Not looking at the bigger picture

Yet another leaflet from Mr Mangnall through my door (which, if nothing else, tells us which party has the most "cash to splash" at this election - I wonder why that could be?). This one repeating Rishi Sunak's pernicious assertion that National Insurance is an "unfair dual taxation system" and we would have more money in our pockets without it. Really? How are they planning to afford the NHS then? Oh, yes, maybe they're not... 

I paid NI for my whole working life. I can't remember ever minding paying it: if anything, I was pleased to live in a country that had a welfare state safety net to support those in need, where those who can afford to pay into an insurance system knowing that they will be able to claim on it should they ever need to, for reasons of unemployment, sickness or old age.

It does the Tories - and us all - great discredit to think that we the electorate only vote for what we perceive to be in our short-term  self-interest, rather than what's best in the longer term for the country as a whole.

This inflammatory rhetoric looks rather more like a disingenuous "scorched earth" policy that just tries to make the country less satisfied with the inevitable new incumbents, sowing discord and discontent just to further their own immediate ends.

Sylvia Rose

Totnes

Why Caroline Voaden won my vote

Although I have never written to a newspaper before I wanted to send my thoughts on the recent hustings at Brixham Theatre. My first instinct is to thank the staff. They were all excellent and the venue was very accessible. The six candidates had the opportunity to tell the audience their background and reasons for standing. Heritage and Reform were not for me. The sitting MP was obviously a very confident public speaker but was booed several times. The Labour candidate seemed knowledgeable and had an appealing manner. But unfortunately for him I had seen the leaders debate and he was very obviously working from the same script. Some sentences verbatim. The Green candidate was warm and friendly had lots of values that align with my own but with this archaic voting system didn’t stand a chance on July 4th The Lib Dem’s candidate was very engaging. She told her personal story, illustrated her own struggles, a young widow with 2 small daughters bringing them up on her own. Questions from the audience were read out by the chair. This is when and where the candidates showed their mettle. A party manifesto can’t deliver that. Most candidates managed the questions well although three were heckled. In my opinion, and without a shadow of a doubt Caroline Voaden was the most knowledgeable, empathetic and engaging of everyone. It seemed appropriate that we were in a theatre as she was obviously the star of the evening She has proved her strength and resilience in the Business, Charity, and Political world. I vowed never to vote for the Lib Dem’s again after the coalition, but Caroline Voaden has changed my opinion. My vote is hers. Helen Hanchett-Vanes Kingsbridge TQ74RG

A compelling voice for change

Last Friday night, June 21st, I attended the election hustings in Brixham. It was fascinating. 

I am supporting Caroline Voaden for the LibDems and I wanted to hear her speak in public. She did not disappoint me or many in the audience., judging from the responses around the room.

She spoke clearly and calmly with good arguments behind her. But there’s more to her than that. She has lived locally for many years and, amongst other roles, was a Reuters news journalist, led the LibDems in the European Parliament, ran a small business in Totnes and, most recently, been CEO of Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services. She also had direct experience as a carer when her husband became ill and sadly died leaving her with two young children to bring up.

These have given her an insight into how tough life can be especially when the fabric of society that many of us rightly value, has been so undermined by the actions of the Tories for the last 14 years. She is not a career politician but someone who cares deeply about people and wishes to improve the lives of South Devon constituents.

I very much hope she is our next MP in just over a week’s time.

Jude Bishop South Brent,

TQ10 9AP Balancing opportunities and practicalities

I am writing to reassure Richard O’Connell (Letters Page June 13) and other readers that building genuinely affordable housing is indeed a key priority for the administration at South Hams District Council.

As he states in his letter, Mr  O’Connell kindly offered us land for social housing. Sadly in this case the proposed project was, as he indicates, judged to be unviable. However he perhaps forgot to mention that this conclusion was arrived at after advice given by the District Council’s Planning Department and Devon County Council’s Highways Department.

We are extremely grateful to Mr O’Connell and other philanthropic landowners who have come forward to offer land for much-needed affordable housing. I would like to stress that since launching our South Hams Housing Offer in February this year, supporting communities who wish to bring forward such schemes, we are already progressing several sites, though we have unfortunately had to reject a few others as part of the “filtering” process. We would love to take every scheme forward, but issues such as difficult access or gradient of land, for example, mean this is not possible in every case.

Cllr Denise O’Callaghan, Housing Lead at South Hams District Council

The candidates and their claims

I was bemused by the choice of candidates I listened to last Friday in Brixham at the hustings. I liked both Robert Bangnall for the Greens and Daniel Steel. Both spoke very engagingly and Daniel got the biggest laugh of the night when he quipped that the Rwanda scheme was a huge amount of money to spend (almost £500M) to send a few Foreign Secretaries there, but the real tragedy was that ‘they all came back’.

Anthony Mangnall had some local support, but he also was laughed at several times by the audience for claims he made about holding South West Water to account and for claiming the 40 hospitals promise was on track. I don’t think many of us believed such nonsense, and he lost credibility. Then there was the Reform candidate and the Heritage candidate whose views on Net Zero and how there is no climate emergency I find just baffling and utterly ridiculous.

For me the clear winner was Caroline Voaden. I think she is a woman of integrity who will be a fine MP if she is elected. She has experience as a top level journalist, of running her own business and of charity work at a high level of responsibility. She is a caring and thoughtful person who always speaks constructively and knowledgeably. She will definitely get my vote.

Mrs J. Lindsey Kendrick

Paignton