Naysayers needed
Sir: I was struck by James Forsyth’s observation that in 10 Downing Street, ‘hard truths and hard choices are too often ignored… because the Prime Minister’s top team fear he will find them uncomfortable’ (‘The battle to save Boris’, 22 January).
During a working life spent in business, I came to realise that one of the most valuable skills you could master was how to tell someone things they would rather not hear while maintaining good relations with them. If the PM is intent on firing many of his staff, it would be prudent for whoever appoints their replacements to ensure that as many of them as possible possess that ability.
Sandy MacAlister
Shiskine, Isle of Arran
Our rival’s rival
Sir: George Osborne says he is less worried about a grand China/Russia axis because of their mutual suspicion (Diary, 29 January). Sadly for us, when our rival’s rival is also our rival, they need only some common ground against us to pose us serious economic and security headaches.
Struan Macdonald
Hayes, Kent
Change of pronoun
Sir: I am delighted to reassure Anthony Whitehead that the change of personal pronoun within my classified listing did not reflect an existential crisis (‘Classified information’, 29 January). Quite the opposite. The ad actually helped ‘Great Speech Writing’ grow fast enough for me to employ others to help write speeches and answer the phone alongside me.
The shift to the first-person plural did, however, cause concern in the shires. One kind gentleman called within minutes of receiving his copy of The Spectator and explained that he had no need for support with a speech, but wanted to know precisely why I had edited the listing.
Lawrence Bernstein
(aka ‘Relax, I’ll write it for you’)
Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire
On yer bike
Sir: As an older disabled man on a train, I was distressed to be accosted on a recent journey to London by a young eco-Lycra lout ramming his muddy bike into me, while I was occupying a seat specifically reserved for passengers with disabilities.
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