Seumas Milne (Opinion, 18 June) says there is no democratic reason for people to accept Conservative proposals. He makes some point about the Tories’ parliamentary majority based on about 37% of voters; he failed to recall a Labour government with a larger parliamentary majority on a smaller share. He also refers to trade unionists assigning their political levy. Will he join me in proposing that each trade union member can nominate the party of their choice? Instead of all the money going to one party – not democratic at all – the flows can be to each in proportion to the members’ wishes.
Peter Bottomley MP
Conservative, Worthing West
• Standing armies kill citizens – so reasoned the founding fathers from bitter experience. Hence the second amendment to the constitution, that a citizen has the right, and duty, to rally to the flag if the nation is threatened. That was the right to bear arms. These words, maliciously interpreted, are today killing the citizens they were meant to protect (Charleston shooting: Nobody is safe – and nowhere is safe, 19 June).
Mary Jackson
Gilston, Hertfordshire
• If the West Bank is in Israel (One man killed in gun attack on West Bank, 20 June) and Oslo is the capital of Sweden (Crossword by Sy, Weekend, 20 June), please can we have a wallchart showing the new geography?
Dr Jenny Bywaters
Sheffield
• As for 19th-century communications being slow (Twitter would never have waited two months for the Duke of Wellington’s funeral, 20 June), has Ian Jack forgotten Napoleon’s famous retweet from Moscow?
Jim Trimmer
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
