Politicians need to stop using pensioners as scapegoats for the country's problems

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The problems in the NHS have been blamed on Britain’s ageing population (Getty)

I wonder if we can stop using Jeremy Hunt’s favourite phrase, “an ageing population”? In the past month I have heard it used by politicians to explain the crisis in the NHS (“too many old people needing care and blocking hospital beds”), the crisis in the economy (“pensions are too expensive”), the crisis in the prison service (“too many older prisoners is leading to overcrowding”), the housing crisis (“too many old people are living in houses too big for them and they ought to downsize”) and the crisis in the provision of social care (“too many older people need help at home”). The ageing population is also blamed for Brexit – older people voted for it and younger people did not, it seems.

As a general all round politician’s excuse, the “ageing population” certainly ticks all the boxes. Indeed, with a little imagination, a creative politician might be able to find some plausible way of blaming the ageing population for global warming and international terrorism.

Our masters have had plenty of notice that there would be, in 2017, a larger number of old people than hitherto. It was 1947 when the UK recorded its largest-ever annual total of life births. In that year nearly a million baby boomers joined the British population. I wonder why 70 years has not been long enough for our rulers to have designed and implemented a plan to manage the long-predicted surge in the numbers of old people alive today.

Chris Payne
Address supplied

We need to approach immigration carefully

Britain has an admirable history of welcoming peoples fleeing the ravages of brutal wars. They see Britain as their hope from the yoke of persecution with super-diverse neighbourhoods becoming the hallmark of our multicultural and tolerant society.

However, “superdiversity” is not without challenges. Uncontrolled immigration place enormous strains on public services. Many lack basic linguistic skills, placing additional burdens on clinics, hospitals, waiting times, GP appointments, schools, maternity units, housing, waste management and outstripping councils' resources and fuelling community tensions.

Britain isn’t racist, but if immigration continues on such a slippery slope, it might lead to serious repercussions on communities, resources and benefits as a whole.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob
London NW2

Threats from liberals are going unpunished

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has been forced to move house due to fears for his personal safety, the party has said.

Once again we see the violence from the liberal fascists who turn to threatening behaviour because someone does not adhere to their crippled beliefs. As with Trump in America, we see what they are really about. “Believe in what we believe or we will hurt you.”

Look at the promoters of the liberal view. Farron and Clegg have spit more poison at the democratic majority than any other party. But others will take up their liberal cry of antidemocratic lunacy and be very extreme in their actions.

JH Moffatt
​Bredbury

We need cross-party action on the NHS

Most well-informed observers would acknowledge that our health system requires a serious injection of cash, either to the NHS itself or to social care. A recent poll published in The Independent found that a majority of the population did not feel that taxes (at least not their own) should rise to pay for such additional spending. Traditionally, whatever people have said on the doorstep to political canvassers, at the polling station they have voted for the party promising lower taxes. It would follow that if Labour or the Lib Dems promised in their manifestos a 2p rise in income tax or 1 per cent on National Insurance to be spent on health, they would assure their own total annihilation.

If we are serious about extra funding for the NHS, there has to be a cross-party agreement over how the extra funding should be raised. If all the parties pledged to raise taxation by the same amount for hypothecated spending, health would no longer be a political issue and voters would make their decision on who to vote for in the next election based on other criteria.

Of course, this would require all parties to be prepared to put the future of the NHS above any short-term political gain. However, purely for reasons of party political expediency, the Tories called an unnecessary referendum on Europe and seem hell bent on pushing for a hard Brexit.

In addition, Jeremy Hunt’s handling of the NHS since 2012 seems to be aimed at providing an excuse for its privatisation, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

MT Harris
Grimsby

Leave John Bercow alone

Those who attack Speaker Bercow’s right to speak weaken his office and Parliament itself. He was surely right to condemn apparent Islamophobia and sexism. Britain expects its Speaker to speak.

Andrew M Rosemarine
Salford

High tide at Norfolk

So £50m of cocaine washed up on Norfolk beaches, yet no report of an unusually high tide!

Tony Taylor
Nantwich