Austerity is definitely not over, and we can't ignore the damage that has already been done

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May's announcement ‘reveals a deeply immoral sense of entitlement over and nonchalance towards the British people' (Reuters)

The decision by the Conservatives to force ordinary people to unconditionally absorb the full cost of bailing out bankers a decade ago on the basis of economic “necessity” was based on a vicious lie peddled to the public, and swallowed earnestly and propagated by many self-appointed “experts”.

That Theresa May has now announced a policy-thin end to austerity – ignoring the irrevocable damage which she and her government have inflicted on countless lives – reveals a deeply immoral sense of entitlement over and nonchalance towards the British people.

Only the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn truly offers a path out of our current predicament, and the prime minister should stop damaging Britain by calling a general election immediately.

Jumbo Chan
Labour Councillor for Kensal Green Ward

Unilever’s plans are only temporary, mark my words

Unilever can afford to wait until its shares get shaky and start to fall. Then these Brit loyalists will sell up, be replaced [by other shareholders] and Unilever will move [out of the UK]. And Marmite will be sold in a windmill shaped container.

Name and address supplied

Who is Brexit really serving?

Who, more than Boris Johnson, David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg all together, wants Britain out of Europe?

Vladimir Putin.

Would that be because he considers it to be in the best interests of Britain and Europe that we leave? Wake up, Britain!

David McLean
Billericay

Let’s get back to nature

I could not agree more with Caroline Lucas about people needing to connect with nature. The presence of green spaces and trees is essential to our wellbeing. I also agree that we need to preserve our wildlife. I travelled in Eastern Europe for two months in the spring, I heard a cuckoo every day. I saw wildlife, birds, insects and wildflowers as I recall them in the UK, from my childhood in the Fifties and Sixties. We must act – our country is indeed the poorer for a reduction in our natural flora and fauna. The teaching of nature studies in primary schools would be a good start. My love of nature started at school at a very young age.

Jackie Slipper
Beaconsfield

Here’s my advice to the Lib Dems

Having watched our two main parliamentary parties fail to reach a coherent position on Brexit in their respective conferences, am I alone in thinking the Liberal Democrats are missing a trick?

As a small party, they have struggled to make themselves heard under Sir Vince Cable’s leadership, despite being the only national party to have a clear, workable resolution to the Brexit impasse (via a second referendum), which they are united around. They seek, but struggle, to define a base of new policies, distinct from their central opposition to Brexit, which could appeal to the electorate in a potential snap election. Nothing from their recent conference suggests they have succeeded in defining themselves as a credible opposition party.

But how much sustained pressure could this damaged Conservative government take from a united and concerted opposition push for a second referendum?

If successful, the Lib Dems would achieve their primary goal of a people’s vote, regain some self-confidence and possibly even some credibility in the eyes of the wider electorate. If they fail, they might remain a small party in the margins of the picture. Either way, they will have vastly increased their profile through such a daring strategy. Given where they currently are, this feels like a risk worth taking.

Stuart Richardson
Cirencester

Just out of interest

What’s with the ever increasing use of “to be honest”? First of all by nearly every sportsperson but now infiltrating the media and the politicians. Do they mean they weren’t being honest the rest of the time? Surely not!

Margot Bremner
Camberwell, Australia