Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
A reader shares a time where bombing didn’t have the result intended…
David Frencel believes that we can bomb people into peace and cites the defeat of Germany in World War II as an example (MetroTalk, Wed).
Bombing obviously helped but the Allies had to invade and occupy Germany to end the war. The US tried to defeat North Vietnam with intensive bombing and we know how that turned out. Martin, London
Democracy by airstrike? What a joke
Top marks for slotting David Frencel’s ‘bomb-them-into-democracy’ manifesto between an AK-47 gag and a pair of doctor jokes. Nothing says light relief like turning regime-change into the set-up for your punch-line section. Clearly, some opinions are read best when labelled ‘comedy’. Az Moss, London
Defence policy dictated by Trump?
Sir Keir Starmer is buying 12 F-35A US jets to expand our ‘nuclear deterrence’.
We have been aware of the threat from Russia for many years, even before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022 (or 2014, if we’re counting Crimea) yet we have been happy to let Ukraine fight this war on behalf of the rest of Europe instead of giving them what they need to actually push Russia back, which you would think would be the most effective way of protecting the UK from Russian aggression.
This newfound appetite for defence spending is clearly being driven by Donald Trump’s threat of withdrawing from Nato unless European states spend more, which effectively highlights who it is that determines UK defence policy.
Is this really the best way to protect the UK in modern warfare, which is highly digitised and much more reliant on new technology such as drones?
In particular, is it really the case that having ten times as many nuclear warheads equates to ten times as much nuclear deterrence, given a single nuclear strike would have such huge consequences?
Sir Keir Starmer has chosen to prioritise an arms race over welfare, climate change, international collaboration and human rights. What a difference a year in power makes. Federico Moscogiuri, Hertford
Tax breaks for the rich, cuts for the sick
Can we ever imagine a time when the British government of the day won’t seek to make the sick and the disabled pay for its spending choices in other areas? Philip Duval, Manchester
Precision in Iran, devastation in Gaza
In recent days, Israel has demonstrated remarkable precision – striking targets more than 2,000km away in Iran, eliminating specific individuals and hitting buildings with surgical accuracy.
And yet in Gaza, just 60km from its own borders, Israel has bombed hospitals, schools, refugee camps and public infrastructure into dust.
Meanwhile, Hamas remains – not fully dismantled after months of war. Criticising these actions is a moral obligation. Israel’s right to self-defence does not include a right to erase a society. Martin, Uxbridge
Don’t blame migrants, blame war
Chris (MetroTalk, Tue) is surprised that there was little mention of the 1,000 migrants who entered Britain illegally in just two days. But it has pretty much been the MO of successive governments since Tony Blair to have an open-door policy.
It seems none of the main parties have any intention of controlling immigration, making migrants more welcome than other European countries.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees there are 43million worldwide refugees so if they all turned up on Britain’s shores we would be, according to the main parties, obliged to take them all in. It does not have to be that way. Alan Spencer, Birmingham
It won’t be long until we see hundreds of small boats, says reader
It’s a bit dispiriting to see people like Chris bleating about the ‘small boats’ when events in the Middle East are spiralling out of control.
If Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies – with Donald Trump’s acquiescence – get their way it won’t be long before we see hundreds of Palestinian refugees turning up on the beaches around Calais.
And sadly for Chris and his ilk there’ll be nowhere to send them back to! Dermot Lynch, Birmingham
Reform UK looks after the rich
At last some policy from Reform UK and its £250,000 tax-exemption Britannia Card for non-doms. Looking after the nom-dom billionaires shows exactly who they are interested in. They have nothing to offer working people. S Coyne, Coventry
Buses are too packed with technology to keep us cool
In reply to Ken about melting on buses (MetroTalk, Tue), it’s entirely by design – if you are in London, at least. Here, the buses are packed with CCTV, tracking and Oyster-reading equipment, which leaves no room for air-conditioning.
On the older buses, the packing in of those things led to engine overheating too, as they had to remove other equipment to fit it all.
If you go to other countries in Europe that are using similar off-the-shelf designs as each other, they are lovely and cool with perfectly functioning air-con, and have been for decades I suggest we start kicking up a fuss about being stuck in worse conditions then cattle.
I would include shops in this, too – Westfield for example is totally unbearable. Chris, London
Sssssh! We don’t need to know
I’m writing about those loud conversations on your mobile in an otherwise quiet carriage – it is utterly self-centered, socially unaware and, quite frankly, very boring.
We all await the inevitable loss of signal mid-sentence while we are forced to endure your inane ‘he said-she said’ story from work or the announcement that you will arrive at the station at the same time as every other day or what little Cressida darling painted today in art class.
Know that all you do is irritate people who just want a few moments’ peace. Don’t be that person. Elena S, Guildford
How to write an honest water bill and the price of going to the pub
Despite using seven per cent less water than in the same period last year, Thames Water have put my bill up by something like 87 per cent!
After a load of waffle on how I can save water, page four of my bill says, ‘On average, our charges went up by 40.7 per cent on 1 April…. This includes inflation… and revenue allowances permitted by Ofwat [the water regulator].’
Would it not be more honest to say, ‘Our initial shareholders took all the money, Ofwat was too ineffective to do anything and the government buried its head in the sand – so you bear the cost’? Tim F, Beckenham
Thinking about the lack of rainfall in Britain, we are an island, so why don’t we build desalination plants and take the water from the sea? Alan, Sunderland
I hope the £150,000 violin (Metro, Tue) is returned to its rightful owner, but whatever possessed them to take it to the pub? Sara, Cheltenham
