Central government has been bleeding councils of funds for years

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The Red Cross has stepped in to help the residents of Grenfell Tower (Metropolitan Police)

Hallelujah, praise Jim Moore for his long-awaited call to sense over local government funding (The Truth about Kensington council’s £274m reserves)!

As a two-term district councillor, which included leading the Liberal Democrat group, I saw at first hand how central government funding cuts are starving local councils of money and leading to all the creative solutions Moore highlights.

The reason for this is that cutting “local government finance” or even the less jargonesque “money for councils” doesn’t generate the same headlines that cutting the NHS and schools budgets does. So governments can cut council funding and stay under the radar. Add to that the fact that most people don’t know (or don’t care) what goes on at their local council and vote on national politics in council elections – which affect their everyday lives far more than general elections do – and you see why council funding is the easiest silo to slash.

Like many observers, I’ve been queasy about looking to make capital or jump to conclusions over a tragedy such as the Grenfell Tower fire. But if there is one bandwagon that can legitimately be jumped on, it’s to condemn governments of all colours for their cynical slashing of council funding. And it hasn’t just led to the Grenfell fire – just ask how many charities are having to pick up the slack from the appalling human consequences caused by councils no longer being able to fund many services once considered part of a civilised society.

Chris Bowers
Lewes

Brexit Shocker

David Davis has promised us a Brexit deal “like no other in history”. Not tricky, seeing as this is the first exit deal ever to have been negotiated by anyone, anywhere, ever.

Where do they get these people from?

David Higgins
Yeovil

Quantitative easing

Coming up to the anniversary of the referendum and as the Brexit talks start in earnest, it is time for the Government to indicate how it intends to proceed with legalising imperial measures to once again allow traders to sell apples by the pound and petrol by the gallon if they so wish.

For many of us, getting rid of compulsory metrication was the main reason for voting to leave the EU. It would be a disgrace if metric fetishists in the civil service were allowed to obstruct this noble aim leaving us only with the negative aspects of Brexit!

John Eoin Douglas
Edinburgh

Royal Ascot should not be racing horses in this heat

Listening to the news this morning I waited in vain to hear that Royal Ascot horse racing had been cancelled due to the extreme heat.

Instead all I heard was a fatuous mention that the Ascot committee had agreed that “gentlemen” may remove their jackets if the temperature reached a certain level.

No consideration whatsoever for the poor horses who are exploited once again in the name of human selfishness and greed. These racehorses will be forced to race to the furthest pitch of their ability and strength in extreme heat and humidity - they have no choice. Hosing down a horse in extreme distress, as we have seen before, hardly warrants the word consideration.

And no doubt the Queen will be enjoying it all, but then her compassion for animals, unless they happen to be corgis, has always been noticeable by its absence.

No matter how much visible emotion we show over human suffering, until we also feel pain for the suffering of animals, we cannot, as Gandhi said, call ourselves a civilised nation.

Penny Little
Great Haseley

Trump doesn’t care about the human rights of Cubans

President Trump says he is reinstating travel and commercial restrictions eased by the Obama administration in an attempt to obtain additional concessions from the Cuban government and human rights for the Cuban people suffering under a dictatorship of Raul Castro.

All the positive and good work done by President Barack Obama is going into negativity and causing divisions among the Cuban-Americans and the American people. When the situation has started to improve in the relations between Cuba and America, President Donald Trump has thrown a spanner in it, causing more harm to the Cuban people than to the rulers. It is retrograde steps both for the Americans and the Cubans.

If he so concerned about democracy, human rights, women’s rights then why has he not imposed such restrictions on Saudi Arabia, the gulf states, China and Egypt who are in the same boat as Cuban insofar as democracy, human rights, women’s rights, press freedom and an independent judiciary in concerned. This is clearly a case of double standards and hypocrisy not on the part of President Donald Trump and the western world. There should be a level playing field and not one rule for some and another rule for the others. The only criteria used is self-interest and ulterior motives by the advanced countries against the smaller and weak countries. This allows flagrant abuse, discrimination, injustice and unrest in world affairs.

Baldev Sharma
Harrow

Is Brexit done now?

Been out of the loop for a bit as I am on holiday in France at the moment, but presume Brexit deal is now sorted. It sounded quite easy when previously explained by Messrs Johnson, Gove and Davis.

Can't wait to return to the land of milk and honey (and £350m per week for the NHS).

Roger Hancocks
Worksop