Will Hutton makes some good points in his piece on our recent military interventions but only looks at the ones he perceives to be failures: Iraq and Afghanistan (“Right-of-centre ideology has lost us a war and much more besides”, Comment). We should be proud of the action our forces took in Sierra Leone and Kosovo, which saved lives.
And while learning from the undoubted mistakes made in Afghanistan and Iraq we should also look at countries where perhaps the mistake was not to intervene. The million or so Syrian refugees would probably welcome the type of intervention Hutton condemns and not see it in the political terms he mentions but instead welcome it as a humanitarian response to their unfolding tragedy.
Peter Halsey
Radlett
Herts
Will Hutton’s appraisal of Britain’s failed military pretensions post 9/11 lacks one vital factor: any mention of the bizarre plan to replace Trident. There could not be anything more pretentious than a government subjecting its people to “austerity” measures, which generate real and growing poverty, while it seeks to wave its willy with unusable weapons of such extravagance.
In 1962, many of us went to Holy Loch to protest at the basing of US Polaris submarines there and Scottish CND came up with a very musical “Och! Och! There’s a monster in the loch” to rally opposition. If the SNP were to form a group after 7 May capable of blocking missile submarines in Scotland, there would be a powerful opposition to basing them in any Welsh or English cove or bay and perhaps even a Miliband government would be driven to cancelling the existing plans.
“Nay! Nay! No monster in the bay,” perhaps?
David Spilsbury
Birmingham
Now, now, do not naysay Nye
By suggesting that Nye Bevan made a “faux pas” when comparing Tories to vermin, Chris Mullin (Books) reveals himself to be a supporter of today’s middle-ground, middle-class politics. When parliament is inhabited by MPs who have more in common with each other than constituents, it is understandable that these careerists find it distasteful to be blunt when addressing other members of their “club”, even when their name might be Iain Duncan Smith.
Bevan was rough, tough and working class. He used blue-collar language and spoke from the heart. A similar comment today would be applauded by millions. Sadly, on the left, we no longer have politicians with the fire, passion, honesty and fearlessness to speak in the language of those they supposedly represent .
Bill Geddes
Worthing
West Sussex
Young can’t afford not to vote
Great news about the views of the 17 to 22 age group (“Optimistic and tolerant, our first-time voters give cause for hope”, leading article). If they wish to see the UK in Europe, the Human Rights Act maintained, the need to address climate change accepted and the level of privatisation in NHS kept very low, they must vote. Otherwise we over-65s will again be “bribed” to vote for a misremembered past and their futures will be ignored.
Janet Roberts
Saundersfoot
Pembrokeshire
And the cuts keep coming
While there is much to commend in Peter Bazalgette’s article (“Use the arts to boost the nation’s health”, Comment) I have to point out that Arts and Minds in Cambridgeshire has had to restrict its services due to lack of funding and its much appreciated services to mental health service users in Peterborough’s in-patient mental health unit have been curtailed due to lack of money.
Ian Arnott
Peterborough
A Bentley? That’s a bit rich
A minor correction to Polly Toynbee’s tribute to Jane Bown (New Review). David Astor never had a Bentley; he would have regarded that as an unpardonable extravagance. He used an office Volvo, which collected him from home in the morning and returned him there after work. During the day, as Polly found, it was available to the news desk to ferry reporters around. David was embarrassed by any display of wealth, so much so that his driver was once heard to say: “For a rich man, he doesn’t have a very good time.”
Donald Trelford
Majorca
Proud to be a Twirly bird
I don’t care for “real senior” at all (Katharine Whitehorn, Magazine). Even “unreal senior” would be preferable. However, many years ago, when I qualified for my bus pass, one of my daughters told me that her bus-driving friend from Liverpool told her that they referred to us as “Twirlies”. Think about it in Scouse language. “Can I get on this bus or am I too early”? Anyway, I’ve referred to myself as a Twirly ever since and I’m sticking with it whether it’s true or not. It is a very long time since I lived in Liverpool.
Elizabeth Hill
Guildford
