Times letters: Fallout from Starmer’s immigration proposals

Cern is a shining example of what happens when the brightest and most diverse global talent gathers in scientific endeavour. While some of the government’s proposals are welcome, others are concerning for science. Changes to graduate eligibility and salary thresholds risk putting off the international talent and collaboration that physics depends on. And levies on universities threaten the already seriously challenging financial situation they face.

Physics gives us so many flashes of gold: it powers technologies such as AI and sectors like engineering that will make or break our future. The government’s ambition to reform migration is bold but we must remain open and attractive to scientists, innovators and visionaries — including those who may make the next breakthrough for science.
Tom Grinyer
CEO, Institute of Physics

Sir, Successive governments have addressed immigration from the wrong direction. The problem begins at home: while our system of welfare discourages people born and bred here from working, and/or removes the need to work, Britain will perforce rely on men and women brought up in countries where no work generally means no food.
Michael Jackaman
Budleigh Salterton, Devon

Sir, David Hudson describes the fulfilment that can be gained from caring for the elderly (letter, May 13). He is right that the young in this country could benefit from the experience. If there are sufficient staff on duty to work safely and effectively, then caring for others is immensely rewarding. The young would bring some sparkle to the lives of the elderly and in turn could find that the elderly can be far more fun and interesting than they thought. Young people might also find they begin to feel grateful for their own good health, freedom and youth.
Caroline Tayler (RGN ret’d)
Nutley, E Sussex

Sir, On the day Keir Starmer pledged to bring down unsustainably high levels of migration, 601 migrants arrived here after crossing the Channel in small boats (source: gov.uk). What has happened to Labour’s bold promise to “smash the gangs” responsible for smuggling illegal migrants?
Rod Dadak
Hawkley, Hants

Flattering Trump

Sir, William Hague reproduces the widespread image of Putin as the dark ex-KGB puppetmaster manipulating Trump (and all of us) to delay peace, clear the way for ultimate subjugation of Ukraine, and quite possibly follow up with much of eastern Europe (“Trump still buys Putin’s picture of innocence”, May 13).

This is a seductive picture but it is wrong. For Vladimir Putin the war has been a disaster: instead of the anticipated two-week walkover it has brought Russia vast human and material destruction, military humiliation, battlefield deadlock, and no prospect of achieving its originally stated objectives. Putin knows all this. He is nothing if not a hard-headed realist (I have met him). His aim now will be to end the whole wretched business on terms that he can present to Russians as victory, or at least justifying the huge sacrifices Russia has made.

The big items will be retaining Crimea and keeping Ukraine out of Nato. Thereafter he has to rebuild his whole military and economy, come to terms with how things went so badly wrong, and adjust to the likelihood that in any rematch they would do so again. This will take time. Ukraine, backed by a rearming Europe, looks safe for the foreseeable future. Time for peace.
Sir Tony Brenton
Former British ambassador to Russia; Cambridge

Sir, As far as we know, Putin is the only world leader to have sent President Trump a portrait of Trump. In this respect William Hague writes: “If flattery is needed, Putin will provide it.” However, Putin is not alone in that. Our own PM has in person delivered to Donald Trump an unprecedented invitation to a second state visit to Britain.
Mark Griffiths
Winchester

Dahl’s Jew-hatred

Sir, I too went to see Giant last week (“Was London audience on side of an antisemite?”, Melanie Phillips, May 13). No one in the audience laughed at Roald Dahl’s rants at the Jewish publishing executive — or at her when she fought back. They shifted uncomfortably at Tom Maschler’s evasions. And they gasped at Dahl’s final incendiary interview with the New Statesman. I do not doubt that antisemitism is flourishing in Britain. But it is perhaps unwise to read too much into the reactions of one audience at one performance. My conclusion was that those at least with whom I watched the play understood the complexity of the situation very well. All is not lost.
Sir John Jenkins
Matfield, Kent

Low-traffic zones

Sir, Jawad Iqbal is right to say that councils cannot be allowed to continue imposing low-traffic neighbourhoods on communities without gaining the approval of those most affected, as it erodes trust in local government and democracy (“When locals say no to LTNs, councils have duty to listen”, May 12; letter, May 13). The trouble is that most local politicians are so convinced that they know what’s best for us that public consultations have become a tick-box exercise, and ignoring what communities say has become commonplace.

When 15 community campaign groups wrote to the transport secretary Heidi Alexander in February asking her to bring into force statutory guidance on LTNs, drafted in March 2024, which requires local authorities to introduce or maintain LTNs only where there is clear local support for them, she responded that the government was still considering what to do next.

Communities shouldn’t have to raise thousands of pounds to take their councils to court when their legitimate concerns are being ignored. It is time the government introduced a proper statutory framework that stops councils from treating the people they are supposed to serve with such contempt and forces them to listen.
Richard Aldwinckle
London SE22

Sir, Regarding Jawad Iqbal’s Thunderer, I live in west Dulwich and support Lambeth council’s attempts to curb the number of car journeys. Almost 60 per cent of Lambeth residents do not own a car anyway and not all locals have said “no” to the LTN. Doubtless, Lambeth could have made a better job of its consultation, and this has been highlighted by the High Court judge.

However, the aim of Lambeth’s LTN scheme is to stop the rat runs and persuade people to use their car less, which would be good for the climate and everyone’s health. I hope the LTN remains and am sorry so much money has been expended on this court action: as Iqbal points out, Lambeth is nearly £1 billion in debt and it is local community charge payers who will be picking up the bill.
Christine Hinton
London SE27

Fears over the use of lethal drugs

Sir, On Friday MPs will consider the report stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. One detail that might have escaped general notice is that the health secretary will approve the lethal drugs for assisted suicide. As the literature shows more and more clearly, this rides roughshod over established practices for drug approval and sets a dangerous precedent in clinical practice. Little is known about the efficacy and safety of the drugs at the doses that would be required. At a time when our NHS is in crisis, we should be ensuring that we uphold rigorous practices for licensing and reporting. The fly in the ointment is of course that the lethal drugs cannot be tested without lethal consequences.
Professor Julian Hughes
Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Weapon of water

Sir, Further to Tom Whipple’s enlightening piece on water warfare (“Weaponising water: Indus valley crisis revives ancient war tactic”, May 12), China’s history is littered with examples of man-made floods used to bring about military objectives. The most well known was perhaps the deliberate breaching of dykes along the Yellow River near the old capital of Kaifeng in 1938, causing massive floods. The objective was to hamper the Japanese advance, and to a large extent this was successful.

The plan was agreed by Chiang Kai-shek and carried out by his forces. The subsequent loss of life was catastrophic. Up to 80,000 people drowned in the immediate aftermath, and over the following years nigh on half a million died as a result of floods, famine and plague. The floods persisted for years because repairs could not begin until after the war. Chiang Kai-shek could certainly have predicted huge loss of life of the people he was sworn to protect, although it would have been impossible to quantify at the time. But he was also keenly aware of the swift progress of an implacably cruel enemy.
Alan Bird
Kendal, Cumbria

Marble talismans

Sir, In the article referred to by your correspondents (May 13), the director of the British Museum is quoted as saying that the Parthenon Sculptures “are talismanic objects of this museum”. A widely accepted definition of a talisman is an object believed to have special powers to protect from harm. It would surely be a rash director who de-accessioned these objects from the collection. In my three years as cultural attaché at our embassy in Athens in the late 1990s I was never once challenged on this topic by any of the innumerable well-informed Greeks whom I had the pleasure of meeting.
Peter Chenery
Bromley, Kent

Missed but still here

Sir, Prue Leith writes of missing departed loved ones (Times2, May 13). Almost as sad is missing people who have drifted away. As you get older the worst feeling is not being lonely, it is being forgotten by those you were once close to.
Sheila Taylor
Pevensey Bay, E Sussex

Pot and kettle

Sir, Lord Mandelson says he cannot imagine Nigel Farage ever becoming prime minister (news, May 13). Funny that, I could not ever imagine Peter Mandelson becoming a lord, let alone British ambassador to the US.
Melvin Haskins
Barnet, London

Greens for graves

Sir, I was fascinated that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is to feature an exhibition on sustainable flower arrangements for funerals (“Final cut”, news, May 13). Last year, for my mother’s funeral, we had a vegetable arrangement. She was a keen gardener and grower so we had seasonal vegetables, which we made use of afterwards. She would have been impressed there was no waste.
Yvonne Bailey
Christian Malford, Wilts

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