Starmer’s courting of the EU via Germany

Sir, Rather than trying to pick off individual EU leaders (a fruitless exercise for David Cameron) for piecemeal “resets”, it would be better to find a proven method of beneficial coexistence with the EU as a whole (“Germany deal won’t erase the EU’s red lines”, Iain Martin, Aug 29).
Membership of EFTA would offer such a solution. We have a great deal in common with the four EFTA members in terms of social and economic philosophy and they have maintained good relations with the EU without all the obligations of full membership. We would be obliged to accept free movement of people and the single market, both of which are clearly in our direction of travel (whatever politicians say) and would probably be demanded in any reset of substance. And we would not be going back on the 2016 referendum.Michael OllerenshawAltrincham, Greater Manchester
Sir, This government repeatedly made it clear during the general election that it was not going to reopen British membership of the EU but would instead seek practical measures for co-operation on matters of mutual interest. That sensible policy will, at some stage, require an international trade dispute resolution body, not the courts of one side of any agreement. It would make sense now to make clear that when the time is ripe the EFTA Court would be the body for resolution of any jurisdictional disputes.Lord OwenFormer foreign secretary, London E14
Sir, I was flabbergasted to read your report about Sir Keir Starmer’s drive to improve relations with Germany (“Shared Interests”, Aug 29). I have been a French and German teacher for more than 13 years and have never seen such a decline in the uptake of German in schools here. With just over 2,000 entries for a German A-level across the UK, we are on the brink of a “subject extinction”. German has become a subject that is often available only in independent schools. Hence there was a certain irony about Starmer’s visit to Germany. How can he possibly hope to improve relations without ensuring that young Britons of today have the opportunity of learning the language and having an improved understanding of German culture?Richard YardleyShrewsbury, Shropshire
Sir, The prime minister should make extending the Youth Mobility Scheme to the EU a priority, just as the previous Conservative government did when negotiating a new trade deal with India. The scheme will not reintroduce free movement. Rather, it is a bilateral agreement that the UK has with 13 nations that grants a capped number of the under-30s from both countries the right to live, study and work in the other country.
Doing this will help the UK to secure preferential market access in the EU and rectify one of the biggest downsides of Brexit for young adults, which is the relative freedom and ease to live in different countries on the continent.Ryan ShorthouseExecutive chair, Bright Blue think tank
Sir, The whole point of leaving the EU was to reset our relationship with Europe. If he is not looking to unravel or weaken Brexit by rejoining the EU customs union and single market, then what is Sir Keir Starmer offering Olaf Scholz in return for his co-operation on trade and immigration? I smell a rat.Stefan BadhamPortsmouth
Sir, In justifying the proposed restoration of hate-crime measures, a Home Office source is reported as saying: “The Home Office has committed to reverse the decision of the previous government to downgrade the monitoring of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate, at a time when rates of those incidents have increased” (“Cooper faces legal battle over restoring hate-crime measures”, news, Aug 29).
This is yet another example of the confused thinking on this issue. Judaism and Islam (and, for that matter, Christianity, Hinduism and a host of other belief systems) are religions. Legislation to protect religious belief from criticism would reintroduce blasphemy laws abolished in England and Wales in 2008.Antisemitism is not synonymous with Islamophobia. Jews are a race; followers of Islam are multiracial. Definitions are critical and those crafting any new guidance need to proceed with extreme caution.Stephen GrantRottingdean, E Sussex
Sir, Further to the prime minister’s rose garden dialogue (letters, Aug 29; “I’ll bring back trust in politics”, news, Aug 27), we must not mistake a tonal reset for “fixing the foundations” of a more honest political culture. Sir Keir Starmer talks of a “societal black hole” and tough budgetary decisions. But meaningful steps are urgently required to wean political parties off their dependence on speculative statistics. On this, Labour and the Conservatives are not as far apart as Starmer might wish.
If the prime minister truly wants to advance the cause of transparency in British politics, he should equip the public with the skills, tools and confidence to spot misinformation in all its forms, including those that hide in plain sight with half-truths at their heart. The government may achieve this by making good its ambition to weave these skills throughout the education system and in revisiting the Online Safety Act, but it should chart a bolder course from the outset. Rosy rhetoric is pleasant but underwhelming.Chris MorrisChief executive, Full Fact
Sir, The most important task facing the diminished opposition is to hold the PM to account at prime minister’s questions each week. Which of the six candidates for Tory leader would be best at doing so? As things stand, we will not find out until November 3 — at PMQs — if party members have picked the right person. No amount of hustings can answer this question until, perhaps, the wrong choice is made (as with the lacklustre Rishi Sunak). To provide the strongest possible opposition in parliament, each of the contenders should be given the chance to represent the opposition at the next six sessions of PMQs. This would enable the 121 Tory MPs to see how each candidate performed. And the 170,000 party members would see who could best cut the prime minister down to size.Robin WightLuxborough, Somerset
Sir, Further to your report “Reeves tells Whitehall to make huge cuts” (Aug 29), the government would do well to ensure that civil servants go back to work in the office: the “machinery of government” is hampered by a working from home entitlement, which is clear to anyone needing to access any number of organisations, be it the tax office or the local planning department.Sue ThompsonAldeburgh, Suffolk
Sir, Dr Pat Morgan (letter, Aug 28) highlights her consultant calling out names of those to send home in the A&E waiting room. This shows that triage should be undertaken by the most senior doctor available, not the most junior nurse. He/she can direct the most seriously ill to the front of the queue as well as send home the walking well. Ultimately the consultant is responsible for all decisions.Dr Alastair ScammellRet’d consultant paediatrician, Lincoln
Sir, Recently I was working alongside another tradesman who had cut his hand. As he knew someone who worked at a nearby veterinarian surgery, he thought it would be more convenient to get it attended to there. They put five stitches in for him.John RatcliffeCavendish, Suffolk
Sir, When my father was secretary to the Ancient Monuments Board for England half a century ago, he told me they had tried to stop the druids scattering human ashes at Stonehenge (On this day, Aug 28). However, some time later, he was told that the druids were now known to be dropping the ashes down their trouser legs.Tim Tatton-BrownSalisbury
Sir, Regarding short church services (letters, Aug 28 & 29), at the beginning of my son’s baptism in Canada in late autumn the priest said he would keep it short — then pulled up his cassock to display his ski pants. It was the start of the ski season.Patricia SpellmanThaxted, Essex
Sir, The false columns on the ground floor of the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing were not the only elements of the design that Lord Sainsbury found problematic (“Tear down these carbuncle columns”, news, Aug 28). One morning, soon after joining the gallery as head of fundraising, I was told that Lord Sainsbury was in the Sainsbury Wing restaurant and that it would be a good moment to introduce myself. I arrived to find a volubly displeased Lord Sainsbury standing on a table unscrewing lightbulbs from the ceiling in an attempt to circumvent a design that had all the lights in the restaurant either on or off. I decided to wait for another opportunity to introduce myself.Colin McKenzieHead of development, National Gallery, 1994-2006; Brighton
Sir, I agree with Dr David Jeffrey’s assertion (letter, Aug 29) that empathy requires “an other-orientated attitude”. On our first day of clinical training each of us in turn were requested to undress, put on a gown and lie on a bed under the sheets. We could then realise what it was like to be a patient — someone on the other side of the blanket and, for them, in a “foreign land”. The understanding of this principle formed the basis of all our subsequent training.John Taylor FRCSBarton under Needwood, Staffs
Sir, Contrary to Nature Notes (Aug 27), earwigs are interested in crawling into people’s ears. When my brother was aged about eight he complained to my mother of a pain in his ear. She took him to the GP, who looked in his ear and spotted a mysterious object, which he fished out in triumph with tweezers, and which on inspection turned out to be a dead earwig. The GP was astonished as he had never found one in anyone’s ear before.Alison VaughanPortishead, Somerset
Sir, I am not surprised that Ruby Wax struggled to cope with a silent retreat — for someone who cannot stop talking even five minutes of silence is agony (“I went on a silent retreat . . . I still had a breakdown”, Times2, Aug 27). I grew up in a large extremely garrulous family and when the noise at mealtime became unbearable our father would balance a penny on the sauce bottle top as a prize for the last person to speak. We could guarantee which sister would crack first.Gina ArmstrongBrockenhurst, Hants
Sir, Carol Midgley (Times2, Aug 28) tells us that her Lancashire grandmother often declared: “Eee, you ’aven’t got the sense you were born with.” I too had a Lancashire grandmother, and if something was wrong in my life she would sagely announce: “It’s like to be.” I was never quite sure what this piece of wisdom meant, but presume today’s equivalent would be: “It is what it is.” And it goes without saying that grandmothers are always right.Janet CowieHelensburgh, Argyll & Bute