The British Social Attitudes survey reports that more Britons declare themselves as working class than in the 1980s (“Forty years ago, class defined us. Now it’s we who define our class”, Comment). After a thousand years, will Britain ever recover from William the Conqueror and the feudal system he introduced?
We have a monarchy and an aristocracy still owning much of the land the Conqueror gave them, with privileges reinforced by public schools, and we have a working class, inheritors of serfdom, for whom trade union leaders such as Mick Lynch, and just like Watt Tyler, see it as their role to fight. With people still defining themselves in terms of class, and with such social divisions persisting, can Britain ever be a mature society, fit for the 21st century?
Seven years ago, I moved to Ireland, and my experience here has increasingly saddened me for the country of my birth. Here, I have found a kinder and friendlier place, with a more grown-up system of government, “adult” politicians and a less strident media. I have not heard any mention of class. Britain has so much to give to the world, but until the concept of class, the privileges of the “upper class” and the entrenched thinking of too many of the “working class” are all consigned to history, inequality, anger and violence will persist.
Mel Wood
Swords, County Fingal, Ireland
Climate U-turn nonsensical
Rishi Sunak has decided to abandon the cross-party consensus on climate policy (“Sharma challenges Sunak: show us how UK can meet green pledges after U-turn”, News). His explanation that this is to avoid a burden on the poorest makes no sense at all. Delaying insulation of homes will keep their energy costs high. Weakening the plan to replace gas boilers will put off investments in new, cheaper technologies. Shifting the date for stopping the sale of petrol and diesel cars will mean manufacturers having to keep duplicate assembly lines running, reduce economies of scale and extend the period of petrol stations having to be supplied and maintained. It’s as if the Stern report on the economic benefits of climate action had never been written.
Richard Gilyead
Saffron Walden, Essex
Proud to cook Mexican curry
Thank you for Yascha Mounk’s excellent article on why so-called cultural appropriation is a good thing (“Should we borrow from other cultures? Of course we should, just as we always have”, Comment). It has clearly articulated what I’ve been trying to convey to my well-meaning but sleep-walking friends and colleagues. Appropriation is certainly theft. Cultural cross-pollination, however, is what has made humanity move forward. Unfortunately, we live in an age during which concepts are bandied around without any analysis, critical or otherwise.
As a Mexican-born Canadian citizen of Indian and Belgian origin, I am proud to cook Indian enchiladas and Mexican curry. As for chocolates, let’s leave that to the Belgians, although the original ingredient “chocolatl” originated in Mexico.
Maya Khankhoje
Montreal, Canada
20mph zones work
Having attended a national speed awareness course last week, Catherine Bennett’s analysis of the new 20mph speed limit in Wales was a welcome endorsement of my wholehearted support for this ban on speeding (“For the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, this ‘lefty’ penchant for safer roads is just too pedestrian”, Comment).
Shame on Penny Mordaunt, shame on the Times, shame on Clarkson and his ilk who feel that people’s lives and safety are a political football to score cheap goals against “lefties”. The Labour Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, is not “crazy”; he has not introduced a measure that is “unnecessary and oppressive” and it is certainly not “another freedom casually seized”.
Just as we were all reminded on our speed awareness course, Drakeford is concerned about all the other road users beyond the selfish car users who need speed to function. Let’s hope that England, Scotland and Northern Ireland can find a “nanny-in-chief” who will prioritise cyclists, pedestrians, pets and, of course, children over drivers.
Research has shown that 20mph zones work: there are fewer fatalities, fewer serious injuries and everyone is safer – drivers and pedestrians. A driving licence is a privilege, not a right.
Mike Hobbins
Knaphill, Woking, Surrey
Cult of the melodica
Going to an early New Order gig in 1981 in Birmingham and wondering what direction their music would take following the demise of Joy Division, we were partially answered by Bernard Sumner playing the melodica. Cult status for the instrument was instantly assured (“Farewell, tortuous recorder, hello sweet melodica”, News).
Mick O’Driscoll
Heanor, Derbyshire
It’s Murdoch wot won it
Gaby Hinsliff refers to Murdoch’s “lobbying”; does she mean “blackmailing” (“Murdoch brainwashed Britain. That’s the comforting tale the left tells itself. But is it true?”, Comment)? She quotes that infamous headline, “It’s the Sun wot won it”. Murdoch delivered on elections. That was his side of the quid pro quo. In return, he wanted influence, and unfortunately Margaret Thatcher was willing to feed the monster. The News of the World, then the Sun, followed by the Times and Sunday Times and then Sky – his cash cow.
She gave him what he demanded by changing the regulations several times in his favour so that he could own them all. The Sky deal was complicated, but it was worth it for them both. It gave Murdoch his licence to print money (Sky) and through the press maintain power to keep the machine going.
For Thatcher, she received his support at all three of her general election victories, plus a string of eye-wateringly cringing editorials and headlines that smoothed her passage through the Falklands war. There were other deals: the smashing of the miners’ union that paved the way for the same in the print unions; and there was the poll tax. It’s an appalling legacy.
Will Piper
London SE22
Forget Emily. Follow Amélie
A few years ago, hoping to boost my niece’s chances of doing well in her French GCSE, we embarked on a much better, much cheaper tour of Paris than the £3,000 charged for following the vacuous Emily (“Americans dream of Emily’s Paris. Trust me, there’s a better one”, Focus).
Travelling by Eurostar, we stayed in a small hotel in Montmartre, and were guided by a graphic novel based on the film Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain and a bit of internet research. We followed in Amélie’s footsteps from the metro stations at Lamarck-Caulaincourt and Abbesses to the grocery where Amélie buys three hazelnuts and an artichoke and of course, the carousel at the bottom of the Montmartre steps. No stiletto heels were involved.
Ruth Eversley
Paulton, Somerset
