Letter of the week: Reform are corrupt liars who have taken the country for a ride

At last some of the people who might be able to influence the situation are waking up to the fact that a handful of bizarre blokes in an even more bizarre corner of the western world are trying to hold all of us to ransom simply to promote their own ends. Let’s hope the Clooneys et al will broadcast this realisation loud and clear.
Guin Vaughan

Brilliant Emily! Great addition. Enjoyable read. Shame you didn’t get on to George’s favourite curry! He loves them.
Chris Donaldson

I’m just adding my voice to what I hope will be the thousands of New World readers absolutely thrilled to be reading Emily Maitlis in the paper. 

She is a coup for the publication (that my husband and I have been subscribing to since day one) and I’m delighted to have more women’s voices in TNW. Congratulations.
Bryony Randall

Re: “Born in the fires of 9/11,” by Matthew d’Ancona, TNW #497

As you stated in the essay, many hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were subsequently wiped out in the aftermath of the twin towers. Most of those killed were non-combatants and all of them killed in countries other than the country where the hijackers came from – Saudi Arabia. This violent revenge was the significant event. I take nothing away from the hideous crime perpetrated on that September day in 2001. But the lies and obfuscation that followed, along with sanctioned torture, forever blotted the west’s copy book.
Keith Brisley

We are far too tolerant of all theistic religions. They are all divisive, irrational and demeaning and we should have no hesitation in criticising such malign superstitions. More specifically, the physical and psychological abuse meted out on our children should be stopped. No more religious schools or religion in schools.
Alex Dale

Reading this insightful piece on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 got me thinking about the rise of the hard right today. The far right are no more the left behind and oppressed with “legitimate concerns” than Islamism is a rebellion of the powerless and disenfranchised. These extremists appear to have more in common than what divides them.
Catriona Stewart

Re: “Reform, the angry ridiculous party,” by James Ball, TNW #497 

Reform is a party that can’t even retain councillors once they see the hard work ahead – and government by dictatorship will be a much more relentless grind. If Nigel Farage gets into power, that horrible video of the protester being attacked by the Reform faithful will be Britain every day on steroids.
Jonathan Allen

You write that Reform is falling apart because they are incompetent grifters. Those of us commenting on, or just reading the article probably thought that was the case and are pleased to have yet more confirmation of that. The real question is what can we each do to ensure that those who do not think that is the case come to understand and believe it to be so, and how soon can we do it?
Patrick Reynolds

A party for government? What a joke. They are corrupt liars who have been taking this country for a ride. If voters go for this lot then there is no hope left. Shut the doors and put up the closed sign.
Adam Primhak

Who are these supporters? Do they not understand that Reform will slash their benefits? They are given donations by the rich as they want taxes slashed, deregulation, zero-hours contracts, the ability to hire and fire at will, lower wages and the removal of safety nets that protect workers, all so they can make more money.
Henry Gray

They are a farce, but the far right movement will never go away as long as there is a dissatisfied fraction of the population. Look at France and Germany.
Jeff Morton

Trump survived numerous scandals that most of us assumed would finish him off for good. We will have to wait for the next opinion poll to see if this has registered at all with Farage’s voters!
Will Douglas-Mann

Suggested Reading

Netanyahu is behind in the polls – it looks as if Israelis have had enough

Donald Macintyre

Re: “Netanyahu is behind in the polls – it looks as if Israelis have had enough,” by Donald Macintyre, TNW #497

I applaud Ed Miliband’s announcement of sanctions against Israeli settlements. It’s better late than never, and I hope to see similar moves from other countries that are horrified by the cruel stupidity of Netanyahu
et al.
J Burgess

Re: “The far right returns to power in Germany,” by John Kampfner, TNW #497

Never give these people their chance to prove how incompetent they are, because, like Trump, they will simply break every rule or acceptable norm in order to get their way. 

We have to scrap partisan politics and combine to fight the common enemy, the AfD, the National Rally, Reform UK.
Tony Marshall

It’s a worrying trend, but it would only become outright dangerous were the AfD to win an overall majority at national (federal) level. Also, their support is focused in the former East German states, which only make up a third of the total population. The east is quite different, as it was the former communist state. Maybe the people there are more comfortable with authoritarian government. 
Jens Jensen

BELOW THE LINE

Re: “Alastair Campbell’s diary,” TNW #497: 

Has it occurred to Alastair Campbell that some of those he accused of doom-scrolling on the tube may in fact be reading their e-books? Perhaps they are reading his diary in TNW’s app? Or studying. Or even, as promoted on the back page of TNW #497, enjoying this magazine’s WhatsApp channel.  
Clare Jenkins

RE: “On Francis Fukuyama” by Nigel Warburton, TNW #497: 

If we’d only listened to Fukuyama. He foresaw the dark creatures of capitalism that now threaten to destabilise the world. He knew global capitalism was engineering its own twin nightmares. Fukuyama has a new book out this month. We might all want to grab a copy.
Steve Howell

Re: “History says Polanski is going to win the St Pancras by-election,” by Peter Kellner, TNW #497:

While he’s busy picking off Labour’s fringe left, surely there’s many a trad Green who could be attracted back to a Labour Party that engaged with the environmental issues that have reared their heads so alarmingly this summer, but which Polanski seems to have forgotten.
Andy Davies