Tom Watson’s ‘Trotskyist’ comments prove that Labour is out of touch with its supporters

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Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour Party (Getty)

I can assure Tom Watson that I am not a “Marxist ideologue” or a “Trotsky entryist”. These statements prove how out of touch with the Labour membership a large number of the Parliamentary Labour Party are. I am someone who has supported the Labour Party all of my life. I was conned by Tony Blair, like many.

I want an alternative to the neoliberal policies that successive governments have followed for too long. That's what the young people who are so enthused by Jeremy Corbyn want. I suggest Watson gets behind the membership and supports Corbyn rather than peddling these lies and using the newly-acquired revenue to fight them.

Rod Hartlay
Preston

Tom Watson blames “Trotskyists” for the overwhelming support hundreds of thousands are showing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Leon Trotsky has a message for Tom Watson and his Blairite chums, which he delivered nearly a century ago: “You are pitiful isolated individuals; you are bankrupts; your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on – into the dustbin of history!”

Sasha Simic
London, N16

A week ago Tom Watson said he was not supporting either candidate for the Labour leadership and would work with either. His assertion that Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign has responded intemperately to the accusations of a Trotskyite plot is perhaps not the most reasonable way to start.

David Parker
Holmfirth

Race relations

I agree completely with Kevin Maxwell's article and would like to add two comments about the problems of the poor relationship between the police and the communities they serve.

My black son is very much a minority in the community in which we live. On three occasions I have felt it necessary to complain about institutionalised racial harassment. The latest complaint has been impossible to make as all complaints in the Dyfed Powys Police Force area now have to go through the Police Commissioner's Public Relations Office. Although the IPC says that I should be able to make a complaint directly to the Professional Standards Department, I have been refused access to them.

I waited two weeks for an acknowledgement of the message I left on the answer phone. When my complaint was finally acknowledged, I was told that they would call back to take further details. I am still waiting for that call, a month after my initial complaint. The detailed email I sent has been completely ignored apart from a so-called “ninja” acknowledgement.

Is it any wonder that people from ethnic minorities no longer respect the police and are driven to violent responses when the police protect themselves with layers of impenetrable bureaucracy?

Pat Cook
Brecon, Powys

Trump has not changed

Why only now are politicians waking up to the danger posed by the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump? The man has been acting the same all along. Has has not turned into a monster overnight.

Politicians and the media acted as cheerleaders when Trump was vilifying other vulnerable communities. They didn't stand up to him and hold him to account. Instead they acted as drunken in a bar who were entertained by a comedian. They stood idle when a bully picked on others, forgetting that in doing so they were forsaking their own rights as the bully could turn on them next.

As the saying goes, “I was eaten the day the white bull was eaten”. These politicians were bitten by the snake the moment others were dehumanised and they chose not to say anything. And now we have to pay the price as the man is only months away to the White House.

Abubakar N Kasim
Toronto, Canada

Life as a vegan

Two cases involving what appears to be uninformed parenting is no grounds to throw parents of vegan children behind bars. Vegan foods – which are cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals – are optimal for children.

The late Dr Benjamin Spock, one of the world's leading authorities on childcare, spoke out against feeding animal-derived foods to children, advising that they can cause diabetes and, in the long term, set kids up for obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease. He also held that consuming plant-based foods forms the foundation of dietary habits that support a lifetime of good health.

This is one of the many reasons why countless conscientious parents like myself have raised or are currently raising healthy babies on well-planned, nutritionally complete vegan diets – and our children are thriving. Just ask my seven-year-old daughter, who is incredibly proud of her 100 per cent attendance record at school.

Dawn Carr
PETA UK

Putin meets Erdogan

Instead of undue concern about this new friendship between Presidents Putin and Erdogan (which probably will end in divorce) our leaders should stop all negotiations with Turkey and expect Russia to take in all the migrants wanting to come to Europe. The risk is if the intention of the new alliance is to send as many Muslim migrants as they can to Greece as part of a plan to kill off Western Europe and the European Union, already on the brink of collapse.

Peter Fieldman

Paris, France

Brexit jitters

Murray Stewart's assertion that disapproval of the Brexit result is supercilious, fails to take account of the genuine concerns there are about the way the referendum was won. Accepting the democratic result would be easier if the victory had been achieved after a dispassionate, well informed and objective debate. Instead the Leave campaign lied shamelessly about the level of financial contribution that could be rerouted to the NHS, constantly raised the fictitious spectre of Turkey's joining the EU and cynically, repeatedly and deliberately played the race card throughout the campaign.

Perhaps when those like Mr Stewart who welcome the result are prepared to admit that they would not have won without the support of the prejudiced and ill-informed and recognise the damage that has been inflicted on our society as a consequence, will I too be prepared to try to accentuate the positives, even though I fear there are none.

Ian Richards
Birmingham

Body matters

Hannah Smith is wrong to ascribe the cause of the burkini/bikini story to the “male patriarchy”. The cause is the media. Readers and viewers have been conditioned by the media to be interested in what women wear or do not wear, so such stories grab the attention of the audience. And it is not just male viewers and readers who notice; women are keenly interested in what other women are wearing. The story got Hannah Smith's attention.

David Humphrey
London, W5

The Boys’ Brigade works with thousands of young people, teenagers and children on a weekly basis, so we come across a variety of issues that they face. As the findings from the Credos think tank survey indicates, we’re seeing an increase in pressure from advertisers for people to achieve a “perfect body” image, especially in males. Between 24/7 access to online news, social media and instant access to images from across the world, more and more young people are feeling the need to attain a certain type of body image.

We’ve seem an increase in the number of young men going to the gym, which from a health benefit perspective is great, but there’s also the danger that people try and change their physique by putting their bodies through excessive strain. Sadly, statistics show that cosmetic surgery, muscle-enhancing drugs and skipping meals is on the increase as eight- to 18-years-olds bid to achieve their idea of perfection.

It’s no longer just female images in the media that are photo shopped to be slimmer, but increasingly male images to make them appear more muscular. If a more realistic examples of body image were represented in the media, it could help create a more positive example to young people, some of whom currently feel the pressure to achieve unrealistic results. We are urging advertisers to take a step back and ensure a more equal representation of body image.

Bill Stevenson
Director for Scotland, The Boys’ Brigade