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Times
09-08-2025
- Politics
- Times
Sunday Times letters: Only working-class interns need apply
Write to letters@ Rod Liddle is right to suspect that the Labour Party has 'forgotten who working-class people are' ('I'm floating an idea to help Sir Humphrey in his hunt for truly working-class recruits', Aug 3). In its search for students with exclusively working-class backgrounds for a new civil service internship scheme, Liddle's imaginary interviewers, Olivia and James, may also struggle to define the term 'working class'. My father was born into an immigrant family in the early 20th century in a high-rise tenement in Canongate, a slum quarter of Edinburgh. He left school at 14. Through sweat and toil he qualified in medicine and dentistry and in mid-life could afford to buy a big house and drive a smart car. Did that mean he changed from working class to middle class? More importantly, should it matter? His children received a good education, never experienced hunger or unemployment and never depended on the state for handouts. Sir Keir Starmer would do well to be less patronising towards the middle classes who, by their industry, support those who are less skilled and who can be overdependent on government HenryGood Easter, Essex Rod Liddle is right that the middle-class liberal hegemony in Britain will not be broken by the civil service carrying out a bit of social engineering. However, the tectonic plates under our political system are moving irrespective of such tinkering, driven by the electorate's disillusionment with the main parties. The inability of the political establishment to deal with immigration and falling living standards is pushing voters to seek alternatives, whether on the right with Reform or on the left with Jeremy Corbyn. Neither has any time for the bien pensants whom Liddle regularly BownLondon E3 Rod Liddle deftly questions what the definition of working class is today and suggests that the interviewer should hold aloft an avocado and ask candidates to identify it. I have a further suggestion stemming from the days when I was a junior officer in an esteemed Highland regiment. While being vetted before being presented to royalty for the first time, I was asked whether I lived in a 'house with a number'. Perhaps this would be a broader and fairer SimpsonCompton Bassett, Wilts I think a simple solution to the problem for Rod Liddle's imaginary interviewers, James and Olivia, is to ask interns whether their parents are able to work from home. Those who cannot will include all manual labourers but also the modern working class, which comprises most people who serve the general population, from baristas to care workers. The present 'Labour' Party has generally ignored this latter group, choosing instead to support James, Olivia and state-employed public servants who can work from home while labouring very ThomasBlagdon, Devon Rod Liddle might like to know that we do in fact still have tanning factories in Britain that could provide potential working-class recruits for the civil service. There is, for example, a thriving business in Bristol: Thomas Ware & Sons. However, its workers won't 'reek of urine'. Tanning liquor has long been made from vegetable material rather than the pee once collected and sold to tanneries by the 'piss-poor'.Peter SaundersSalisbury Jim Armitage's experiences in Hull mirror the situation in Long Eaton ('Organised crime is suffocating our high streets. It's time to clear it out', business, Aug 3), but there is one other issue. I have been working unpaid for five years on the Long Eaton town deal. Up to now the £25 million received from the Tories has been money well spent but I am dubious regarding the final project: improving the high street. The biggest issue is the amount of empty shops and poor planning control by the council. The town has all the major supermarkets, two of them offering several franchises or 'shops within shops'. This has caused a migration of businesses that offered those services from the high street, leaving empty units that have been filled by barbers and vape AllanLong Eaton, Derbyshire Regarding high street shops selling illegal tobacco, perhaps cigarette prices are simply too high for consumers to buy them through the proper channels. I don't smoke but sympathise with those looking for a way to feed their addiction on a budget. Why confiscate these illegal products without jailing the criminals who are selling them?Chris KentLoughton, Essex Anyone in education can tell you it is vital that a teacher maintains control of their class. It is also essential that our prime minister retains control of his MPs ('How Gaza engulfed Starmer', politics, Aug 3). Once lost, control is never regained. The students know that they have control and have no intention of giving it back. And even though there may be those keen who are keen to achieve and work hard, their efforts are continually undermined by the actions of others. Sir Keir Starmer has lost control of his backbenchers and possibly also the cabinet. Like the failing teacher who struggles on despite the class achieving little, I can assure him that things are unlikely to get ForshawBolton Sir Keir Starmer is not the problem. While I was watching a rerun of The West Wing recently, a character made the point that 'democracy is about how we choose who gets the blame'. Pretenders to the throne Margaret WakelinAlsager, Cheshire As a 77-year-old I put my good health down to an active, mainly outdoors lifestyle ('Boomers won't be beaten in the race to stay young', Aug 3). On moving to London, I walked more than three miles to and from my school. Holidays from the age of 16 to 21 were mainly spent working on building sites. The experience taught me many skills that helped no end when undertaking DIY and gardening in later life. As we got older, my wife and I spent many summers walking in Europe and Australia, where our son and grandchildren live. Foolishly, in my fifties, I planted yew, hornbeam, laurel and beech hedges in my garden, which take many weeks each year to shape and cut back. It does help to me keep fit and healthy, HuggettAbinger Hammer, Surrey The article about Andy Parsons and Rebecca Adlington ('Miscarriage affects men too', magazine, Aug 3) states that parents can receive backdated baby loss certificates. Unfortunately, this scheme is not available in Wales. I experienced three miscarriages in the 1990s, two while living in England and one in Wales. I applied for baby loss certificates when they became available last year but as I now live in Wales, I cannot receive them. Despite asking various ministers and public bodies in Wales, no one has given me a satisfactory LondonPenarth, Vale of Glamorgan Matthew Syed's logic seems flawless ('Populists will break the law to halt migration, unless we change it first', comment, Aug 3) but he stops short of the final hurdle: identifying exactly how illegal immigrants can be sent back when nobody will accept them. Until we resolve that issue, progress will be CurrieWinchester Regarding Fiona Menzies' remarks in the article 'Forgotten records reveal Edinburgh Zoo's wild side' (Aug 3), Gerald Durrell was clear in his books that he was collecting animals and learning how to look after them to sell to zoos to fund his trips. Those zoos bought both animals and the knowledge of how to look after them in captivity, which allowed for their conservation and the eventual return of their progeny to the wild, if possible. Sadly most zoos at that time were more interested in exhibiting than conservation and, in the end, he felt he had to start his own zoo — in NicholasMuckart, Clackmannanshire I congratulate Ioan Marc Jones on his considerable achievement ('One year and 42 cathedrals: my quest to fulfil a vaulting ambition', news review, Aug 3). My meagre effort one summer was to visit every Anglican cathedral reachable by public transport while on a day trip from London. I managed only SimmondsWaterlooville, Hants Stephen Bleach's item on common sense and honesty was excellent (comment, Aug 3). He talks about politicians' 'painfully transparent untruths' and of an 'epidemic of insincerity' but let's call it what it is: lying. It is often lying by omission, but it is lying PriceKinver, Staffs Thank you for an interesting item about Google's latest AI tool and how we'll soon be interacting with the web ('Why Google is binning googling', Aug 3). I was grateful to be able to read it in my newspaper, the death of which, happily, appears to have been greatly Parry-LangdonCardiff I would much rather Jack Ling had used a taxi or indeed his own two feet to explore Vienna: it's a fairly compact city ('The Grand Tour', travel, Aug 3). I've often thought tourist carriage rides (often in hot weather) are tantamount to animal cruelty. They should have no place in contemporary Anthony IngletonSheffield Following the magnificent Lionesses' trophy win I thought I would demonstrate the two-touch penalty rule to my wife, whereupon I crashed to the floor and fractured my femur. I was admitted to King's College Hospital and received world-class treatment and a new hip within days. I would not recommend this as a way of queue-jumping and can only apologise for my irresponsible behaviour. A bit of an own Milton, 82, still in hospital receiving physioLondon SE21 Send your letter to: letters@ Please include an address for publication and a phone number in case of any queries. Letters should be received by midday on the Thursday before publication.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
LORD ASHCROFT: Humiliating U-turns. Broken promises. A Prime Minister deemed so weak that he can't even control his own party. As Sir Keir Starmer marks his first anniversary, voters issue their damning verdict
As Labour limps to the end of its first year in office, the marks are in and the verdict is brutal. My latest poll finds that based on what they have seen so far, nearly four in ten voters would give Keir Starmer an F for 'fail'. Among the rest, the average grade is a C minus. Even Labour voters can only bring themselves to award a C plus. It's not just that many disapprove of the Government's agenda. Half the electorate, including nearly as many 2024 Labour voters, say they don't understand what it is. This is hardly surprising, given the start they made. We can imagine Keir Starmer's first meeting with his senior officials a year ago this week. 'Congratulations, Prime Minister,' opens Sir Humphrey. 'Might we discuss your early priorities for government? I assume you'll want to focus on economic growth and improving public services.' 'All in good time,' says Starmer. 'First, cut the winter fuel allowance. Then find a way to make it more expensive to employ people. Oh, and make farmers pay inheritance tax.' 'I see,' Sir Humphrey replies hesitantly, casting a nervous glance at a puzzled colleague. 'Anything else, Prime Minister?' 'Yes. Give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. And rent them back.' If the scene seems fanciful, it's probably because it exaggerates the sense of purpose with which Labour assumed power. A series of U-turns – a feature of Starmer's administration since the early days but now so abundant it's hard to keep up with them – has only added to the sense of incoherence and confusion. Broken promises to the 'Waspi women'; Sue Gray's brief tenure as No 10 chief of staff; reversals on winter fuel, the grooming gangs inquiry, and whether excessive immigration is or is not turning Britain into an 'island of strangers' – these combine to show a Government with little sense of direction. Starmer's colossal turnaround on welfare reform compounds the damage, for three crucial reasons – both political and practical. First, even at its most moderate, the Labour Party has never fully shaken voters' suspicions that it is too soft on welfare and can't be trusted with taxpayers' money. The backbench rebellion and the Government's retreat in the face of it show these doubts to be well founded. Second, Starmer's climbdowns will cost real money: some £4.5 billion, according to ministers' own figures. That means (even) higher taxes or (even) more borrowing, or probably both, at a time when Britain needs neither. It also makes it harder to hit the new Nato target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence within ten years – a policy which most voters support, as does (so he currently says) the Prime Minister. Third, while an occasional pivot can show a government that listens and learns, a succession of them erodes confidence and credibility. 'We need somebody strong at the head of our country to go head-to-head with Trump, but he can't even keep control of his own party,' as a woman put it in one of my recent focus groups. 'What's he going to do on other policies?' asked another. 'When he makes hard decisions and gets challenged, he just seems to flip.' In a dangerous world, people want a leader they can rely on. Despite all this, a fair but dwindling chunk of voters still gives Labour the benefit of the doubt. They argue that 12 months isn't long to correct the mistakes of 14 years. But listening to those who turned out for the party, it's clear that many are struggling to look on the bright side. Few see any tangible signs that Starmer's team has started to turn things around. As one of the party's previous backers told us, 'There's no noticeable change that says, "Labour's in, this has happened".' If the Government lacks a sense of purpose, many feel the same is just as true for the Conservatives. More are starting to notice Kemi Badenoch and to like what they see. But the party has yet to break through and her overall grade from voters was a D. They recognise her conundrum: how to be visible and relevant without claiming to have all the answers so soon after being booted out of office. One answer is to show a proper understanding of what they got wrong and what is needed to put it right. Another is to rediscover what one former voter called their 'North Star', the guiding principles that animated and united the Tories when they were at their best. Nigel Farage tops the grade table for the year – the only leader to get an A from his own voters, and a B overall. He has picked up the extra marks by being visible, getting people talking, articulating people's frustration and turning it into local election votes. People see that his party is branching out beyond immigration to talk about energy, industry, welfare, policing and more. But Reform-curious voters wonder about the practicality of some of their ideas – such as reopening Welsh coal mines, or charging non-doms a £250,000 fee in lieu of tax and sharing the proceeds among low-paid workers – and note the party's expensive plan to drop the two-child benefit cap. Some acknowledge Farage's need to win over voters from all sides, but many will want something firmer when choosing the next government. 'Be a bit more grown-up, tone it down. You've got my attention now. Win me over,' one potential supporter said. Attention brings scrutiny. This year was just the mocks. As the final exams approach, the questions will get harder.
Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Times
AI can help stop teachers leaving the profession
Sir Humphrey's battered old lexicon lives on at the Department for Education, it seems. A recent report from the National Audit Office revealed that officials at the DfE had called the task of recruiting the government's desired 6,500 new teachers 'a significant challenge' — confirming what many had long suspected about the prospects of the target being hit. Something needs to change and AI can help. A ballooning workload is one of the reasons most commonly cited by teachers leaving the profession, and has become such a part of teaching's reputation that it puts people off joining in the first place. AI has the potential to tame the demands of the job so that they at least more closely map on to the confines of
