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

Council must think again about closures

I share the concern and dismay of those affected by the forthcoming closure of some of Kent's youth services and 36 of Kent's children's centres, ostensibly to save money.

As part of a team working to develop Kent's children's centres, on behalf of KCC, some years ago we all drew immense pride at the development of these 96 settings across Kent, serving the most disadvantaged areas and providing so much: advice, information, parenting services and much more.

In addition, we all understood the aims and objectives of what these centres represented, something that alas those making bureaucratic decisions now don't.

It is easy to hide behind the principle of saving funds, given the overall financial position of KCC.

Those who are, or were, devoted to what children's centres represented understood the importance. There is no festive cheer for inhabitants of the areas these centres serve.

With better strategic management, less waste and more effective decision-making, the authority would not be in this predicament now.

I call upon KCC to reconsider this decision. With creativity and better partnership, these centres could remain operational.

John Harmer

We can adapt to changing world

The letter from Dr Geoff Meaden offers evidence of national demise or problems.

To what can he ascribe the causes? Is it his pessimism rather than the optimism in the previous letter from John Cooper?

Maybe it's the pernicious decline in integrity in the higher echelons of society since the UK started to outsource its laws to the EU in 1973 - the politicians, the civil service, heads of universities, the teachers, the doctors, the accountants (I am one) and especially the legal profession - all this drift aided by the growth of social media where truth and fiction are indistinguishable.

I am optimistic. Mankind has always criticised change but has always resolved its challenges.

David Northcroft

Practice doesn’t make perfect for government

Proverbs are used in politics to persuade or influence the audience by appealing to their common sense, values or emotions.

That being said, we can also apply them to the present incumbents in office, who seem to have ignored one crucial proverb: 'United we stand, divided we fall.'

The Conservative Party does appear to have a problem with cohesion. They have put the kibosh on the saying 'two heads are better than one'. This doesn't ring true, especially when MPs from the ruling party are at loggerheads, allowing the opposition to sit back and enjoy the infighting.

'Practice makes perfect,' is a non-starter when appropriated to cabinet ministers, many of whom haven't been in the job long enough to gain a foothold - never mind gather experience in their roles - due to the rash of reshuffles by the PM.

Lastly, the electorate who voted the Tories into office must be thinking of the proverb 'don't bite the hand that feeds you’.

Michael Smith

Our nation is not always right

Many of your correspondents write about events of the past but without a full appreciation of the significance of these events.

As a schoolboy, I dropped history as a subject of study at the first opportunity. It is only in later life that I have come to understand the meaning of history.

What is so often ignored is that decisions made in the past have consequences for what is happening in the present. What we do now will have an effect on what happens in 50 or 100 years time.

Unfortunately, our politicians and many commentators just respond to present events without looking further back into decisions which may have had an influence upon these events.

Decisions made regarding NATO expansion have affected the events in Ukraine. Decisions made during and after World War One affected the history of Europe and the Middle East. None of this excuses any of the atrocities that have taken place in Ukraine or Israel/Palestine, but these factors cannot be ignored.

One of your correspondents writes about the lack of knowledge about the Holocaust. The fact that millions of Jews were killed is a stain on the whole of humanity.

It is also relevant that many of the Jews who were liberated from the concentration camps at the end of the war had grown up in industrial countries and wished to stay in Europe. But countries, including Britain, refused to take them. Israel was their only option.

The decision of the West to establish the State of Israel ignored the fact that the land was already occupied. Life would be simple if it were not so very complicated.

There can only be a solution to the problems that beset the world when we stop claiming that our nation is always right and recognise that what matters is that all people have a right to live their lives in freedom, able to fully develop their own personalities.

This cannot happen within a world economic system based on competition in which individuals are free to act irrespective of the effect of their actions upon other people.

Yours, at this time of peace and joy to all people.

Ralph A. Tebbutt

Time for action after all the talking

Recent events provoke one to imitate Churchill to point out that rarely has so much hot air been expended by so many to produce so little.

There is the Covid inquiry which, far from seeking out the best way to confront a future pandemic, is merely providing a means for politically motivated lawyers to use hindsight in an attempt to apportion blame to individual politicians regarding errors made during the last, in particular attacking Boris Johnson. Then there is the risible policy being put forward by Rishi Sunak to stop illegal immigration, which anyone with any brains knows will be rendered completely useless by the inevitable actions of international lawyers, while the pious hopes of the climate change summit will produce precisely nothing.

Regarding Covid, we do not need to spend millions in order to appease those whose only real motive is to cry ‘gotcha’, rather than offering hope that things will be better handled next time.

On boat crossings, for a fraction of the money already spent we could build barracks in areas remote from major population centres where all those arrested for attempting to enter the country by illegal means could be housed and not allowed to leave until processed. It could then be made clear that those failing the criteria for legal entry would remain where they were until they were prepared to return to their country of origin.

Finally, the so-called breakthrough at COP28 is meaningless, and the money spent on this jamboree would be better spent alleviating the effects on people living in areas which a dynamic climate will adversely affect as natural processes progress without any input from humanity.

Colin Bullen

Rwanda plan will waste more money

Despite the fact that Robert Boston cannot resist associating it with Brexit, and suspecting we are poles apart politically, I find myself agreeing with him in respect of the government still pursuing its policy of getting illegal immigrants flown to Rwanda.

However, that is where our agreement ends as he is opposed simply because he doesn’t agree with this government on anything, whereas I am sceptical because I believe that even if the government succeeds in getting law enacted that declares Rwanda to be a safe country and eventually manages to get some flights off the ground, it will not stop the boats.

I say that because those in Calais who wish to come here are living in the most dreadful conditions and they will take Rwanda over that any day of the week; particularly as the Supreme Court has ruled that if they are sent there the only country to which they can then be sent is back to the UK, so they will go there in the knowledge and belief that they may well eventually get their wish of living here.

Thus, it seems to me that the whole raison d’etre for embarking on the policy and getting law enacted will cause an awful lot of taxpayers' money to be spent in pursuit of an objective that will not be achieved.

C. Aichgy

Division and chaos from our voting system

Recent turmoil in Westminster is just the latest evidence that politics is not working.

Our First Past the Post electoral system, far from delivering strong and stable government as its advocates claim, has produced nothing but chaos and division.

And it’s only getting worse. Since July 2016, the average tenure of UK cabinet ministers has been 15 months - a shameful record among comparable western-style democracies.

The consequences of this political paralysis are plain for all to see - squeezed living standards, towering NHS waiting lists, wholesale contempt for politicians.

It’s striking, then, that according to recent study, countries with proportional voting systems - in which parliament accurately reflects the way people voted - are on average more stable politically than those with winner-takes-all systems like ours.

Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer recognise that politics is failing to deliver, but have yet to propose serious solutions. They should bring us all some New Year cheer and commit themselves to a better voting system: Proportional Representation.

Alan Collins Rosell

Concern over heart treatment waiting lists

Cardiology waiting lists are at record levels in England with more than 400,000 people waiting for an appointment at the end of September 2023.

There has been a 76% rise in people waiting for cardiac care since February 2020. This is an increase of 176,000 – enough people to fill Wembley Stadium twice over.

The longer people wait for treatment, the higher their risk of becoming disabled from heart failure or dying prematurely. Today in England, around 375 people will die from a heart or circulatory disease. That’s one death every four minutes.

The British Heart Foundation is deeply concerned by these figures. At BHF we know that delays in the diagnosis and treatment of a heart condition can have devastating consequences.

We also understand the human impact behind these numbers – the families dealing with grief and loss, worry and anxiety.

That’s why we are asking members of the public who have been impacted by cardiology waiting times to get in touch to see if you can help us raise awareness of the impact they have on heart patients.

If you are willing to share your experience of waiting for a cardiology appointment in England with the BHF, please e-mail newsdesk@bhf.org.uk to speak to our team.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive, British Heart Foundation

Give the gift of play this Christmas

This Christmas, Starlight estimates over 100,000 children across the UK will spend the festive period in hospital, feeling scared and missing out on Christmas celebrations.

No child wants to be stuck in hospital, away from their home and family, especially at Christmas. I’m urging your readers to support Starlight and put a smile on a child’s face.

At Starlight, we know that play has the power to make the hospital experience better for children, which can be life-changing for them and their family. Throughout the festive season Starlight provides hospitals with play resources, gifts, and live pantomimes to brighten a child’s stay and boost their wellbeing and resilience during treatment.

For just £10 you can sponsor a star on Oxford Street in London and help bring the magical power of play to children in hospitals all over the UK. All the money donated will go towards making a child’s stay in hospital brighter this Christmas. Visit www.starsforstarlight.org.uk and give the gift of play.

Thank you so much for your support.

Dr Krutika Pau, deputy CEO of Starlight and director of children’s services