Letters: A bold move on inheritance tax could mark the start of a Tory fightback

SIR – I was dismayed by your report (November 16) that Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is considering only cutting the rate of inheritance tax in the Autumn Statement. 

This would be to repeat previous ineffective tinkering. If Mr Hunt wants Tory prospects to improve, he needs to remove this hideous tax altogether – or at least make far fewer people pay it by radically increasing the threshold.

Steve Siddall
Holt, Wiltshire

SIR – I hope Jeremy Hunt can pull a rabbit out of the hat next week.

I suggest a reduction in corporation tax, along with a reduction in – or the long-term abolition of – Stamp Duty Land Tax. People moving house stimulates the domestic economy in so many ways.

Rosemary Waddingham
Frinton-on-Sea, Essex

SIR – I received an email yesterday, via the Conservative Party website, from Jeremy Hunt asking: “Have you seen our promises?”

I’m tempted to reply: “Would it matter if I had?”

Stephen MacNeil
Helston, Cornwall

SIR – I am saddened to say that I resigned my Conservative Party membership on Wednesday. 

I have been thoroughly disheartened by Rishi Sunak’s failure to fulfil promises he made in his pitch for the leadership of the party. Suella Braverman said it all perfectly in her letter to him, and many of her claims were confirmed by the Supreme Court ruling on Rwanda. 

For me, however, the return of David Cameron has been the nail in the coffin. Far from possessing much-needed gravitas, he is the former prime minister who threw his toys out of the pram when he didn’t like the result of a democratic referendum that he had called. 

This Government is now a sinking ship. I am a lifelong Thatcherite Tory, but as there is no prospect of a leader I can vote for, I have no reason to stay in the party. 

I will not be supporting a Government made up of multi-millionaire chancers at the next election just because it describes itself as Conservative. I hope that the Tories, in their current form, are wiped out, so that a party with genuine Conservative values, designed to best serve the interests of the people of this country, can rise from the ashes of this complete disaster.

Lynda Howe
Chichester, West Sussex

SIR – I wish Rishi Sunak was a braver man.

Hamish Hunter
Marlow, Buckinghamshire

SIR – If only Penny Mordaunt were in charge.

Sue Milne
Crick, Northamptonshire

Labour’s hard Left

SIR – The Labour MPs who defied Sir Keir Starmer over the Gaza vote (report, November 16) have given us a glimpse of life under a Labour government. Some of the 56, especially those on the hardest Left wing of the party, simply give succour to the likes of Hamas. They make Nye Bevan and Michael Foot appear positively Thatcherite.

The smaller Sir Keir’s majority, the more powerful these MPs become. If they unite with what remains of the SNP, it will be enough to keep Sir Keir up at night and send the rest of us running for the exit. The portents were there on Wednesday evening. We have been warned.

Charles Foster
Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire

SIR – I am unsure why 56 Labour MPs voting for a ceasefire in Gaza is relevant. Do these people imagine they will influence Israel or Hamas to stop the war? They won’t.

If Labour politicians want to do something constructive, why don’t they help come up with an agreement whereby both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, without the blight of Hamas?

Keith Jacques 
Stafford

 

Bungalow blocking

SIR – I have first-hand experience of the scarcity of bungalows (Letters, November 10) – along with the difficulty of building one.

My husband and I, both in our mid-eighties, own a substantial plot of land in our village and wanted to build a bungalow to suit our needs as we get older. We own and live in a three-bedroom house, with a two-bedroom annexe and a substantial garden. It is far too large for two people.

However, our application to the local council for planning permission was refused as it did not comply with an outdated “village plan”. 
 

Parish councils should wake up to the needs of the elderly and of growing families.

Maureen Marshall
Peterborough

SIR – Of course older people are refusing to downsize. The larger the house we can keep, the greater the value it will have when it comes to buying the best care possible for the remaining spouse.

Michael Keene
Winchester, Hampshire

Precocious pooches

SIR – Helen Cann’s letter (November 15), about the theft of chocolates by her Jack Russell-dachshund cross, renewed a memory of my son’s labrador. Overnight, he deftly managed to open my jacket pocket to eat a stack of chocolate toffees. His artistry was in leaving the empty wrappers in situ, with no sign of entry. The visit to the vet for a check-up was thought of as a treat as well. 

Dogs are a lot more intelligent than we suppose.

Alan Cubbin
Weasenham St Peter, Norfolk

SIR – Jack Russells are the cleverest of dogs. Ours, Betty, could pod a fresh pea, eat the contents and leave the shell.

Rachael Hendry
Market Drayton, Shropshire

SIR – When only a few months old, our mischievous miniature schnauzer managed to work out how to take all the screws out of our patio furniture, clearly enjoying it when we ran outside at the resulting crash.

Stephen Knight
Barnet, Hertfordshire

Stubborn Civil Service

SIR – The article by the anonymous civil servant (“Why my Civil Service colleagues are celebrating the Rwanda ruling”, telegraph.co.uk, November 16) is a damning insight into the department. It gives an impression of arrogance and unprofessionalism, and the fact that staff are in the office only one day a week suggests a lack of commitment and poor output.

I always regarded the British Civil Service as something to be proud of, but now I feel ashamed.

John S Bridger
Leigh, Kent

 

Red Arrows’ future

SIR – The Royal Air Force is, arguably, at its lowest operational capacity since its formation in 1918, and now its Red Arrows display squadron has been put in “special measures” (report, November 15) following a damning report on its members’ behaviour. 

In my day, a fast-jet squadron pilot had to be proficient in counter-air operations, interdiction, armed reconnaissance and close air support. All Red Arrows pilots possess these skills, having previously flown with frontline RAF squadrons, but as Red Arrows they merely have to fly in visually pleasing close formation.

Retiring this air-show attraction would be a difficult decision, but could release funds to resurrect another operational squadron.

Huw Baumgartner
Bridell, Pembrokeshire

 

Dunhill delivers

SIR – In December 1943 my father’s Halifax was shot down during a raid over Frankfurt. He successfully bailed out, but was captured and sent to Stalag Luft III near Sagan, now in Poland. There he was dismayed to find that his Dunhill pipe (Letters, December 15), kept in the breast pocket of his uniform, had snapped upon landing.

He wrote to Dunhill in London explaining his problem, and the company generously despatched two new pipes to him, via the Red Cross. 

Mike Evans
West Horsley, Surrey

SIR – I served as a senior medical officer in a prison where, in more liberal times, I was allowed to smoke my pipe.

Often confronted by angry and resentful prisoners, I found the atmosphere improved when I offered them a pinch of pipe tobacco for their roll-up cigarettes. We would puff in harmony until the consultation began.

Dr Steven R Hopkins
Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire

Buildings with a dizzying carbon footprint 

SIR – The image accompanying your article (“Battle is on for soul of historic City of London”, Business, November 13) depicting the City’s future skyline – crammed full of towers and skyscrapers – is one of grave concern, both historically and architecturally. 

But apart from these concerns, the construction and maintenance of high-rise buildings is very carbon-intensive. The environmental cost of the steel and glass, as well as the lifts and air-conditioning, in a city that is aiming to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, is astounding. It seems that the City has only one priority: money.

Quinlan Terry
Dedham, Essex

Households that are happier with a heat pump

SIR – I fully agree with Jill Bruce’s letter (November 15) pointing out the benefits of heat pumps. 
I replaced my oil boiler with a heat pump two years ago, since the cost of replacing the leaking tank and 30-year-old boiler was 70 per cent that of the heat pump, with no subsidies. 

In the two winters since, the running cost has been less than our previous oil bills, and we are able to maintain comfortable, 21C room temperatures with 45C water-flow temperatures to the room units. 

The original pipework was used without disruption during the changes. The heat pump is mounted outside our bedroom window and is barely audible – unlike our neighbour’s external boiler, which has an intrusive, low-frequency rumble. 

Keith Taylor 
Hereford

SIR – Jill Bruce commends her heat pump as being “less noisy than any petrol or diesel car I have ever heard”. The noise of one machine may be no worse than that of a car idling for hours, but what will the cumulative noise be when nearly every household is required to have one?

Simon Howell
Porlock, Somerset

SIR – For how much longer are we going to perpetuate the myth that heat pumps offer a universal alternative to gas and oil boilers? They may work for some modern, well-insulated housing, but are totally unsuitable for many British buildings. Their installation costs can be high and their heat output is often inferior to that of the system they replace.

Common sense demands that those responsible for buildings that cannot accommodate heat pumps (such as old churches) must not be penalised for simply trying to keep their occupants reasonably warm. There are other ways of offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions. We could start by planting more trees.

Michael Allisstone
Chichester, West Sussex

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