What’s the point if they’re not listened to? (Picture: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty)
In today’s MetroTalk, readers are pondering why exactly do we need a house of lords?
The House of Lords act as a barrier to decisions to be passed by the government, so, as one reader asks: why aren’t the Conservatives listening to them when it comes to their Rwanda plan?
Meanwhile, the ‘playful update’ made to the St George’s Cross on the new England kit has some readers heated, for some it’s the antithesis of patriotic, but others remember a time, when the Union Jack was redesigned to barely any furor, so what makes this so different? And, cash in hand, is it convenient or to be viewed with suspicion?
Share what you think about these topics and more in the comments
Why don’t the government listen to the House of Lords?
The government has heavily criticised members of the House of Lords for delaying the passage of their controversial Rwanda Deportation Bill.
But as the famous proverb says ‘People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!’
The primary role of the House of Lords is to act as a revising chamber for legislation being proposed by House of Commons MPs. They are a bulwark against a possible lack of legality, accountability or transparency of legislation being proposed.
In the case of the Rwanda Deportation Bill, the Lords have said, for example, that they would be unhappy about unaccompanied child asylum seekers being deported, or asylum seekers from Afghanistan (who had worked with British troops as translators) being deported with no right of appeal.
Surely any MP with a conscience would agree that those kinds of proposals being made by the Lords, were fair and that they made common sense?
But no, the British government simply wants to force through its Rwanda legislation, with scant regard to its legality, morality or its huge cost to the British taxpayer!
What’s even worse is the fact that the British government know full well that if and when the Labour party assume power in a few months’ time, that the Rwanda policy will not just be dead in the water – it will have sunk to the bottom of the English Channel. Alan Jensen, West Hampstead
Do you think the Conservatives still have a chance against Labour? (Credits: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
METRO TALK – HAVE YOUR SAY
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‘What’s the point of the Lords?’
What is the point of the Lords? They should be abolished, they are mostly a bunch of old farts who don’t do anything worthwhile for the country and get hundreds of pounds a day, tax-free, for doing naff all. James Bradshaw, London
What choice do we have?
Is there any alternative to the big two? (Credits: Getty Images)
If Jacky from London (MetroTalk, Mon)is unsure who to vote at the next election, there are a few options. She either votes for a fringe party (including Liberal Democrats) who are single-issue parties – e.g. immigration, climate, crime, local issues – or she votes for one of the two main parties, i.e. Labour or Conservative.
The only alternative to the Tories is Labour. Remember the origins of Labour were helping the less well-off, with the NHS and welfare system, not the selfish greed of the Tories who have only looked after the rich. Martin Hughes, Via Email
Are we being gaslighted about inflation?
Are we really better off?
Rishi Sunak suggests that inflation is under control – but it isn’t as far as the BoE is concerned. Instead of reducing rates by 0.25 per cent last week they held for what most think will be for another two, maybe three months… They were too slow to start raising rates – making matters worse – and now it looks like they’re going to be too slow to reduce rates. Between the government and the Bank, it doesn’t look like a team to ensure our much-needed growth.
Unfortunately for us the players on the sidelines waiting to take over look even more incompetent – can we please have a credible 3rd alternative. Proportional representation is long overdue. Jim, London
Jacky quite correctly challenges Rishi Sunak’s statement that while inflation has dropped to 3.4 percent ‘we have turned the corner’ on the economy and we will notice our finances improving (MetroTalk. Mon). She says she ‘no longer believes anything the current government has to say’ and millions of people in the UK will agree with her.
Rent and mortgage costs remain too high and food prices in the supermarkets are frequently going up, not coming down. Energy costs remain high and are unaffordable for many people! Food banks report that more and more people are using them. More than four million children are reported to be living in poverty, homelessness and rough sleeping are on the increase and the Resolution Foundation has now said that housing in the UK is amongst the worst of any advanced economy in the world.
Mr Sunak is gaslighting the British public when he says that we are all getting better off. I have never heard such nonsense in all of my life and neither have millions of others! Al, Via Email
Changing the flag
A reader says ‘people can’t just change the colour of a country’s national flag – but that’s just what Nike has done (Picture: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty)
Nike changing the colour of the St George flag on their England FC team shirts for this year’s Euros competition is disgusting. People can’t just change the colours of a Country’s National Flag.
All England football supporters should refuse to buy them and wear previous years’ shirts. Elaine Smith, London
So much has been made of the multicoloured St George cross on the new England kit. It’s ridiculous. People need to ask themselves if they’re genuinely upset by it or are just following the herd. It’s not a big deal. I don’t remember anyone kicking off like this during the 2012 London Olympics when Adidas changed the Union Jack flag to all blue. Reece, Buckinghamshire
Thank you to the Metro readers who wrote in with sympathetic words for Princess Kate (MetroTalk, Tue).
When it’s a life-threatening illness such as cancer people suffer the same whether they’re royals or not, or royalists or not.
Princess Kate, I am praying for your quick recovery and good health. Samuel, Tooting
Cash in hand – convenient or suspicious?
It has its issues, but so do bank cards (Credits: Getty Images)
Joe, London doesn’t like to handle cash because of places they are kept on a person (MetroTalk, Thu).
I and many others find handling cash a lot better than using bank accounts all the time. Something always goes wrong with bank cards and with cash you can keep track of how much you are spending a lot better.
Using a bank card you can’t keep track of your spending and of how much you have left until it’s too late and bills start piling up. I hate using bank cards at shops, too, as handling cash is quicker and better. Some people think bank cards are better but there are issues. Martin, Nottingham
People like Joe make me want to start carrying cash in my under garments – just in case I ever have the pleasure of meeting him and shaking him by the hand. Dec, Essex
I found it interesting when Mrs H (MetroTalk, Tue) wrote that she pays her builder, plumber and hairdresser in cash as it’s more convenient for them. Am I the only one who wonders, if people demand cash (particularly for higher cost services) whether they are declaring that income or avoiding tax? Perhaps that’s just me and I’m too suspicious of people? Karen, Doncaster
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