Latest news with #MatthewSyed
Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Sunday Times letters: Taxing the property-owning class
Regarding Matthew Syed's article 'The property-owning class should take a big hit. Yes, that includes me' (Jul 13), although I am part of the boomer generation that has benefited enormously from rising property prices since the 1970s, so, too, have our children and grandchildren. They have benefited from the Bank of Mum and Dad/Granny and Grandad. In the main, us oldies did not benefit from such munificence from our elders. My first rent was 67 per cent of my salary, a higher percentage than the average today. It made me determined to own my own home. I achieved that after working six evening jobs in addition to my main job. Then came property investments. Rather than tax breaks, what made buying property attractive was a steady additional income that could be saved while working (and invested in equities), while continuing to provide an income if I was ever out of work or decided to retire. Generally, the young eat out more often, go on holiday more often, buy takeaway coffees more often and expect a better work/life balance while expecting the government to help them out. Life is about choices. Victoria Mitchell Kingsclere, Hants
Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Sunday Times letters: Rise of Reform and re-educating youth
Write to letters@ Matthew Syed is right that our political class has become detached from those basic human concerns that Nigel Farage is so adept at plugging into ('Understand moral universalism's failures and we'll understand Farage', comment, May 4). And he is right that people want a return to sanity. But to that I would add common sense, fairness and justice. Whether it be immigration, social care, victims' rights or any of the myriad reasons why Labour and Conservatives took such a pounding in the local elections, the common denominator is injustice and unfairness, both of which the British people abhor. So yes, we do want the change that Sir Keir Starmer keeps promising but he needs to demonstrate that he understands what
