Our readers from across the county give their weekly take on the biggest issues impacting Kent and beyond.

Some letters refer to past correspondence, which can be found by clicking here. Join the debate by emailing letters@thekmgroup.co.uk

Who’s really seeing a fall in prices?

The government would have us believe that the inflation rate is only 3.5% when the energy price cap, basic broadband, council tax, water bills, bus fares, rail fares, etc, have all increased by significantly more than that.

Perhaps all of these increases have been counterbalanced by a reduction in the price of Gucci handbags?

The government has a panoply of inflation indices allowing it to pick an index which gives the result it wants. If it wishes to increase a tax or penalty it will use the Retail Price Index (RPI) but if it wants to limit a benefit or payment it will use the lower Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The government, the media and even the markets get excited, or despondent, when the Gross National Product (GDP) increases or decreases by as little as 0.1%. However, can the Office for National Statistics (ONS) accurately measure such small changes?

Recently, the ONS admitted to an error of 14% (£2.2 trillion) in its estimation of UK Total Household Wealth, which should be much easier to measure than GDP.

It would be helpful if, when such figures are published, they are accompanied by some indication of the range of potential errors.

Derek Wisdom

Ukraine not a matter for county council

I was interested to see the letter and comments on KCC removing the Ukrainian flag.

Of course, we all have sympathy with Ukraine, but it is a government matter, not a KCC matter.

The Reform-run county council is there to look after the best interests of the people of Kent.

Imagine the outrage if they had replaced the Ukraine flag with the English flag - the cross of St. George and 'far right extremists!'

Rob Schroeder

New deal with EU makes perfect sense

The EU reset fisheries deal decried by Mr Anning is to all intents and purposes the same fisheries deal signed by arch-Brexiteer Boris Johnson and not some new-fangled arrangement.

He fails to recognise that the EU is actually our nearest and biggest trading partner and that the negotiation of trade deals is a matter of compromise and trade-offs and not one side simply laying down the law.

For many industries, such as the salmon industry, the reset will lead to smoother, more profitable trade with Europe and it has been welcomed.

A pragmatic and long overdue deal to reset UK/EU trade to the advantage of both is not, even by the most twisted and bizarre of contortions, forcing us back into the EU by the back door but rather common sense in operation.

Lurid and nonsensical conspiracy theories to the contrary should be seen for what they are, unhelpful nonsense.

Far from indulging in Machiavellian manoeuvring, the government has been acting openly to improve trade.

Steve Foulger

Politicians never keep their word

It is brave of C. Aichgy (last week’s letters) to believe that Nigel Farage would keep his word on proportional representation when British politicians, especially Farage, are not known for keeping their word.

Indeed, on the same page, Bill Wright, a Reform candidate, indicates a retreat and a preference for first-past-the-post.

Bill knows, as do all Reform supporters, that if Keir Starmer can get a massive majority in parliament with just a third of the votes, then so can a different party. Indeed, the latest polls show Reform winning a majority on 30%.

Reform already has total control of Kent County Council with only 37% of the votes. We desperately need to fix our broken system, but it hasn't happened because no government wants to change their unfair advantage.

I'll counter C. Aighgy and say that, if Nigel Farage wins the next general election, he will just be the latest Prime Minister to break promises - especially on proportional representation.

Keith Nevols

Voters should come before party loyalty

Each time an election comes along, you receive and publish letters from people who advocate a system of "proportional representation".

I have waited in vain for one of them to explain how this would work without resulting in a number of places being represented by somebody other than the person for whom most of the constituents voted: in his letter last week, Bill Wright does at least appear to confirm that that is what would happen.

As far as I am aware, the idea of a democratic voting system is that one votes for the candidate whom one believes will do the best job of representing the voters' interests and the person who polls the most votes is duly elected.

I am surprised that nobody has yet pointed the finger of blame for failures in this system at the political parties themselves, in particular those party leaders who believe it appropriate to impose sanctions on members who, when faced with a topic on which they perceive a conflict between the interests of those who elected them and their party's policy, vote against their party.

I understand why elected representatives wish to form groups (parties) of those with similar policies but if they all felt free to prioritise their loyalty to those who elected them over their parties, we may see an improvement in the way we are governed.

Ian Carmalt

Remove incentive for small boat crossings

Having watched Keir Starmer recently outlining his proposed methods of limiting immigration, it occurred to me that he is overlooking the blindingly obvious.

In respect of the small boats traffic, remove the magnet that attracts it.

Stop the insanely generous provision of board and lodging, weekly cash allowance, access to healthcare and all the rest.

It's pretty clear that the French are doing everything they can to help the travellers to leave their shores but I don't want my taxes to be spent in this way when my own countrymen struggle to get a medical appointment or find somewhere to live.

Maureen Hastings

Why I support assisted dying

I am firmly in favour of assisted dying for people who do not want to suffer a long, drawn-out and painful death and for those of us who have put in writing and recorded our end-of-life wishes.

I have done everything possible within the UK law to avoid a similar "bad death" and poor palliative care to that suffered by my mother and sister, ie: I have a legally enforceable Advance Decision and DNACPR (Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation) notice and Power of Attorney and have recorded them with my GP surgery, etc.

I also wear a MedicAlert bracelet in the hope of alerting ambulance personnel of my wishes in case I am unable to speak for myself in an emergency situation.

Supporters of Dignity in Dying, Compassion in Dying and MDMD (MyDeathMyDecision), of whom I am one, are currently being asked to write to our local MPs to encourage their support of Kim Leadbeater's bill.

Janet Penton

Shameful that King must welcome Trump

The King’s unscheduled state visit to Canada, in response to an invitation by Prime Minister Carney (most such trips by the Monarch are planned months, if not years, in advance) was a barely disguised, not-so-diplomatic, ‘middle finger’ to Donald Trump, telling him to stop his stupid and insulting rhetoric about making Canada the 51st State of the USA.

I can’t help but feel sorry for the King, who, later this year will have to, at the request of our spineless government, ‘welcome’ Trump on a state visit. A minute in the company of America’s 47th President will seem like an eternity to King Charles.

Our late Queen was subjected to the indignity of having to endure the company of tyrants and now the King will, I am sure against his better judgement, be forced to roll out the red carpet.

It’s nothing short of shameful that that our Prime Minister feels he must suck up to the man who in just four months has thrown the world’s economies into turmoil and has, to all intents and purposes, turned his country into a non-democracy.

Bob Readman

Answer to energy crisis on our doorstep

Net Zero 2030 came five years early to Spain and Portugal. Both countries suffered power cuts and blackouts in recent weeks.

The fact that both had recently become increasingly dependent on renewable sources of energy is entirely co-incidental, of course. Any such notion could only be fake news pedalled by conspiracy theorists funded by the eco-criminals of the fossil fuel industry.

We never know when the sun is going to shine or the wind to blow. Especially in a country like the UK, given the vagaries of our weather.

Wind and solar are unreliable and need expensive backup systems - fossil fuels and/or nuclear to bail them out when they inevitably fail. Any fool knows that.

There’s nothing remotely sustainable about these forms of sustainability.

However, there is one form of renewable energy that can be predicted to the very minute but never gets mentioned, namely tidal power.

As an island nation, we are surrounded by water. It's an untapped resource literally on our doorstep. Well worth further investigation.

Tidal power is also far more environmentally friendly. No need to destroy the countryside and coastline with forests of hideous wind turbines and solar panels. Or kill off birds and other wildlife.

So why are we wasting taxpayers' money on unreliable wind and solar when there is a better and more reliable alternative?

John Helm

Criticise the government, not its people

Colin Bullen’s latest sortie in his ongoing one-man culture war once again misses the point.

The old classics are there, “chattering classes of the West”, “the media”, "the BBC”, and “sinister political undercurrents”; it must be simply exhausting to be haunted by these shadowy forces all the time.

While there’s no doubt that the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and the brutal killing of civilians, and hostage-taking that ensued, was horrific, equating public criticism of Israel’s actions or policies with anti-Semitism is dangerously wrong.

Protests surrounding Israel’s Eurovision entry were not a case of "ingrained anti-Semitism of the liberal elites" but rather an expression of opposition to the actions of a government, not its people or their identity.

No one suggests that a country should stand idle in the face of terrorism. The question is not if a nation should respond, but how. The right to self-defence does not grant a blank cheque for collective punishment or the disregard of international law and civilian lives.

Anti-Semitism is real and dangerous, and it must always be condemned. But using the charge of anti-Semitism to deflect all criticism of Israel's policies erases the humanitarian concerns of those who advocate for Palestinian lives and human rights.

It also diminishes the seriousness of actual anti-Semitism by turning it into a catch-all accusation.

Dr Hayden McDonald

Tourism protests could backfire

I have a great deal of sympathy with the people in Spain protesting against British tourists because they blame them for the chronic shortage and high costs of homes to buy and accommodation to rent.

But the rub is, that Spain relies heavily on tourists who bring millions to the country's economy.

It's an awkward situation in which if the protesters were to succeed in their campaign to put holidaymakers off visiting their homeland, it would invariably have a detrimental effect on Spain's natives in terms of job loses and remunerative benefits.

However, there are already signs that Brits are choosing to holiday elsewhere due to concerns for their own safety.

Michael Smith