Letters: ‘The unacceptable face of capitalism’ is back

The following letters appear in the 22nd January edition of the Independent

UK-based banks, including HSBC, have insisted that they do not help their clients to avoid tax (Getty Images)

Edward Heath came up with the phrase “the unacceptable face of capitalism” when in the 1970s the voters were nauseated by the excessive greed of a minority. From time to time the huge salaries enjoyed by persons who fall lamentably short of their responsibilities is reported on; this should be linked to the remuneration of the lowest paid in the same organisation.

Regular publication of the pay ratios in such organisations would justifiably create jitters in some boardrooms.

Alastair Duncan

Winchester, Hampshire

Jeremy Corbyn does not go far enough (“Corbyn calls for ‘ratio’ rules to end pay inequality”, 16 January). We need “worker” representatives on boards so that measures such as pay ratios can be addressed. When the people who work in a business feel they have a real stake in its success, productivity will rise and employees will be more motivated. We need to get away from the idea that only the interests of shareholders matter. It is the people who work in a business, from CEO to office cleaner, who produce the wealth. They should share in its distribution. A 50-50 split of the net profits between workers and shareholders would go a long way to creating the fairer society that Corbyn and many of us living in this Thatcherite nightmare crave.

Mike Jenkins

Bromley, Kent

I wonder whether your editorial writer who opined (18 January) that “What would be unequivocally damaging to the econ

omy would be unilaterally rearming the unions and attacking business” had read Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s column in the same edition, with its list of those who “share core beliefs about wealth, privilege, capitalism, militarism, individualism and self-interest” and who “ensure that citizens keep to the right”?

This was a classic instance: an assumption that what is good for business must of necessity be good for the rest of us. In fact what the economy needs desperately is unions with the power to stand up to bosses who are currently bleeding it dry. “Unilaterally arming” the unions is a laughable concept, equivalent to objecting to giving a Christian in a Roman arena a sword against the lions.

Bill Linton

London N13

The job growth that David Cameron claims has occurred under his stewardship always takes place in non-tradable domestic services, that is, in areas that do not produce exports and have no competition from imports. This is the job profile of a Third World country.

If we look at the jobs that the Tories claim to have created, almost all are in poorly paid domestic services: waitresses, bartenders, couriers and messengers, employment services and social services.

And yet this non-economy on the verge of collapse is said by the idiots in Westminster to be in recovery.

Alan Hinnrichs

Dundee

Ben Chu reports from the World Economic Forum in Davos (Business, 21 January). He notes that BP chief executive, Bob Dudley, predicts that the oil price could rebound to $50 per barrel by the middle of 2016. On the other hand, he says, the price could go as low as $10.

It is greatly reassuring to know that our top-brass have such a firm grip on what’s happening in their specialist field. No wonder they need to be paid such stonking salaries.

Keith O’Neill

Shrewsbury

Language is vital to integration

I am in total agreement with David Cameron that those seeking to emigrate to the UK should attempt to learn our language (“English lessons for Muslim women,” 20 January).

Many of our current problems in relation to terrorism have been exacerbated by our failure to integrate those who choose to come and live here. There can never be real integration while language remains a barrier.

I started up English classes for speakers of other languages almost 20 years ago, when the first wave of immigrants came from Eastern Europe. Learning our language has enabled them to play an active and meaningful role in their local communities, to gain employment and to make a financial contribution through paying taxes. This means that they are not a drain on our society, far from it.

In recent years funding support for such initiatives has more or less dried up. Voluntary organisations such as Rotary or Lions could play an important part in assisting the process of integration, but increasingly intrusive regulations and onerous form-filling requirements put many off.

Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of Brits who choose to live abroad, and even after 20 years have still not bothered to learn the local language.

Perhaps before we criticise others for their failure to adopt our ways we need to take a closer look at our own behaviour.

Linda Piggott-Vijeh

Combe St Nicholas, Somerset

I wholeheartedly concur with David Cameron’s proposal that Muslim women should learn English. Language is vital in addressing cultural and religious schism. It empowers individuals to communicate more effectively, to think constructively, participate in the wider society and enrich the political, economic, religious and cultural mosaic. However, why single out Muslims? Cameron’s call will do little to extinguish the raging flames of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, bigotries, social, political and economic exclusion and intolerance so prevalent in Western societies.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London NW2

Clark Cross (Letters, 20 January) states that if you want to live in Canada, you learn the language. Would that be English or French?

David Rose

Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

Your correspondent Catherine Shipley suggests (Letters, 19 January) that “it is the responsibility of every one of us living here” in Britain to integrate immigrants into the UK.

No, it isn’t. I have been a British emigrant for 28 years, in five different countries, and I understand intrinsically that it’s my job to adapt to the local culture. It is not the job of the local culture to adapt to me.

Dr Andrew Crawley

Washington DC

Which is Britain’s ‘second city’?

I was puzzled by Dean Kirby’s attribution of “second city” status to Birmingham (“The only way is up, says leader of Britain’s second city”, 18 January). Surely Manchester is ahead of Birmingham in almost all the criteria that might be used to make such a judgment, ie population of both conurbation and catchment area, economy, size and quality of universities, scale of science and medical research, sport, arts and music, media activities, scale of airport, scale of tram system, visitor numbers...

There is a possible confusion caused by the population of the central local authority where Birmingham is by far the largest in England, but this is meaningless in comparing cities which constitute a number of adjacent authorities. If this were the main criterion for city status then Bradford and a number of other cities with large central local authorities would be considered to be greater cities than London, where Westminster is the central local authority.

John Mark Hacking

Manchester

Medics endangered by Litvinenko poisoning

The findings from the enquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko are chilling. I have every sympathy for his widow, Marina, and her fight for justice. Let us not forget the NHS junior doctors and nurses who were in harm’s way, and indeed fell ill, caring for him at University College London Hospital. Their collective efforts deserve justice too.

Dr Robin Chung

University College London Hospital,

London SW14

The poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko (“Litvinenko and a radioactive question: what did Russia know?”, 16 January) by polonium-210 is a reminder that the radioactive element was so named as a political act.

Its discoverer, Marie Curie (born Maria Skłodowska), called it after her native Poland, at that time under Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian control. She hoped that the publicity would help her homeland regain its sovereignty.

Dr John Doherty

Vienna, Austria

Women’s sport still overlooked

Over the weekend Laura Trott won the omnium gold at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong having already won a silver medal the day before.

The only mention in The Independent was a brief line in the sporting digest. Meanwhile there are nine pages devoted to men’s premiership football.

Please can we have more reporting of the fact that women also take part (and in Laura Trott’s case win) in sporting achievements?

Ann Marsh

Sheffield