Letter of the week: Total political recall

Andrew Marr finished his latest “At Large” piece by asking this question: are we losing our collective political memory? I’m now 82 and still interested in politics, and my answer, at least for this writer, is: no.

I was an only child of parents from Dalston and Hoxton who left school at 14. I was brought up by a grandmother who was in the workhouse from 12 to 14. I listened to my parents talk about the Battle of Cable Street; both were fervent anti-fascists. My grandmother, without intending to turn her little granddaughter into a socialist, told me stories about her life: not having a penny for school, newspaper instead of a tablecloth, and a brother who sold his teeth for money. These were not told as tragedies but a vivid colourful tales. She was illiterate but a wonderful storyteller.

The richness and powerful simplicity of these the stories made me a lifelong political watcher and thinker. I’ve been tracking politics now for 75 years and I’m holding my breath until the result of the Makerfield by-election is declared.
Karen Wynyard, Whitstable, Kent

Burnham after reading

The contrast between Ailbhe Rea’s article on the contenders for the Labour leadership and the piece on “Labour’s greatest loss” is accentuated both by their bookending of the magazine, and by the sincerity of John Smith’s words on the night before he died – “the opportunity to serve our country. That is all we ask” – and the place-seeking, and place-holding, among the present hierarchy.
Tom Stubbs, Surbiton, Greater London

If Andy Burnham became prime minister, would he subscribe to the Labour manifesto that won the 2024 general election? Presumably not. Yet if he didn’t endorse it, he would have no mandate to govern. Do the Labour MPs who want Keir Starmer out really wish to see the country forced into a premature general election that Labour would stand a good chance of losing? Better to allow the government its allotted years in power, during which Starmer’s popularity could improve and Nigel Farage’s wane.
Patrick O’Brien, Capel Seion, Aberystwyth

One of the very attractive features of the New Statesman is the quality of its graphics – no more so than the thought-provoking cover of the last issue (“Definitely, Maybe?”). But isn’t it too presumptuous to portray Andy Burnham sitting astride Westminster? He is not yet even sitting MP for Makerfield. The voters may have different ideas – though hopefully not.
Colin Richards, Spark Bridge, Cumbria

I think Becky Barnicoat hit the nail on the head about Andy Burnham. His shorts have got everyone talking, which in this era of personality politics can only be a good thing. Burnham clearly knows how to work the media and, whether you like it or not, this is an essential part of leading a political party. Keir Starmer can’t compete with Nigel Farage in getting his message across. I can’t help thinking: would he be as unpopular if he had a bigger gob on him (as we say here in the West Midlands)?
Rob Grew, Birmingham

Values judgement

I really enjoyed Freddie Hayward’s analysis of “empty suit” Starmer. I agree on the “cringe” regarding “Labour values”. Two elections ago I felt bile rising when Andy Burnham described his constituents as wanting nothing more than work, home, family. Reform values? I was a duped Blair beneficiary: working class, degree, the world (isn’t) your oyster. Well, now I see Burnham’s point.
Cecilia Harrison, Nottingham

The clarity with which your Washington-based US correspondent Freddie Hayward has seen through Keir Starmer makes a good case for “remote working”. No more cosy chats in the Red Lion or long lunches in posh restaurants and the truth will out. Contrary to the usual story of a decent man trapped in the headlights, Starmer has a problem with telling the truth.
Les Bright, Exeter

Olefactory or fiction?

Katharine Viner reflects the anxieties about Alzheimer’s prevention techniques, which seem to amount to leading as healthy a lifestyle as possible. But this reader, for one, is on tenterhooks to find out whether or not I should use a manual technique to keep my nostrils pristine. Can we have the answer please?
Sue Lloyd, Bristol

Brexit revisited

Thank goodness for the contributions of Caroline Lucas and Rachel Cunliffe focusing on the need to revisit Brexit and implement some form of PR. Many of us are in near despair that amid the media storm surrounding the leadership of the Labour Party, neither of these issues are receiving the attention they merit. Brexit, despite the self-evident catastrophe it represents, has become so toxic that politicians never confront it directly.

It seems to be almost apostasy to propose, as Caroline Lucas does, a negotiated return. PR is often dismissed as irrelevant, but the first-past-the-post system is a major cause of the political instability that often undermines good governance. Unless both Brexit and PR are taken seriously, our politics will increasingly resemble the rearranging of deck chairs on the Titanic as it sinks beneath the waves.
Martin Davis, West Bridgford

Morcambe bae

I was happy to see Nicholas Harris’s review of The Morecambe and Wise Show, 1968: The Lost Tape and wanted to reassure him that his view on whether or not Eric Morecambe has been forgotten depends very much on where you’re standing. In the town he took his name from there were big celebrations over his 100th-birthday week, including sell-out tribute shows in the Winter Gardens, a new mural, talks, screenings, guided walks and 800 high-school students taking part in a silly run on the prom. His statue is much loved and never alone as there’s always someone posing for a photo beside it.
Claire Dean, Lancashire

Heart to heart

If Stephen King did say, “I like to tell people I have the heart of a small boy… it’s in a jar on my desk,” (doubtful: smells apocryphal to me), he was merely riffing on the Psycho author, Robert Bloch, who said: “Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.”
Jack Adrian, Malvern, Worcestershire

Delivering some advice

On the matter of consultations (or “encounters”) involving our GPs, maybe we should change another term that seems precious to clinicians: the “delivery” of healthcare. If we are to have more equal partnerships with informed patients, healthcare should be increasingly a matter of service provision. I appreciate, for certain circumstances, that the term “delivery” will still have a place, but it can imply a rather one-way process that puts healthcare on a par with pizzas and letters (when we get them).
Malcolm J Fisk, emeritus professor, University of Lancashire

Backwards compatibility

I usually read the New Statesman from the back to the front, and this week I enjoyed Nicholas Lezard, Rachel Cunliffe and Finn McRedmond so much they justified the subscription on their own.
Jeremy Holmes, Princes Risborough

No place for cakeism

I really value Finn McRedmond’s Silver Spoon articles, and I agreed with so much of her column on museum lunches. But I would love to know why she says “apricot cake (no thank you, I am not 70)”. As I am just the other side of 70, I need to know if apricots are universally loathed by everyone up to 69?
Julia Edwards, Winchester

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[Further reading: What Britain won’t face]