Letters: the real reason for Britain’s shoplifting epidemic

No improvement

Sir: Your leading article (‘All the poorer’, 9 March) asks: ‘What do voters have to thank the government for?’ The short answer from this once loyal supporter is sadly ‘nothing’. It is hard to think of one single aspect of British life, apart from state education, that has improved in the 14 years since they came to power. They have failed to secure Britain’s defences, to control legal and illegal immigration, to bring government expenditure under control, to restore the doctor/patient relationship, to control our streets, to resolve the Post Office scandal, to manage HS2, to end the mania in institutions over sexual identity, diversity, equity and inclusion. They have not stood up for traditional common sense, nor have they defended our country’s history from the minority seeking to traduce it. They have made no attempt to reduce the size of our ever-growing civil service. They have not sought to reduce bureaucracy, or restore the standards of community policing to those of even a decade ago.