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

Time for level playing field between schools

In his article on education, Chris Britcher focused on the government’s intention to remove the VAT exemption from the fees charged for pupils in independent schools and its likely impact on the independent sector.

When he interviewed Rachel Bailey, head of the independent Benenden School for Girls, she said: “You tax things when there is a problem with them and I think it’s sad we’re in a country which is going to tax education. I understand they want to raise funds but I would be very surprised if it raised the funds they are hoping for”.

The fund she is referring to is the £1.5 billion per year which the Labour government says it will invest in state education, specifically targeting pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It’s not a question of levying a new tax for private education which she suggests, but rather one of removing the VAT exemption on the fees that it charges to the parents whose children it educates.

Removing the VAT exemption is not to deny choice to parents - they will continue to have the same choice they have always had.

I would also question her contention that the independent sector isn’t better than the state sector when the evidence suggests that it clearly is.

Her own school is a case in point with it gaining the best A-level results last year for any girls’ school in the county of Kent.

In addition, it is quite clear that there is a very good reason why parents send their children to independent schools. They are not stupid and know, and research backs this up, that they are more successful than state schools in getting their pupils into good universities and well-paid jobs later in life.

State schools and independent schools do not operate on a level playing field, but at least removing the privilege of VAT tax exemption and diverting the proceeds to those state schools with pupils in most need might make that playing field a little more level.

John Cooper

Dignity and choice of assisted dying

In response to Patricia Papa's letter concerning assisted dying, I would like to put a different viewpoint.

Patricia is right in saying palliative care can reduce or eliminate pain in dying people, I have also seen this first hand having worked in a care home and seeing end-of-life medication being administered.

Palliative care is only normally needed for a short period of time.

Why many people, including myself, support an assisted dying bill is to do with dignity in dying and choice.

My brother-in-law had Huntington's disease, a hereditary disease similar to Parkinson's. He saw his father, brother, sister and many other relatives die from this horrendous illness, leaving you at the mercy of others, for even basic personal care, incontinence and regularly choking, sometimes for years.

He wanted to be in control of his own destiny and dignity but had to go to Switzerland accompanied by relatives who risked prosecution and with the price tag of 10k-plus to be in control of his fate.

This is simply wrong and why assisted dying should be made legal in the UK, with all the safeguards in place to protect everyone.

This is to do with choice and at the moment there is only one for those lucky enough to be able to afford it.

Greg Harker

Wasting money on woke nonsense

Apparently some NHS hospitals have issued diktats stating that babies must no longer be referred to as having been born a boy or a girl but must in future be referred to as having been ‘assigned’ a gender.

I may be 84 but in future when I am asked for my date of birth by a doctor, a nurse or a medical receptionist, I will make a point of saying that I was ‘assigned’ on 5th April 1940 - just to highlight my anger at this latest example of wokery infecting every level of our society.

The NHS is spending millions a year on ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’ roles.

This woke nonsense has to stop. Every problem faced by the NHS can be put down to maladministration.

Bob Readman

Working class left behind

A recent report by the think tank Labour Together shows that traditional class allegiances have declined and that cultural values and attitudes are now more decisive in voting choice.

As Colin Bullen stated, the class war is still a major factor in political life.

The fundamental divide in society is between those who have to work and those who own the banks, the companies, the utilities and all the other bodies that require workers, profit from our work and dominate our lives.

Until we look beyond the immediate appearance and look to the driving force behind policies things will not change. The rich will get richer and the rest of us will lose more of what makes our lives worthwhile.

We have to recognise that the statement that ‘we are all in this together’ is not true in the way in which the ruling parties seek to suggest. There is a stark divide between the working class and those in power over us.

Ralph A. Tebbutt

Causes hijacked by hardliners

There are many different communities and groups that tend to revolve around certain ideals and principles, be they religious, social, political, etc, and for the most part they've been relatively effective in putting forward their causes.

But over the years there seems to be an increasingly hardline, militant faction within them with increasingly aggressive tactics and rhetoric.

To me, all they want to do is fight. It's like watching an obnoxious drunk in a bar trying to pick a fight with people who are just minding their own business!

Bring up a serious subject (like immigration or terrorism) and it seems to bring out the worst in them. They need a sense of power, because of a fear that someone else could be controlling the narrative.

A lot of people have spent most of their lives being told what is good and bad in society, by schoolteachers, family members, TV and newspapers. When those expectations are not met, they lash out at those they feel are not complying.

In other words, most abuse and trolling is basically saying "why are you not acting the way I want you to act?"

Some individuals pretty much 'hijack' a certain cause or belief to mould it into a form that suits them.

But despite the small faction that is so belligerent, there are also those who have the emotional and mental fortitude to rise above it.

For every nasty, vindictive comment and action, there is a good, positive one. All we need to do is look for them.

James Solly

Student union government is killing Britain

This country is in an accelerating, downward spiral, which will end in disaster.

The rivers are full of sewage, the roads of potholes, the health service is dysfunctional, the university system is failing youngsters, the prisons are overflowing, the courts are almost non-functional, net zero madness is undermining the economy, bank branches and post offices are closing and our armed forces are on the cusp of not being able to defend this country.

The Victorians bequeathed to us a self confident nation, with one of the strongest economies in the world, fully capable of defending its interests, while succeeding generations fought and died to preserve our democracy and freedom.

The insane drive to decarbonise will guarantee blackouts and further deindustrialisation, the bullying of anyone who does not subscribe to the mantra of the left on gender is killing free speech and thousands of antisemites are allowed to march in defiance of the law, supporting murderous terrorists.

The student union adolescents now in charge have no understanding of how an economy operates and they are sustained by ubiquitous economic illiteracy, as many think that governments have access to a magic money tree.

Ludicrously, millions of working age people are now too mentally stressed to work, and apparently many thousands of schoolchildren are mentally unfit to go to school.

The Britain into which the older generation was born is dying and for the ordinary person, there is now no light at the end of the tunnel.

Colin Bullen

Sick of being ripped off

Are you like me, fed up with everything that has to be renewed is twice the price of what it was last year, or the goods you purchased are not the same quality or size as bygone days?

Last year, when I became 80 years old, my car insurance doubled from £650 to £1,300 and was told when I enquired that it was down to ‘Cost of living’.

My little Jack Russell has a benign growth which is no bigger than a teaspoon. But to find that out cost me a cool £215. Then I was told that an estimate will be sent to remove the lump - nearly £1,900 for a 30-minute operation. Nice work if you can get it.

We go to the supermarket, all prices have rocketed without any explanation.

Our pensions are not going up by the equivalent amount and, in real terms, have gone down.

Last year my pension went up 25p - wasn’t that kind of them? Still, that might go some way towards the £300 they are swiping from our heating allowance.

In the meantime, our politicians have their snouts in the trough, getting their heating paid for and getting freebies.

Many of our generation created the wealth which everyone enjoys today and for that, they are sending us to our graves early.

We saw the best times of Great Britain. I’m really glad I’m at this end of my life, as I don’t like where this country is heading. It’s not the country I was brought up in, that’s for sure.

Sid Anning

Small change to pension claim

Terry Hudson is wrong to assert that the 25p over-80 pension arose in 1971.

Lloyd George brought in the five bob a week pension for over-80 in 1908 and it has remained unchanged since then.

Peter Hollander

Don’t be fooled by food packaging

Zoe Colville is right that awareness must be raised among supermarket shoppers that the meat they buy may not come from the type of farm they expect.

While packaging with cute farm names picturing lush green fields dotted with shade-giving trees would have you believe otherwise, pastures where farmed animals roam free are few and far between in the British countryside.

The sad reality is that 85% of UK-produced meat is factory-farmed.

The vast majority of chicken we eat – whether as chicken nuggets or whole chickens – comes from birds raised in huge, artificially lit sheds that routinely contain tens of thousands of individuals. That gives each bird less space than an A4 sheet of paper.

They live dismal lives, never seeing the light of day and are slaughtered at 42 days.

The natural lifespan of a chicken is six years.

When you eat a factory-farmed sausage, spare a thought for mother pigs. Around 60% of all sows in the UK are confined to farrowing crates in the run-up to giving birth and for several weeks after.

These crates, which are banned in Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, are barely larger than the animal herself. Freedom to express natural instincts is utterly thwarted. They were originally designed to protect piglets from crushing but the evidence that they help with this has long since been debunked.

The charity Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) was founded in 1967. Its mission is to end the cruel and growing practice of factory farming. It goes about this in a peaceful way, via campaigning and lobbying for legislation change.

Jane Darling