This is not snobbery. Anyone can speak the English language as it should be spoken if they make the effort. Inverted snobbery on the part of broadcasters who encourage bad English is a national disgrace.

Nicholas Young
London W13

MCC should show more respect to its members

SIR – You report (Sport, September 27) on the MCC’s reversal of its decision to axe the Eton-Harrow and Oxford-Cambridge fixtures at Lord’s, following opposition from “rebellious members”.

As an MCC member I am used to receiving “instructions” from on high about what is and isn’t happening at HQ. Decisions are made in private, then communicated to members.

I think a final played between the country’s top two schools, and top two universities, is a splendid idea, but we were never consulted either way. Instead the committee machinery churned out its message that new fixtures would replace the traditional matches.

In defending its position, the MCC committee claimed that these historical matches caused “fixture congestion”. They had been ended to make way for the diverse playing opportunities the club has increasingly sought to create. In reality, Lord’s hosts fewer matches than in previous years and still holds “corporate jolly” games for match sponsors on its hallowed turf.

The club’s actions in this sorry story are akin to tearing down the statues of its historical past. They have shown MCC committee members to be naïve victims of the cancel-culture bandwagon, who seem to believe that old and new cannot coexist.

The MCC committee needs to have more confidence in its place in society, and to show greater respect to its members, who are there to be engaged, not instructed.

Michael Brewer
Bristol

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