The chancellor should raise taxes so Britons finally pay their way instead of piling up debt

Many in the baby boomer generation (which includes me) have been living beyond their means for years. Low taxes and high pensions have been paid for by austerity laid on those without significant assets and by the accumulation of debt for future generations to sort out. Off-hand phrases like "spending the kids inheritance on a holiday" and "bank of mum and dad" arise from older generations assuming ownership of the money created by piling up debt for future generations.

No one welcomes higher taxes (particularly when we see the way this government spends our tax money) but if the chancellor is genuinely going to increase general taxes then I am ready to offer mild applause. We, of course await details being revealed and can but hope for a fairly distributed and progressive tax burden that at least shifts us a little in the direction of paying our way and not piling up debt for those that follow to sort out.

Ashley Herbert

Huddersfield

Unfair comment

Gillian Cook’s comment that young people should be vaccinated because, unlike the sensible elderly, they cannot control their social lives, seems somewhat unfair. In my experience most young people have been eminently sensible.

The rules are designed to protect Ms Cook’s generation and mine. Young people are paying the cost in blighted job opportunities and restrictions on day to day life and will pick up the tab in increased taxation for decades.

The sensible strategy is to vaccinate those they will come into contact with - people who work in shops, transportation, entertainment, and education - and let the young get on with their lives.

John Vaughan

Sale, Cheshire

Small step towards equality

Terrific to read the article from Maya Oppenheim that it will be compulsory for women to be on the board of listed companies in Germany. The astute Angela Merkel takes small another small step along the road to equality.

It feels as though they are light years ahead of the UK. Our old Etonian PM is more inclined to stick up for his cronies than embolden real lasting change for the hard working women of this country.

Paul Morrison

Address supplied

Bullying defence

Of course none of the MPs who lined up to defend the bullying behaviour of Priti Patel will have experienced her abusive behaviour, as they are her equals in parliament.

Bullies only attack people they sense are weaker and subservient to them, and so their opinions about her carry no weight.

Along with giving Ms Patel carte blanche to continue her bullying behaviour, it also shows once again, as it did in the Dominic Cummings debacle, that none of our cabinet or the prime minister have any morals whatsoever.

Ken Twiss

Yarm, Cleveland

Thanks America?

I appreciated John Rentoul's article which highlighted how common Americanisms are in our language and I've been waiting for such an article for a long time. As a linguistics student, I commonly spot Americanisms in the media too, and the current usage of them is somewhat worrying. But what's even more worrying is that 17 out of the 20 students in my linguistics class thought “practice” is a verb as well as a noun. Thanks America.

Jack Darley

Wirral

Chumocracy lives

I read Rachel Reeves’s column with interest that ‘chumocracy’ is alive and well in this Conservative government with the old adage ringing out loud and clear, that it is not what you know, but who you know.

I realise at the outset of this pandemic, there was mass panic for the procurement of PPE and the like, and the correct checks and balances were not adhered to. But she is correct this cannot be allowed to continue and adds a dodgy dimension to government protocol.

Of course members of a party will stick together, but this goes beyond the realms of proper behaviour when independent reviews from trusted advisers such as Sir Alex Allan are basically consigned to No 10's overworked shredder and taken no heed of whatsoever. There now needs to be a “root and branch” investigation and a deep transparent clean to be undertaken in the higher echelons of government, before it regains the trust of the public who look on open-mouthed with these shenanigans.

Judith A Daniels

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk