Toronto beats London? Clearly you’ve never seen a hockey match

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Toronto was recently voted the world's fourth most liveable city (Getty)

Perhaps Grace Dent visited Toronto in the summer and missed a hockey game (“Canada and Australia do everything better”, Voices, 19 September)? It used to be said "I went to the fights last night and a hockey game broke out". Carnage, as the Governor of the Bank of England might say. Notwithstanding that, Canada works and works well!

Hugh Woodhouse

Address supplied

Corbyn’s true colours

How generous of Jeremy Corbyn to grant the Today programme an audience with him and how cosy it was for him too. It’s always a good idea to avoid being interrogated about matters of policy by agreeing to have a chat during a break from yet another rally, with the party faithful present in the background as a reassuring comfort blanket. Interesting to note how spiteful this thoroughly reasonable man of the people can be when modestly challenged by a roving reporter.

Graham Powell

Cirencester

Velo-fascism

Apart from further relegating cyclists to second-class road users, I would have no objection to being required to use the cycle path, as Sean O'Grady suggests (Voices, 18 September), were the cycle path given the same priority as the road it runs adjacent too. Currently if I cycle to work from my home, on the road, I'm only required to stop twice. Once when joining the road and once when leaving. If I use the adjacent cycle path I'm required to stop six times: twice at a garage; twice at a T-junction; I then have to use the pedestrian-controlled lights, stopping the flow of traffic. Were the cycle path to have the same priority as the road, I would then only need to stop twice.

PS I wholly agree with his point on mobile phone use.

Roger Sommerville

Swindon

I have to commend Sean O'Grady for the bravery in “calling it” when it comes to cyclists. My biggest issue comes from being a pedestrian and the velo-fascism you describe is all too obvious as I dive out of the way on crossings when cyclists decide that the red light does not apply to them. Almost every day I hear verbal abuse hurled by irate drivers and cyclists around Trafalgar Square.

It is time cyclists were asked to pay road tax and be licensed. A number on their wheel would control some of the worst antisocial behaviour I see. As for the peloton behaviour (very prevalent in wealthy Hertfordshire) I could not agree more.

Laura Dawson

Hertfordshire

As a long-term cyclist who has had my share of careless-driver inflicted injuries, I am nonetheless affronted by Sean O'Grady's argument that I should abandon a carbon neutral, health and happiness enhancing practice (I can't simply call it a sport since I use my bicycle to get to work, to shop, to visit friends, etc) because careless, selfish and often aggressive drivers might run me down.

I, like all tax payers, contribute to the road infrastructure and would consider it highly discriminatory were I to be forbidden use of what I've contributed to paying for. I fully concur with Mr O'Grady that cyclists should obey the Highway Code, and I would like to see those who cycle on pavements, run lights, or impede traffic by riding down the middle of lanes given substantial on the spot fines. To say however that those of us who cycle legally and with respect to others should get off our bikes to leave the roads to car, van and lorry drivers who might in their arrogant carelessness hurt us is to engage in a socially irresponsible blame-the-victim discourse.

Glenn Bowman

Canterbury

Hunting ban should be strengthened, not repealed

Patrick Cosgrove is right to deplore Teresa May’s plan to try and overturn the hunting ban, but wrong in other respects. Foxes do not need to be “controlled” in any circumstances. Their so-called nuisance potential has been both misunderstood and, more significantly, deliberately misrepresented for many years. If we must insist on evaluating an animal on its perceived usefulness or otherwise to selfish human interests, the fox is basically helpful, preying on the rats, mice, pigeons and rabbits which farmers complain about, and cleaning up road kill. Foxes are not “vermin” and are not categorised as such. They should be left alone.

There is no amended form of hunting which would be either morally acceptable or feasible. Hunts have proved over the past 11 years that they will ruthlessly continue exactly as they like so long as the law contains any grey areas that they can exploit and abuse. The current Hunting Act must be strengthened significantly and penalties greatly increased in order to stop this pernicious cruelty once and for all.

So step forward Jeremy Corbyn – a compassionate man toward people and animals – and please, commit Labour to strengthening the Hunting Act.

Penny Little

Great Haseley