Voting to fix high bills, immigration, NHS staff shortages and more. Did Brexit put us here in the first place? (Credits: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In today’s MetroTalk, readers are diving into the hot topics of politics as the General Election approaches.
Do you, like one reader, believe that many issues highlighted by the average voter stem from Brexit? Was life better under Labour? And, if Keir Starmer wins this time, do you think he’ll be able to win again? Meanwhile, is Rishi Sunak’s proposed National Service comparable to modern day slavery?
And, one reader recounts being subjected to a misogynistic insult yelled at her from a car. Shouldn’t such offensive language be a relic of the past?
Share your thoughts on these topics and more in the comments.
Can we attribute all these issues to Brexit?
Voters are talking about Brexit – they’re just not saying the word. They’re talking about higher bills, higher food costs, higher delivery costs, shortages of staff in the NHS and other services, immigration, and lots more that are all heavily affected by Brexit.
Politicians and the media aren’t connecting the dots for voters though. That’s the problem. More than 60 per cent want to rejoin the EU (YouGov). Yet our politicians are pretending Brexit is still the ‘will of the people’. This needs to change.
Join the National Rejoin March III in London in September.
Peter Corr, founder of National Rejoin March, Derby
METRO TALK – HAVE YOUR SAY
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Did Cameron’s departure allow the party to move further to the far right? (Picture: Kate Green/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Paul (MetroTalk, Tue) says Brexit was the result of a national vote and not caused by the Tories.
He needs to rethink. It was not just the electorate voting but David Cameron’s desire to avoid his party lurching to the far right – although his aims were thoroughly demolished and his immediate resignation then opened the door to the likes of Theresa ‘go home foreigners’ May and the bank-busting Liz Truss, who cost this country tens of billions with her crass, unfunded mini-budget. Henry, Greenwich
Remember when the Tories gave PPE contracts to their donors? (Credits: Getty Images)
Paul says the Conservative government deserves praise because tens of thousands of workers would have lost their jobs without furlough.
Furlough is a socialist idea and Labour would certainly have put it in place but without the exploitation by some companies, who saw it as money for jam. Some people who should have had it, meanwhile, were not helped.
During Covid, everything was done to ensure that the income of the super-rich was not jeopardised. PPE contracts were given to companies that donated to the Tories, even when they had never made PPE before.
Thousands died needlessly from delay and mismanagement.
When Labour was in, we did not wait weeks for a telephone appointment with hard-pressed GPs. We did not have schools falling apart and understaffed to the current extent.
We did not have minimal trade, with growing debt or thousands using food banks. Perfect it was not, but 14 years of Tories have reduced Britain in every way. Becky Nelson, Barnet
Labour has shown a persistent lead in national polling as of last week, when a snap general election was called for July 4. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Clearly, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour is going to win the next election. The only question is will they win the one after that? Sir Keir must be given time to roll back 14 years of Tory madness. Clearly he is no Tony Blair but I hope he becomes Clement Attlee, one of our greatest leaders. Frank Tripp, via text
When looking at which political party to vote for, do we need to lower our standards and vote for the ‘least worst’ party as there is no ‘best’ party? Simon Jay, Cambridge
National service or slavery?
March 25 1807 is a date that should be tattooed on the forehead of every member of the Conservative Party – the date slavery was abolished.
Is July 4 2024 going to be the date slavery is re-enacted, with the Tories pledging to reintroduce National Service?
This is just another name for forced and free labour, which the offspring of the rich and famous will avoid. George, via email
The Israeli prime minister called the air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah a “tragic mishap.”(Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
Regarding Israel’s air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Sunday, in which 45 people died (including women and children) and many more were injured (Metro, Tue).
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that they do not target innocent civilians and it was a ‘tragic mistake’ as part of his government’s response to the Hamas attack of October 7.
No, it was a callous act carried out by the army on defenceless civilians (as has happened since the start of their actions) and should be regarded as a war crime.
Had the same happened in Israel, there would be outrage but it seems that Palestinian lives are cheap in their eyes.
What is the difference between terrorists murdering innocent civilians and a heavily armed state doing the same thing? Certainly none to the victims. Julie, Bath
Love where you live
Do you look after your area? (Credits: Getty Images)
Thank you, Steven (MetroTalk, Wed) for your letter sarcastically referring to your council ‘rewilding’ areas – ie not mowing the grass. It looks scruffy, encourages people to drop litter because it is somewhat hidden (not that anyone seems to care about dropping litter any more).
It must save councils thousands, which is why they do it. We all wish you would go back to making public areas nice. Kay, London
What would your mother say?
To the man in the red car who called me a ‘silly bitch’ when I hurried across Roman Road, Bethnal Green, at 5.30pm on Tuesday.
I apologise for not waiting for the light to turn red before stepping out into a road (which was clear when I did).
But it is never acceptable to call any woman a ‘bitch’. It is deeply offensive. What would the woman in your life think of you using such vile language? Sally Anne, London
No staff makes shoplifting easy
What do companies expect? (Photo by: Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
I read recently about shoplifting being on the increase. Well, I went into a well-known large store on two floors and the only member of staff I found was at the automatic checkout.
What do these companies expect when they are running on a skeleton staff?
It’s wrong that people take things that don’t belong to them but they are leaving it open for them to do so.
Maggie, Essex