Identity politics

Sir: Your lead article (‘On board’, 12 August) highlights numerous issues related to refugees, but does not offer much in regard to why this country is a magnet for economic migrants. You state that this is a rich country. How can this be the case when government debt is 100 per cent of GDP? Further, when we cannot provide adequate services in healthcare, education and housing, why should we take in migrants who cannot make an immediate contribution to the country’s tax base?

The reasons that this country is so attractive are, firstly, the English language, which we can’t do much about. Secondly, we have an easily accessible benefits system, including healthcare. And most importantly, there is no need to carry an identity document, making it possible to disappear into the informal economy. The civil rights brigade complain about the need to carry a card; but if you have a passport or a driving licence you are already in the system. It would be quick, easy and cheap to issue cards to at least half the population. 

Lindsay Jamieson

Sherborne, Dorset

Protect and survive

Sir: William Moore summed up the attempts by the left, the Welsh and Scottish governments, the RSPB, Natural England and people such as Chris Packham and the fawning National Trust and United Utilities in bringing their ‘values’ to the countryside (‘Bad sports’, 12 August). Packham – who has the grandstand given to him by the BBC and hopes to be the next David Attenborough – runs a very slick campaign called Wild Justice. Its intention is to destroy country sport and a way of life for many that is unknown to the vast majority of people because we are an urban society. 

The evidence that grouse moors are successful in conserving curlew, lapwings, merlin, hen harriers and other species – and that game shoots help native birds over the winter – is overwhelming. This contrasts with the lack of success the RSPB has with its £100 million budget because of its refusal to accept the need for predator control.

Unless the various rural organisations unite to oppose this assault on the countryside, they will be picked off one by one. What is needed is as slick a marketing exercise as that of Wild Justice, which can raise a petition overnight, and proper organised lobbying. The Tories are too busy with net zero and illegal migration to give any thought to the rural electorate.

Christopher D. Forrest

Yealmpton, Devon

Watery grave

Sir: Fishing did not feature in William Moore’s piece on fields sports but the challenges the angling world faces when dealing with bureaucratic institutions are just as difficult. The National Trust is seeking to end fly fishing at Mottisfont Abbey on the River Test in southern England, the birthplace of the modern sport. It is hard to overstate the importance of this water; it is to fly fishing what St Andrews is to golf. At a stroke, this carefully tended river, a trout paradise for nearly two centuries, has been abandoned to nature. The lease ended, and the gates locked, fly fishers are now denied access to the hallowed waters and the most famous stretch of chalk stream river in the world. The debacle is that National Trust speciality: a needless act of cultural vandalism.

Simon Cooper

(professional fly fisher and writer)

Nether Wallop, Hampshire

Power to the people

Sir: I have just read Peter Hitchens’s article about his hatred of electric bikes (‘Assault and battery’, 12 August). What he doesn’t seem to understand is that an e-bike can allow someone who cannot use a normal bike, either because of poor knees or health problems, to cycle and get exercise. Even doctors now occasionally recommend them. My e-bike allows me to travel further than I could otherwise and gives me a good workout because much of the time I ride it without the power on. At the same time it allows me to climb hills that I could not manage without power assistance. (Note: assistance.) E-bikes are a blessing to many who want to ride a bike but would otherwise be precluded from doing so. Long may they survive and improve the lives of both the young and old – especially those of us living in hilly areas and away from London.

Mike Hodge

St Neots, Cambridgeshire

No drama

Sir: Heartfelt thanks to Robin Ashenden for writing about the sad demise of provincial repertory theatre: a topic which I consider vitally important (‘All my world was a stage’, 5 August). My parents left me with a huge thirst for the theatre and it is one of my deepest regrets that I am not able to pass this legacy on to my grandchildren. Like him, I enjoyed and benefited from an eclectic diet of drama and followed the rise of many stars whose careers began by holding a spear at the Oxford Playhouse. I used to go every week as a child but now I may go to the theatre once a year, often leaving disappointed. Even school productions echo the professional stage, offering Shakespeare (‘yawn’, say the kids) or trivia like Legally Blonde (‘yawn’, say I). I know there is an audience out there, but how on earth do we restore theatre (with proper plays) for the old and engender a love for it in the young?

Julia Miles

Oxford

Thrills and spills

Sir: Roger Alton wonders if anyone is still watching Formula 1 (Sport, 5 August), with the only excitement happening off the course. I did watch it recently, but unfortunately I dozed off. I did, however, also watch the World MotoGP at Silverstone. The competition is usually ignored by the press, but it has all the excitement Roger could wish for, with the lead changing many times at nearly 200 mph.

Neil Carver

Wallasey, Wirral