Lindsay Hoyle will make a good Commons Speaker, but I hope Bercow’s legacy isn’t forgotten

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I think Sir Lindsay Hoyle will make a good Commons Speaker, but I hope that John Bercow’s legacy of modernisation and more parliamentary freedom for backbenchers will not go by the board in an effort to ameliorate the somewhat divisive tenure of Bercow.

There will be a rowing back but I always thought that Bercow was good parliamentary value for money and the pluses outweighed the negatives. On his last day there were again many tributes to his kindness and assistance to MPs facing difficult periods, and they were genuinely heartfelt and not manufactured for the occasion. Of course Hoyle will approach this role differently, as anyone would expect, but please don’t throw the parliamentary baby out with the bathwater, as that might indeed be a retrograde step.

Judith A Daniels
Great Yarmouth

The failing Remain alliance

Andrew Woodcock underestimates the potential impact of the Remain alliance involving Lib Dems, Greens, Plaid Cymru and various independents. He says that in Ynys Mon the alliance would make no difference: this is not so. Electoral Calculus estimates the results in each constituency on the basis of recent polls: a Remain alliance is likely to deliver a Plaid Cymru MP in Ynys Mon. Similarly, in the Isle of Wight, Electoral Calculus indicates that a joint Green/Lib Dem candidate would be the frontrunner to beat the Conservative MP, and could win with a bit of tactical support from Labour voters.

Obviously the Remain alliance needs to be complemented by tactical voting. Many of us Lib Dem voters are prepared to vote for Labour in some constituencies, but there needs to be reciprocity. The Remain alliance is not just about creating a majority for a confirmatory referendum. It is also about giving a better representation in parliament to that 20 per cent of the electorate that usually votes for the Lib Dems or Greens. If we had a more representative electoral system, the Conservatives would not have the majority to enforce their hard Brexit and a confirmatory referendum would already have taken place.

Giuseppe Enrico Bignardi
Durham

Divided we fall

Jill Stephenson (Letters, 4 November) is writing to the wrong journal with her criticism of Nicola Sturgeon and her bid for independence from the UK, where the government and official opposition are determined to leave the EU. My reading of The Independent’s position is that it staunchly favours remaining in the EU and my understanding of Sturgeon’s position and that of the SNP is that they staunchly advocate remaining in the EU. A simple interpretation suggests that there is, in this regard, a common goal that should engender support and collaboration rather than back-biting. Divided we fall!

Ian Reid
Kilnwick

Hung parliament

Jeremy Corbyn says he will renegotiate a softer Brexit and offer a confirmatory referendum, as that is what his party has mandated him to do (by vote at the party conference). So far so good. But the real politics is throwing him a curveball – a hung parliament. Who is he going to form a government with? The Liberal Democrats? The Brexit Party?

Labour and the Lib Dems are diametrically opposed on free-market ideology, nationalisation of industries, tax and austerity, etc. which doesn’t augur well for governance, whatever their alignment on a second referendum.

If it is the Brexit Party to whom Labour sells its soul, God help us all.

Alison Hackett
Dublin

Denying climate change is criminal

It is time that the UN classified the wilful destruction of mankind’s habitat and our environment as a crime against humanity.

Without a doubt, the action of certain world leaders in denying climate change and other harmful policies in the promotion of the continuing use of fossil fuels will lead to a catastrophic death toll, one even greater than that resulting from wars. Their policies will cause desertification, lowland flooding, forest fires, and drought – each precipitating strife, displacement, wars and death which are crimes against humanity.

The world’s leaders should be put on notice that they cannot jeopardise all our futures without risk of prosecution. It is time for the ICC to take action.

Paul Sonabend
London