Letter of the week: Forget Britishness, we need to be more European

Unbundling that, is it not a large part of the problem that for too long politicians have spent their time listening to vocal, minority-interest focus groups rather than making any real attempt to discern the view of what lawyers used to call “the man on the Clapham omnibus”?
John Tanzer

To be truly British isn’t it enough to be narrow minded, narcissistic and conceited? Once, such Britishness led to empire; now it just leads to Nigel Farage. Can we stop trying to be British, we were much nicer when we were European.
Mark Rowlands

Will insisting upon “a core of social norms” apply just to first- or second-generation immigrants? Will the rest of the population be able to question society’s norms and values with impunity, or will they be obligated to conform? We could end up like Russia if we don’t think this through.
Will Douglas-Mann

I can’t help but feel that the idea is that we should crack down very hard on Muslims, who are the most over scrutinised group in the country, while not looking at any other minority groups that express unacceptable views.
Ann Harries

Re: “An act of crime.. and dark genius” by Paul Mason (TNW #466).

Many readers of TNW rely on journalism such as this to give us hope that some sense will ultimately prevail. At the moment I do feel we have spineless politicians who are like rabbits in headlights when faced with the disastrous economic negatives of Brexit and the need to ignore all morals and legalities in the hope of obtaining morsels of trade.
Nicholas Cole

What would be the point of Keir Starmer/ Yvette Cooper mouthing off at Donald Trump over Venezuela, only for the US to take revenge by either increasing tariffs or, even worse, withdrawing support for Ukraine?

We are dealing with an overgrown toddler who has the biggest toy box of arms in the world. Europe needs to make clear that the US must not cross the line of replacing democratically elected governments, but Starmer and, to be fair, Badenoch have both done this.
Brian Ronson

Suggested Reading

Shut down Musk’s AI porn

James Ball

Re: “Grok must go” by James Ball (TNW #466).

On January 6, 2026, I consciously uncoupled myself from the platform formerly known as Twitter and deleted it from my phone. I had been very active on the site, but have come to the conclusion it is no longer fit for human consumption.

I hope the government will carry out its threat to ban X if it remains a vehicle for men to construct and share indecent images of women and underage girls.
Carol Hedges

Silence or looking the other way in the face of despotic behaviour is not just tantamount to complicity, it is cowardice, and the behaviour will only get worse. We all know this. Europe has to stand together against Elon Musk. Canada, too, and anywhere else that cares about decency, truth, and the rule of law.
RSP Zatzen

I’ve taken to mis-spelling the surname of Grok’s owner as “Muck”, because he is full of it. This new disgrace further confirms his level.
Audrey Bailey

Re: “Dubai, a safe space for hypocrisy” by Ros Taylor (TNW #466).

What a prescient exposé of the hypocrisy of the wealthy jumping ship to avoid taxes. Perhaps someone could keep an eye on those who retain their mansions and staff just in case Dubai, with all its dubious attractions, doesn’t work out.

The upside is to learn that there is a steady stream of scientists, medics and other academics coming to the UK from the US, disillusioned with Trump.

Perhaps there should be a rigorous test for re-admission to this “demi paradise, this throne of kings” to include the payment of all taxes evaded. This breach of loyalty should remain a stain.
David Handley
Gargrave, Yorkshire

Yallah! No mention of the thriving prostitution industry in “Al Dubai”?
Dev Bhojwani

Re: “What the hell is quantum mechanics?” by Philip Ball (TNW #466).

What an excellent article on the competing theories of explanation for quantum mechanics. Can you now please commission a piece to explain the article?
Alasdair Lawrance

Re: “This sounds crazy, but our politicians need a pay rise” by Patience  Wheatcroft (TNW #466).

Decades ago, the custom in the landed aristocracy was that younger sons seen as unfit to be future rulers of the empire were directed into the clergy or politics. The Tory Party became the natural home of those who would govern despite having no suitable experience or ability, which has led to the terminal rot that has overtaken the modern party. 

I used to laugh at this story, but now I think it has substance. Ms Wheatcroft is surely correct; we need to pay the going market rate for good governance, and implement the changes she suggests.
Pauline Caldwell

In 1986 I was entertaining some Turkish business colleagues in London and after a concert we ended up in the Commons’ visitors gallery. There were at most a dozen MPs lounging about.

I couldn’t explain then what they were doing so late at night, or why so few were there. I still can’t. No successful business would dream of allowing this or expect it to produce successful outcomes.

There must be less tradition and more real accountability. And yes, by all means let’s pay more to get the right people.
John Simpson

Don’t forget MPs’ £94k salary puts them in the top 4% of UK earners. We do need to make the role more attractive, and deal with the antisocial hours and horrendous abuse politicians get. But if we pay a junior doctor as little as £38k a year to save lives, can we justify paying an MP more than twice that?
Mark Ballard
Edinburgh, Scotland 

Politicians should not get a pay rise. They get more money than is good for them in “political donations”. We know from past experience that an increase in official emoluments will not put a stop to this. Similarly, I would feed politicians on out-of-date supermarket sandwiches and use the absurdly over-subsidised kitchens at Westminster to prepare meals for homeless people. 
Don Adamson
Bradford, West Yorkshire 

Re: Germansplaining on new year fireworks, by Tanit Koch (TNW #466).

I have been in Berlin for New Year; it was frightening, with people setting off fireworks without any thought to who may be hit by them. Happily, we had the hotel bar/bomb shelter to retreat to, but will not venture back to Germany for a New Year’s Eve again.
Adrian Withill

BELOW THE LINE

Re: “Why Hamnet doesn’t get Shakespeare” by John Bleasdale (TNW #466).

The book is the one Maggie O’Farrell I’ve not loved. Yes, the portrayal of grief is magnificent; Agnes and children are fascinating. But I could not find the author of the sonnets in “the husband”. You can argue that portraying Shakespeare was not the point. But the fact that the character was a version of him that didn’t convince interfered with my ability to inhabit the book’s world: it broke the spell.
Lynne Edwards

Was the point of Hamnet to “get Shakespeare”? Or as the writer seems to suggest at the end, synthesise Shakespeare in some way? I took Hamnet to be an interesting perspective in which we note Shakespeare exactly for his famous, illusive, unknowable absence of being. As with Hilary Mantel’s epic Wolf Hall, it is the death of a child that sparks the question of reflection upon these great men of history.
Victoria Donaldson

Re: “Seven degrees of separation” by Peter Trudgill (TNW #466).

As ever, Peter’s article, about our singing voices, was most engaging. But he omitted one voice, the castrato – or did the editor cut it out?
Andrew Rolph
Bradford on Avon, Wilts