Rafael Behr asked how long it would take Boris Johnson to betray his new friends in the north (Journal, 18 December). The answer seems to be a week. He promised to increase the living wage to £10.50 by 2025, but this has now, it seems, been qualified by the weasel words “provided economic conditions allow”. Always good to read the small print.
Julie Owens
Carlisle
• It was a delight to read Michael Billington’s final review as your chief theatre critic, a four-star review of Pippi Longstocking (20 December), not because of its finality but because it’s so typically genuine and generous, and showed why his informed enthusiasm will be sorely missed.
Robert Sanderson
Recently retired former manager of the Theatre Royal in Nottingham
• Re your article (How much are we really telling Alexa?, G2, 17 December), are the military also listening in? One day our Alexa device emitted an unfamiliar noise. When asked “Alexa, what is that sound for?”, three times it replied “section of USA for MoD”. It would be good to know what it meant.
Steven Bowditch
Carlisle, Cumbria
• Much as I would like to accept Prof Grayling’s analysis (Letters, 20 December), I’m not sure we can assume that all those who voted for the SNP, the Liberal Democrats and Labour did so because of their “remain” stance. Nor can we assume all Tory voters were avid Brexiteers.
Judith Hendrick
London
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