Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
Should royal realms become republics?
Paul from London is wrong to consider present-day royalty a requisite for royal tourism (MetroTalk, Wed).
Once something happens in a country it remains part of that country’s history forever. Despite Stalin’s efforts we still associate the name Trotsky with the Soviet Union, which is itself now defunct.
I’m not suggesting any Stalin-style revisionism here – far from removing Henry VIII from the history books, for example, I want to see people learning what a monster he was.
Britain’s most popular royal tourist attractions are places such as Hampton Court and the Tower of London, which haven’t had royal residents for centuries. I’m told that among the biggest royal tourist attractions in all Europe is Versailles, in a part of France not even that much warmer or drier than southern England. Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany, isn’t doing badly, either.
Think how big a draw Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle could be were they empty all year round!
It would not even be that big a hardship on the House of Windsor, who would still own Balmoral and Sandringham privately even if all their realms became republics.Charles EL Gilman, by email
‘Why isn’t the government going after the billions lost to tax avoidance schemes?’ Asks reader
I think Inbaraj from Harrow (MetroTalk, Wed) misunderstood what I was saying when I said government U-turns should be seen as good.
I mentioned the recent U-turns just as an example of the government listening to the people, but I am referring to any U-turn.
If the government does a U-turn then it’s because something was a bad idea and they corrected it. But picking up on Inbaraj’s comment about fixing the economy by going after and fixing the benefit system, why doesn’t the government focus on fixing the mess that is the tax system?
Why is the government taking money from those that need it instead of going after billions of pounds lost to tax loopholes and tax avoidance schemes?Pedro, Hammersmith
Medical cannabis and dangerous medicine shortages
MPs have rightly called for action to stop dangerous medicine shortages (Metro, Tues).
The findings of an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy reflect the reality that many patients are facing across the UK with medicine shortages – and it seems many are turning to illicit cannabis use out of desperation.
A YouGov report suggests that 1.4million people are self-medicating with illegally obtained cannabis. These are not casual choices but desperate measures taken by individuals who feel abandoned by the system, often without being signposted to alternative, legal treatments.
The government needs to urgently act, not just to address shortages, but to ensure patients are signposted to all available options to manage their conditions, including medical cannabis, where appropriate, through safe, regulated, and legal pathways. Nabila Chaudhri, Reading
A tenth to the treasury?
I care about this country and I have a plan to save it: If everyone agreed to pay a tenth of their income back to the treasury I would follow suit and give back ten per cent of my state pension to the state.
But I wouldn’t agree unless everyone does it. So a footballer on £400,000 a week would return £40,000 a week to the treasury. And pigs may fly.
I say this in the week former Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti – one of the world’s most successful club football managers of all time – has been sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion. Richard Farrar, London
Reader claims Starmer and Macron’s migrant deal is the ‘worst deal in the history of this nation’
Has our useless prime minister signed the worst deal in the history of this nation? The deal with France is supposedly ‘one in, one out’ but I’ll bet it will mean in exchange for us sending back one migrant who illegally entered these shores France will send us 17 migrants who haven’t attempted the crossing.
Labour’s stupidity knows no bounds. Andy Watson, Halesowen
Toss your tissues please!
What with all the hay fever going around leading to sneezing, runny noses and coughs on the buses and trains it’s good to see at least some people carrying tissues, thank you for that. Now please can we all agree that after using the tissue, it should not be left on the bus/train’s seat or floor! Samuel, Tooting
Current affairs causing health concerns?
I retired a few years ago and, with more time on my hands, I started devouring news about current affairs.
Whether newspapers or television – I just couldn’t get enough.
I became reasonably well-informed, formed some opinions, and even got some published in Metro.
But recently I’m getting increasingly angry at every front page I read.
My wife asks me why I get so worked up. She, quite correctly, points out that I was much happier when I read the paper back from the sports pages towards the front, and had probably lost interest before I got to the proper news.
What would you do?
Should I endeavour to stay reasonably knowledgeable but health damagingly furious with it?
Or would it be better to simply give up, become blissfully unaware of what’s going on and go back to being reasonably happy again? Steve Maloney, Merseyside
Is it a scandal or stitch up?
I do wish the media would stop using the phrase ‘Post Office scandal’ like it’s all been some sort of accidental occurrence – the truth is, it has been a colossal corporate stitch-up.
The politicians who are supposed to be working in the people’s interest have allowed these grifters to use every legal trick to continue to evade compensating their employees for their ruined, and sadly often truncated, lives. Simon, via email
