Letters: Where past PMs went wrong

Catalogue of disasters

Sir: Matthew Parris, in his article ‘The real cause of all the chaos’ (29 October), asks of our last three prime ministers: ‘What big thing did any of these unfortunate souls do wrong?’ In a spirit of helpfulness:

Mrs May: net zero by 2050, derisory defence spending.

Mr Johnson: hospital clearances, lockdown, vaccine mandates, derisory defence spending.

Ms Truss: tax cuts without public sector spending cuts.

As a consequence of these three, Britain is not so far away from having to go cap in hand to the IMF once more, and is again confronted by war in Europe as a result of the failure of conventional deterrence.

Tim Bidie

Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Poisoned Cup

Sir: Rod Liddle’s scathing commentary on Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, ‘Playing at morality’ (29 October), overlooks the benefits of awarding such an event to regimes with which we are in fundamental disagreement. Just look at the progress in human rights in China since it hosted the Olympic Games (summer 2008, winter 2022) and Russia since its Winter Olympics (2014) and World Cup (2018).

Bryan Matthews

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

True sisters

Sir: I agree with Louise Perry’s analysis about the possible future of feminism (‘Radical tradition’, 29 October). To my surprise, as a gender-critical feminist and educationalist, I now find myself with more in common with my more conservative sisters of ‘middle England’ than many of those on the left. A hardened ideology has taken over and those who question it feel silenced or are vilified for speaking out.

Christine Crossley

Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire

Balfour’s faith

Sir: Charles Moore lists Balfour among prime ministers who ‘cannot unequivocally be described as Christian’ (Notes, 29 October). Yet at the end of his life Balfour wrote about his mother’s positive approach to scientific study – adding that ‘she never surrendered her own convictions as to the inestimable value of her central religious [Christian] beliefs’. Balfour said this ‘may have lacked theoretic finish, but it appealed to me in 1866, and after more than sixty years’ reflection, it appeals to me still’. Moreover, he was a lifelong communicant in both Anglican and Presbyterian churches.

The Revd Dr David Weekes

Kilmany, Fife

Central bank balance

Sir: Martin Vander Weyer was on the money about the rate of UK corporation tax (‘The truth about corporate taxes’, 22 October) and could have usefully applied some of his scepticism to business rates. But I wonder if his support for either the reduction or elimination of the rate at which the Bank of England remunerates reserves would make a tricky situation even more challenging. These enormous liabilities have accrued as a direct result of quantitative easing (QE), a programme originally conceived to provide liquidity to the markets more than a decade ago. Now however, central bank balance sheets are of a size which could easily capsize national economies. As a central bank cannot be insolvent, losses on a QE programme must be indemnified ultimately by the taxpayer.

In the USA, the Federal Reserve has in fact raised the amount of interest that it pays on these reserves, the better to control the winding down of its own QE programme. In this way, it has tightened credit availability by putting a floor under the rate at which commercial banks lend to each other. If the Bank of England reduces the rate of interest that it pays on its liabilities, it may lose control of its own balance sheet and interest rates in the wider market. It might give some short-term pleasure to those who believe that no punishment of banks is enough, yet would be disastrous for the economy as a whole.

Jonathan Cobb

Dunbar

Baptism of fire

Sir: Melanie McDonagh’s ‘Notes on … Candles’ (29 October) contained many illuminating facts but lacked one she should have highlighted when she said ‘We’ve got out of the habit of using candles’. This change of habits has resulted in increased fire risk, with Home Office data recording almost a thousand serious candle-related fires last year alone. If candlelight is to be used to combat blackouts and possibly to reduce energy costs this winter, relearning the care we took with them during the 1970s will be as important as advice on ‘candle management’ and making ‘a DIY candle’.

Peter Saunders

Salisbury, Wiltshire

Two-term Truss?

Sir: Is Jacob Rees-Mogg correct to say that Liz Truss served two terms as PM ‘because she kissed hands twice’ (Diary, 29 October)? Surely the sovereign invites the new PM to form a government (as the late Queen did two days before her death), and when Ms Truss had her first audience with the King this was not required, because her government was already in place?

Melanie Mitchell

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Heinz beanpoles

Sir: Toby Young writes about height (‘At last, a PM I can look down to’, 29 October). When I started my first job as a sales clerk at the H.J. Heinz company in 1958, I remember that one of the conditions for employment as a salesman was that the successful candidate needed to be at least six foot tall. If my memory serves me faithfully, they were also required to wear a bowler hat and carry an umbrella. Incidentally, I was 5ft 8½in at the time, but am now gradually shrinking.

Robin Hunter-Coddington

Chiswick