Letters: What Trump has got right

Trumped up charges

Sir: I am a huge admirer of Max Hastings, whose contribution to our knowledge and understanding of global conflict is unparalleled. However, his passionate condemnation of Donald Trump is typical of the one-eyed liberal Weltanschauung that will continue to drive people both here and further afield into the arms of populist administrations (‘The indignity of Trump’, 2 August). Yes, Trump is horribly flawed, personally, politically and economically. However, he was democratically elected by voters who felt ignored and let down by the ruling liberal elite. For balance, we might remember that he is delivering upon his manifesto promises, unlike our government: illegal immigrants are being removed wholesale; the global economy is being rebalanced to fairer levels; stock markets are at or near record highs, the left-wing mainstream media is being reined in; huge government waste is being slashed; virtue-signalling chat-show hosts are being cancelled; and Canada is being targeted largely because it has failed to halt the flow of deadly fentanyl across the border.

I have been in the States a lot recently and, far from it having become ‘an uglier place’, it still seems full of polite, respectful, energetic and optimistic go-getters. If only our limp, directionless government listened and delivered to such a degree, we might regain some of our national pride and positivity.

David Edwards

Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset

Business experience

Sir: It was interesting to read about Varun Chandra, the most important business adviser to Sir Keir Starmer (‘Starmer’s business whisperer’, 2 August). He clearly has huge charm and a sound networking skill set, but disappointingly it appears he too has never actually run a business. If he had, surely he would have advised the PM before the last Budget that SMEs, the heartbeat of the economy, are particularly susceptible to economic shockwaves. The sudden and unexpected significant increase in business taxes last October in a fragile economy can perhaps be viewed as the Starmer government’s biggest mistake so far, underpinning many of the economic woes that we all face. The latest Institute of Directors business survey indicates that business confidence is on the floor and, with the Employment Rights Bill yet to have an impact and with another Budget fast approaching, surely the PM and the Chancellor must ensure they have sound advice from someone who has actually run a business, before policy is announced? Networking ability has its place, but the government and the UK cannot afford any more economic missteps.

Andrew Haynes

London SW6

Bestselling smut

Sir: As an English teacher, I have followed the decline in undergraduate English literature enrolment in recent years with dismay. It is unsurprising, though, when my pupils’ idea of literature consists of bestselling smut (‘Losing the plot’, 2 August). I imagine university modules covering the satirical genius of Eliot or Austen seem unappealing to prospective students who are hooked on grotesquely eroticised Narnia. In the classroom, out of desperation, I am often tempted to endorse the fifth ‘right’ in Daniel Pennac’s creed: ‘to read anything’. However, Lara Brown is right to label romantasy as ‘literature taken to its lowest form’. I ought to condemn rather than condone recommendations of Cloisters of Carnality or Lust in His Lair.

Sam Finniear

Guildford, Surrey

Christian England

Sir: Mary Wakefield’s brilliant article last week was sincere and heartwarming, and I hope that Danny Kruger’s address in the Commons is seen by Conservatives countrywide (‘The prophet Daniel’, 2 August). Christianity has defined the spiritual life, identity and culture of England. It retains all that is good, worthwhile and honourable.

Alan M. Varley

Crowborough, East Sussex

God’s wonderful railways

Sir: The priestly blessing of a signal box described by Matthew Parris (‘A glimpse of the essence of Englishness’, 2 August) illustrates the long affinity between the Church of England and the nation’s railways. This is exemplified in the career of Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield from 1968 to 1976 and for more than 40 years one of Britain’s leading photographers of steam locomotives. He is famous particularly for his stirring studies of Sir William Stanier’s streamlined Pacifics as they emerged in the 1930s. He died of a heart attack in May 1978 on Appleby station while awaiting the arrival of Evening Star, the last steam engine built for British Railways. A plaque pays tribute to a ‘railway photographer, pastor to railwaymen, lover of life and railways’.

Christopher Gray

Oxford

Birder he wrote

Sir: Birding and bird-watching are different activities (Real Life, 26 July). Bird-watching is passive and is about enjoying birds wherever they may show up. Birding is active and involves going out to look for them, particularly the less-often-seen ones. The next step on this path is ‘twitching’, where a tick for one’s life-list might involve frantic effort and expense. Bird-watchers might enjoy the sights and sounds of birds in their gardens or local park; birders make specific trips to special sites carrying expensive optics.

Far from being a lefty invention, ‘birding’ is the preferred term of the more dedicated, optically endowed and knowledgeable individuals, to distinguish themselves both from the everyday punters and the demented twitchers.

Martin Skinner

Tunbridge Wells, Kent

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