Jacob Rees-Mogg should be the new Tory leader – to ensure they’re never in power again

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Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Tuesday (Reuters)

Jacob Rees-Mogg is quoted as saying “the Tories need to show the public what they believe in” at a Conservative conference fringe event. I would suggest that after seven years of austerity, which largely affected the less well-off, most people know exactly what they believe in – insecure zero-hours contracts, high housing costs and a gradually privatised health service to mention just a few results of their policies.

While I find the sight and sound of Rees-Mogg odious in the extreme, I would be happy to see him replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader since it would ensure that the Tories were out of power for at least a decade.

Patrick Cleary
Honiton

A spot of advice for the Tories

Theresa May says: “Shape up”. Ruth Davidson says: “Man up”. I say: “Give up”.

Patrick Cosgrove
Bucknell

Brexit is not responsible for the collapse of Monarch

Simon Watson’s implication (Letters) that the collapse of Monarch was connected to Brexit is erroneous to say the least. Monarch collapsed because it failed to react to competition from the low-cost airlines and this is due to consumer preference. The seeds of this were sown years before Brexit. You might just as well blame Brexit for Liverpool FC’s current leaky defence.

Mark Thomas
Histon

Americans overestimate their self-control

The powerful American gun lobby is well rehearsed at constructing disingenuous arguments to rationalise its intransigent belief in a citizen’s right to bear arms of mass murder.

However, a state’s profoundly inept underestimation of its statutory duty to legislate gun controls has a direct correlation to the population’s naively arrogant overestimation of human nature’s powers of self-control.

We need to accept our inherent limitations, and entrust the state to protect our better communities from our worse selves. Gun control is a “no-brainer”.

Mark Dyer
Rockingham

When the right to bear arms goes wrong

Again the sad news of more deaths from a lone gunman. One gun is enough for protection; normally two guns would be the most you could hold and fire; but 23 guns is a sign of an individual, and sadly society, going insane.

The right to bear arms can be discussed and agreed on but there should be no right to have a truck load of military weapons.

Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia

Why is the PM keeping Boris in the Cabinet?

In response to questions regarding Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister has made the point that she does not want a Cabinet full of “yes men”.

Can we assume she is happy to have in her Cabinet unreliable, disloyal liars? Or can we assume that the Prime Minister is perfectly happy to fraternise with such rogues and scoundrels?

The American novelist Mark Twain wrote: “Birds of a feather flock together”. (He is also attributed with saying that politicians and diapers should be changed often, and for the same reason.)

David Curran
Feltham

Boris is the modern day Prince Philip

Nice to see Boris Johnson taking over where Prince Philip left off when he retired. Libyan dead bodies, sacred temples in Myanmar – Boris has stepped in.

Ann Clewer
Canterbury

The Tories need to understand why people like Corbyn

The Tories may be overestimating the real appeal of Jeremy Corbyn. It may be that much of the adoration surrounding Corbyn, despite his questionable policies, is driven by, and inversely proportional to, the intense level of detestation felt towards the Conservatives for their evident preparedness to put party before nation.

Arthur Streatfield
Bath