Times letters: Sir Keir Starmer’s acceptance of renegade Tory

Sir, Charlie Elphicke’s misdeeds in office proved him to be unworthy of selection as an MP, and when his wife was “shunted in” to replace him my concerns were summarily dismissed by my local Conservative association. Despite this, I remained a member of the Dover & Deal Conservative Association, which has now repeatedly demonstrated its incompetence when selecting candidates to stand for election.

Natalie Elphicke’s defection and her decision to betray those she was supposed to represent demonstrates her lack of integrity but fortunately her departure is no great loss to her constituents. To her minimal credit she proposes to leave parliament at the next general election. It is to be hoped that our local Conservative association manages to improve its selection procedures.
Tony Adams
Deal, Kent

Sir, The defection of Natalie Elphicke is not only awkward for Labour because of her and her husband’s past (“Why Natalie Elphicke’s defection is awkward for Labour too”, May 8), it is also symptomatic of an ideological issue within the party: namely, that it is now so to the right of the political centre ground that it will attract Tories such as Elphicke who until recently were vehemently opposed to Labour. It would seem that the British political centre-left, occupied for so long by Labour, is now left to fringe parties and the Liberal Democrats. The British political stage is moving, and the distinction between the two parties on fundamental issues blurs ever more as the election looms.
William Fearn
Oakham, Rutland

Sir, Natalie Elphicke crossing the floor of the House of Commons says more about her rampant self-interest than it does about her interest in representing her constituents.

It also suggests a lack of moral integrity by Sir Keir Starmer, that he welcomes renegade politicians.
Sue Thompson
Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Sir, The defection of Natalie Elphicke shows what a shallow pool of talent are MPs are drawn from. By ditching her stated beliefs to join the Labour Party she has secured the promise of a position (albeit unpaid) as a Labour adviser on housing policy after the election. Instead she should have done the honourable thing and argued her position with the electorate. Until we manage to attract MPs of a higher calibre there is little chance of improving the lives of British people.
Michael Gamble
Hingham, Norfolk

Sir, Sir Keir Starmer has made a mistake in welcoming aboard anyone who badmouths Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives. Such flitterbugs are as likely to return to badmouthing him in a couple of weeks. After all, they have a record of doing so.
Roger Forder
Bournemouth

Sir, Given the consternation openly expressed by some Labour backbenchers regarding the apparent disconnect between Natalie Elphicke’s political record and Labour’s ideals, might one muse on the true purpose of her volte-face? As she is generating division among the Labour ranks, could she have been “applied” as a political Trojan horse to disrupt Labour, in the best tradition of Francis Urquhart in House of Cards?
Bruce Williams
Galmpton, Devon

Campus protests

Sir, More than 400 Oxford University academics and staff have signed an open letter declaring their support of the demand of student protesters that the university disinvest from “Israel’s genocide in Gaza” (“Inside the UK’s pro-Palestinian university protests”, May 8). Among them are university administrators, including Vernal Scott, head of the equality and diversity unit. Those responsible for promoting diversity should understand it to include not only racial diversity but also ideological diversity, as Oxford’s former vice-chancellor, Louise Richardson, said in 2021.

Moreover, while Mr Scott and his colleagues have a legal right to express their personal views, they also have a professional obligation not to exercise it while occupying the corporate kind of post they do, so as to maintain the confidence of all members of a politically diverse institution. And this obligation is legal, too: the Equality Act 2010 imposes on the university a duty to foster good relations among groups. Assuming a divisive, politically partisan position can only achieve the opposite.
Anna Sapir Abulafia, professor emerita of the study of Abrahamic religions, Oxford University; Nigel Biggar, regius professor emeritus of moral theology, Oxford University; Baroness Deech, former principal, St Anne’s College, Oxford; Sir Bernard Silverman, former master, St Peter’s College, Oxford

Lifting the gloom

Sir, Some of Jenni Russell’s suggestions (“It won’t cost millions to boost Britain’s mood”, comment, May 9) would be more achievable if the next government reinstated the Central Office of Information and the excellent public information films, of which many people of a certain age can still recall the content and message after several decades.

This country has a resource of world-class writers, performers and communicators, and using social media platforms as well as cinemas to broadcast these messages would overcome the problem that many people no longer watch live TV.
Stephen Layton
Lincoln

Sir, Jenni Russell is right: badly behaved children should be removed from class and taught separately so that they can no longer disrupt other pupils. She adds that “there is a pent-up longing for improvement”. This desire for betterment is in all areas of life, not just education, and merely exhorting people will not work. Instead we need role models, reorganisation and a way of thinking that is not about self-entitlement. As Ms Russell says, we need greenery and “the natural world is being dangerously eroded”. This has been authorised locally by errant planning departments. There is also a desperate need for the arts to enrich our lives. Despite there being, as she says, “no particular enthusiasm for Labour”, as its leader is pledging support for music and the arts there is a chance that things might improve.

We desperately need change to fix Britain’s pessimistic mood, and music in schools, planting wildflowers on verges or going on old-fashioned nature walks would be uplifting and not cost the billions we do not have.
Janice Ketley
Englefield Green, Surrey

Trust in the BBC

Sir, Melanie McDonagh is right to conclude that “it is not the BBC’s business to curate the public response to a phenomenon that affects us all”, namely immigration (“BBC risks losing the public’s trust over immigration”, Thunderer, May 9). The present level of net migration must be putting pressure on the NHS, schools, housing and, possibly, the country’s finances. There are countless issues that the BBC could be investigating: overall, do migrants make a positive fiscal contribution to the UK, how do levels of crime by migrants compare with those by the indigenous population, are British values being assimilated or diluted? Perhaps the BBC’s shying away from these questions merely reflects the fact that most politicians tend to behave in the same way.
Stuart Southall
East Horsley, Surrey

Gravity of stalking

Sir, As a retired police officer and an authority on the crime of stalking I share Alice Thomson’s concern about the way police deal with such cases (“The police still don’t take stalking seriously”, May 8). While there are some areas of good practice, the police let themselves down by failing to understand that while men are usually the perpetrators against women they can also be stalked by women, and there is same-sex stalking as well. In isolation, the acts of stalking can appear innocent, such as watching, following or sending messages, but it is the totality or circumstances of this unwanted behaviour that can cause so much distress. All victims of stalking are entitled to be taken seriously: more police awareness training is vital.
Hamish Brown
Selsey, W Sussex

Garrick’s rebirth

Sir, The defeated 40 per cent of Garrick members, those who voted against female membership, might wish to consider setting up another club, perhaps called the New Garrick, where the old rule would obtain (May 8; Hilary Rose, May 9). This would be a splendid blow against the spirit of the age and in favour of unashamed tradition. And I suspect that before long the queue to join would rival that enjoyed by the original club.
John Hicks
Manchester

‘Sadder’ UK women

Sir, It is not surprising that British women feel sadder than their European sisters (news, May 8; Times2, May 9). Despite lip service, no real effort had been made to make the working mother’s life easier or more affordable. It is a battle from the beginning, with compromised maternity services and onwards from there. Exhaustion, stress and threatening poverty does not make for good cheer. Meanwhile, the pressure to look absurdly good throughout adolescence, motherhood and one’s later years has never been greater. And, personally, I mourn the shorn opportunities for my children with the disaster of Brexit.
Elizabeth Buchan
London SW4

Day of the laptops

Sir, It is not just coffee shops that are suffering from the encroachment of laptops as people working from home seek a pleasant setting to transform into their office (“The coffee shop is not your office” Carol Midgley, Times2, May 8). The foyer of the National Theatre now frequently resembles a branch of WeWork, while matinée goers, using the building for the purpose for which it was intended, struggle to find somewhere to sit and eat their interval ice cream.
Brian Eastty
Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex

Nellies wellies

Sir, Our Royal Navy nuclear submarines routinely stored food for 90 days. “Babies heads” (letters, May 7 & 9) were a popular if expensive delicacy due partly to their almost infinite shelf life. Other less costly but also popular delights were elephant’s footprints, otherwise known as Nellie’s wellies (spam deep-fried in batter), Hits (herrings in tomato sauce) and baby whales (sardines) on toast.
Rear-Admiral (ret’d) Jon Westbrook
Liskeard, Cornwall

Call of the wild

Sir, Further to the discussion about cyclists (May 8 & 9), deaf people like me have the right to walk on pavements and footpaths without being flattened by cyclists. Ringing bells and calling out for us to get out of the way does not keep us safe.
Dr Margaret du Feu
Pudleston, Herefordshire

Bicycling hymn

Sir, Tricia Shuler’s family call And Can it Be, That I Should Gain the bicycling hymn (letter, May 8). My family did too, but for my mum and dad it was personal. They met on a chapel-organised cycling outing when my mum’s chain fell off and my dad fixed it. The lines of the hymn are: “My chains fell off, my heart was free,/ I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

My mum’s name was Rose, and we sang the hymn at my dad’s funeral.
Sue Scott
Theydon Bois, Essex

Finish on high note

Sir, Like Matthew Parris (Notebook May 8), I too improvise when it comes to flossing. I always keep a £20 note in my phone case and use this to keep the “pearlies” gleaming. Now that notes are made of polymer they are ideal: thin and flexible enough for the job. The plastic also ensures that it doesn’t become soggy through application and is therefore reusable.
Tim Kerin
London E7