Hard to predict what Labour will have to fix if the Tories continue to damage the country - Yorkshire Post Letters

In her letter (TYP, September 1) Hilary Andrews writes that she - along with others she has read about - doesn’t understand what Keir Starmer stands for.

I respectfully suggest that, if she is truly keen to know, she does a little research, maybe even via the Labour Party website. But that aside, perhaps Ms Andrews has not taken into account that the next General Election may not (unfortunately) happen for another year or more; at the rate the current Government is damaging the UK, it is surely hard to predict what further problems the next administration will have to tackle in order to rebuild the ruins caused by 13 years of Tory misrule.

Once the election is called, the various political parties will produce their manifestos and Ms Andrews will easily be able to see exactly how Labour intends to put us all back together again.

As to the assertion that Labour considers taxing energy companies and abolishing non-dom status as a solution to all our problems - while those two actions would certainly help, I really don’t think anyone is suggesting that they alone would solve the mess we are in.

Ms Andrews goes on to criticise Labour for what she perceives as their lack of policy over matters of health, climate, immigration etc. clearly forgetting that those topics are currently the responsibility of the Conservative government.

Or am I misunderstanding her - is she hoping that Starmer and co can influence things whilst still in Opposition? After all, those angry about immigration, rail strikes and the NHS must surely realise that this is life in Sunak’s UK and whatever Starmer says, it seems highly unlikely Sunak will take any notice.

As things stand, we have a weak Prime Minister who is in his post by default. A man who thinks nothing of zipping around in helicopters whilst more fall into poverty, our rivers and coasts are polluted, NHS waiting lists grow longer and the rich grow even richer.

Just before sitting down to write this, I read that it was Sunak, as Chancellor, who refused to fully fund repairs to schools that are now having to be evacuated for safety reasons.

Further, it is reported that some families are having to choose not just between heat and eat, but also between hygiene and food, with teachers stepping in to help with washing. How can we call ourselves a civilised nation? (Answer: we can’t).

My message to Ms Andrews is this: please remember who has been running the country since 2010, and who is ultimately responsible for resolving our nation’s ills. It’s not (yet) Keir Starmer.