ES Views: Closing the door on valued migrants is short-sighted

I fully agree with the Evening Standard’s editorial about the need for the Conservatives to drop their unrealistic immigration target [“It’s time to scrap the Tory migration cap”, Comment, May 17].

Britain has major skills shortages in nursing, teaching and engineering, and if we stopped immigration from eastern Europe tomorrow, fruit and vegetables would rot in our fields with nobody to pick them. I have often employed non-British nationals myself because they speak more than one language .

Yet the Conservatives want to make it harder to attract the best and brightest talent into these and other sectors. They also forget that any trade deal with Australia or India will come at a price — more visas to come to the UK for their citizens, as their respective governments have made clear.

It is time for the Conservatives to consign this target to the dustbin and send a message to the rest of the world that Britain really is open for business.
Chris Key

The UK has an enviable reputation for producing university graduates who are independent, confident, self-directed and professionally competent. They are therefore marketable and competitive on a national and international level.

It is totally absurd then to close the door on foreign students and migrants who enrich our society in so many ways. The Government should know that immigration can be effectively controlled without having to put a limit on the number of foreign students and workers we have in this country.
​Handsen Chikowore

Your editorial argument urging an abandonment of an immigration cap reveals not one but a few elephants in the room.

Immigrants who secure jobs in the UK are often paid poor salaries, leaving the Government to make up their wages with other benefits, while those who aren’t working have no choice other than to claim benefits. Second, increased immigration means further strain on our essential services and housing.

The only beneficiaries of increased immigration are the companies who often pay little tax and can employ the cheap labour available to them.
Ray Tiller

I agree with your editorial that Theresa May is misguided in continuing the net migration cap. Like it or not, we need a healthy flow of migration in and out of the UK.

Part of what makes London tick is its diversity. Apart from the bankers and vital workers from other EU countries, we also have people employed in the restaurants and bars we all enjoy. Mrs May should not take the role of migrants in our economy for granted.
Jean Gray

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Social care proposal is still unfair

The proposal to provide free social care during a person’s lifetime, to be paid for after their death, will ensure unfairness continues in the social-care sector. Private care providers will ramp up fees knowing they will recoup it from the deceased’s full estate.

Far from being fair, this is the nuclear option which will only benefit care providers. Many disabled people already miss out on care because authorities are rationing services, often denying people the support they really need. There will be hard choices for families to make in terms of caring for elderly or sick relatives. It shouldn’t have to be this way.
Gary Martin

Old age care costs fair to Londoners

Jonathan Prynn points out that many of London’s owner-occupiers bought their homes for thousands and are now worth millions “through no fault of their own” [“Londoner’s pensioners will be hardest hit”, May 18]. However, he then contradicts himself by stating that their homes were paid for by a lifetime of hard work.

It seems entirely fair that these unearned gains, financed in part by historic tax relief on interest payments and denied to renters, should be used to cover some of the cost of care in old age.

Daniel Sheard

I disagree with advice on teeth

I FOUND the article by Dr Nina Bal to be dated, with conflicting messages [Online, May 16]. No wonder the nation’s teeth are in a poor state. Dr Bal offers questionable advice, especially in recommending putting citrus fruit in water. This can lead to permanent and irreversible damage to the enamel. As a dental hygienist, this is something I am seeing more of as people try to adopt a so-called “healthy” lifestyle.

It is not the amount of sugar or acid you have, it is the frequency it is consumed. Keep all sugars and acids to mealtimes only, and use a straw for acidic drinks.

Anna Middleton

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We need connected action on pollution

NEW World Health Organisation figures show the appalling consequences of our high levels of air pollution and demand action from our politicians [“UK air pollution death rate is worse than US, Brazil and Argentina”, May 17].

This must be a matter not only for the UK Government but also for local authorities. It must include implementation of the Mayor’s Healthy Streets initiative and the creation of a walking grid of largely car-free streets.

The erection of a few bollards near my home in De Beauvoir, Hackney, has stopped rat-running traffic and made walking in the area a great pleasure.

We desperately need similar schemes throughout the city.
D Harrison

People often write in to your pages to complain about the high levels of pollution or the congested roads in and around London. They then inevitably go on to demand solutions from the Mayor, our MPs and the Government.

Our addiction to cars that clog the roads and pollute the air, by using them for every journey, is the main cause of the problem.
Gordon Thompson

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Defoe's demands are off the sclae

Your article on Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe [May 18] was interesting. Before the season in which his team has been relegated ends, he is reportedly demanding £100,000 per week, a £6 million signing-on bonus and huge fees for his agents from new potential employers, including West Ham. However, West Ham fans will recall him leaving as soon as they were relegated in 2002.

The article seems to suggest he hopes for forgiveness and a salary package that would make many of the biggest corporate fat cats blush. He blames the whole 2002 episode on an inexperienced agent: “Would I do the same thing now? No way.” I guess that is the thing with footballers today — they have no sense of irony.

Your article on Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe [May 18] was interesting. Before the season in which his team has been relegated ends, he is reportedly demanding £100,000 per week, a £6 million signing-on bonus and huge fees for his agents from new potential employers, including West Ham. However, West Ham fans will recall him leaving as soon as they were relegated in 2002.

The article seems to suggest he hopes for forgiveness and a salary package that would make many of the biggest corporate fat cats blush. He blames the whole 2002 episode on an inexperienced agent: “Would I do the same thing now? No way.” I guess that is the thing with footballers today — they have no sense of irony.
Phil Redman

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