Thank you for Peter Oborne’s ruthlessly accurate exposé of the Political Class (‘The Establishment is dead’, 15 September).
Established truths
Sir: Thank you for Peter Oborne’s ruthlessly accurate exposé of the Political Class (‘The Establishment is dead’, 15 September). The collateral damage caused by the killing of the Establishment can be distilled into just five words: the death of independent thought. This seems to apply to the populace as a whole as much as to politicians of all parties.
Ten short years ago Frank Field, an intelligent and thoughtful man, was appointed minister of welfare reform in the Department of Social Security with a mandate from Tony Blair to ‘think the unthinkable’. In doing so, he clashed with Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. His reward, less than a year later, was to be offered a sideways transfer whereupon he resigned, his integrity intact. He has not held a ministerial post since. Meanwhile, the very capable Kate Hoey was removed from her post as minister of sport for consistently voting with her conscience, most notably in the case of the iniquitous Hunting Bill.
In 1997, the Establishment might have been very sick, but it wasn’t quite dead. New Labour switched off the life-support machine. Today people who can, or dare, to think for themselves seem to be rarer than hens’ teeth. Our only hope is that they are still out there, quiet for the moment, but ready to make themselves heard if needs be.
Peta Seel
Nassiet, France
A cold climate
Sir: Charles Moore (The Spectator’s Notes, 22 September) works himself into a lather over the Mitford sisters, reeling in admiration at their ‘unique, fearless way of looking at things’ despite their lack of any formal education. Had they attended school and university, they might have met ordinary people and turned out less self-delusional and snobbish. Mr Moore even appears to admire the ghastly pro-Nazi Diana. Once, after I had interviewed her husband, the Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, she wrote to a friend:
‘The Evening Standard sent this polite young man to interview Tom [as Mosley was known]. But it was only later that I discovered he was Jewish. They are a very clever people and come in all shapes and sizes.’
Paul Callan
London SW10
Sir: Oh, come off it, Mr Moore. Unity Mitford ‘this innocent, deluded young girl’ indeed. May I remind you that well before September 1939 there were many young women — the Wrens, Waaf and Fany — who were fully conscious of what Hitler was, although of course very few of them, if any, had the advantage of knowing such an extraordinary range of people.
Peggy W. Adams
Sporle, Norfolk
Sister act
Sir: Sarah Vine’s ‘Don’t upset “the Sisters”’ (22 September) omitted some key points. Concerning the pay gap, research has shown that women simply do not ask for the same pay their male counterparts request at interview time, or throughout their career. No managers in their right minds would pay someone more than they demanded.
Vine says nothing about the details of maternity leave that the majority of women will have taken. Childless women can be particularly vociferous in their criticism of their mothering colleagues often looking for time off and not seeing that someone has to do the work they leave undone. Pay scales consider risk factors in all employees, and it is state legislation — often demanding that the mother will have the very same job awaiting her nine months after she takes maternity leave — that is detrimental to the survival of the company.
Finally, Vine is absolutely right to point out the gender-related unfairness in the state pension system. However, this is a problem of socialised pensions systems, and nothing to do with one’s present private-sector manager.
John Lalor
Dublin, Ireland
Badge of honour
Sir: Colonel Hancock (Letters, 22 September) notes General Jackson’s lack of knowledge of the Infantry of the Line ‘which he deconstructed’. Some small measure of redemption, however, would be the reinstatement of the traditional names of the regiments, e.g. the Green Howards, within the recently adopted three-battalion big regiment structure, e.g. the Yorkshire Regiment. Any costs would be minimal. A similar proposal was made by Nicholas Soames before the last election.
Other than for minor administrative convenience, it is not entirely clear why such rebadging was considered necessary in the first place. Historic names and traditions, and a significant degree of public understanding and community ownership, have been lost and now must painstakingly be rebuilt — if, indeed, such a thing is possible. Within the past few days General Dannatt, the immediate successor to General Jackson, has been highlighting the regrettable divorce between public and military.
Alistair Tucker
London NW3
On their watch
Sir: Mark Penn’s observation that ‘radicalisation of illegal migrants could determine the outcome of the next US election’ (‘Tips for Gordon’, 22 September) could be equally relevant over here. At least one in three of the 600,000 legal migrants who have entered the UK on the watch of this government have indicated that they would like to stay, and the psephological evidence is clear that the existing, settled ethnic minorities overwhelmingly vote either Lib Dem or Labour. The recent Southall by-election was surely testament to the failure of the Conservative party to make progress in such constituencies. Is Labour’s policy of mass immigration a covert attempt at political gerrymandering on an unprecedented scale?
Paul Farrow
Waddington, Lincoln
Explosive issue
Sir: James Delingpole should have paid more attention to the science lessons at school. In his review of the Hindenburg disaster (Television, 22 September) he refers to the time when ‘leaked helium gas …was ignited by static electricity’.
Helium is not flammable. Hindenburg (and the later R101) were filled with highly flammable hydrogen. Green proponents of hydrogen-cell technology should take note.
David Barron
Southampton
Sir: James Delingpole is quite wrong in describing our armed forces as ‘ruthless killers’. Any fool can kill, as is all too evident from the streets of London and other cities. What they are trained to do is to keep each other alive. That is why they create such strong bonds. If it was not clear to the reviewer, then the director is to be found wanting.
Jeremy M.J. Havard
London W8
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