Phillip Inman’s article on the dire state of local government finances sheds a light on what has been going on for decades, something I witnessed as a councillor on various authorities between 1987 and 2017 (“‘Councils have been short-changed. We need more government money’”, Business). Cllr Jayne Kirkham is pulling her punches when she opines that Cornwall has been “short-changed by the government”. In my opinion, local councils have been systematically emasculated by successive governments, at least since the end of the Second World War.
It is time to reform local government finance and structure in England before repatriating some of the powers it used to enjoy. The surviving remnants of the three-tier system in England (county, district, town/parish) need urgently to be replaced by unitary authorities, while retaining and strengthening the town/neighbourhood councils, which would bring English local government broadly in line with its counterparts in the other three UK nations. Council tax needs to be replaced by a local income tax and/or a land value tax. Just don’t give us any more local supremos, aka mayors or governors. Democracy is not safe if it rests in the hands of a single person, regardless of their mandate, as Boris Johnson proves to us every day.
John Marriott
North Hykeham, Lincoln
I have great sympathy with Jayne Kirkham, Labour councillor in Cornwall. Cornwall is indeed one of the poorest regions in Europe and before Brexit was a beneficiary of millions of pounds from the EU social funds. However, Cornish people voted by a majority for Brexit, the Conservatives swept to power in the council elections in May and all six of Cornwall’s Westminster constituencies are blue. I would leave it up to them to sort out. That is local democracy and public accountability. You get what you vote for.
Paul Goodman
Loughborough, Leicestershire
Vaccinate the world
Sir Jeremy Farrar suggests that, unless there is global vaccination coverage, a new variant is likely to overcome our armoury of vaccines (“Progress on Covid now ‘squandered’, warns expert”, News). Professor Sir Andrew Pollard and Gordon Brown have been saying something very similar for some time.
According to the OECD last week, it would cost $50bn (£38bn) to vaccinate the world. If the world’s highest income countries (81, according to the World Bank) had the political will, these countries would only have to contribute £470m each. When we remember that the UK’s track and trace system cost £37bn, £470m is a drop in the ocean. These costs would be greatly reduced if governments approved a waiver of intellectual property rights related to Covid-19 technologies. This is supported by more than 100 governments, but not ours.
Global vaccine equality demands that the UK does the right thing and contributes to an urgent vaccination programme. Putting the strong moral argument aside, it is in our own best interests to do so.
Phil Powell
Oxford
Tomato yoghurt does exist
Come on, Séamas O’Reilly, use your amazing imagination – tomato yoghurt is easily contrived with a spoonful of ketchup added to plain yoghurt (“My son’s Heston Blumenthal potential comes into its own – and means we’re late for nursery”, the New Review).
One of my children would not eat yoghurt with bits in, at a time when smooth ones were unavailable, so in typical earth mother mode I would sieve out the bits and he was happy with the result.
Catherine Roome
Staplehurst, Kent
Care system not the solution
I agree wholeheartedly that social workers need to engage all their critical skills when assessing parenting behaviour (“Don’t be fooled by deceitful parents, top child expert warns social workers”, News). However, I am less sure that proposing more children should be taken into care is necessarily the solution, given the shortcomings of our current system.
We know that children in care are more likely to do poorly in education, to experience problems with physical and mental health and to enter the criminal justice system. As adults, these experiences have a long-term effect and consequently affect their own parenting abilities. Unless we are prepared to invest substantially in a system that does much better for these children, expanding the numbers in care is not the answer.
Pam Hibbert
Llangammarch Wells, Powys
A rood awakening
While I agree with Jonathan Bouquet that “cathedrals are not theme parks” (“May I have a word?”, Comment), I can’t agree that they were created to instil wonderment, awe and lift the soul. It depended who you were.
A secular view is that the awe was engendered by segregation of the masses from the hallowed and secure area of the sanctuary by a screen that gave limited view of the ceremonials undertaken by the hierarchy. The masses had to stand, there were no pews until relatively recently, but the old and infirm could “go to the wall” to sit on stone shelves.
Many cathedrals had wall paintings and often sculpture that depicted or promised damnation, torture or the sufferings of saints. It was fear that engendered the “awe” for them. For me, modern, freer access creates the awe. I see cathedrals as art that is made fluid by the additions and changes over the centuries. Perhaps the next wave of fluidity for Notre Dame will again demonstrate that the building is the star and the contents another aspect of change and self-awareness.
Jonathan Hauxwell
Crosshills, North Yorkshire
Who’s the tyrant?
“A cruel tyrant is crushing a democracy. People are dying. So what is the west going to do about it?” (Foreign affairs commentary): on reading this headline, I initially thought this report was talking about the UK, not Myanmar.
Pete Lavender
Woodthorpe, Nottingham
