Why a shift to the centre won't help Labour

As a former student of the late psephologist Robert McKenzie, I must disagree with Philip Collins about the demise of class-based voting (“Britain’s only way out of this mess is a shift to the centre”, Forum, last week). There was always a substantial working-class Conservative vote, about 40%.

While it is true that the old industrial working class has disappeared, a substantial number of people can be described as sharing the same needs and wants as that vanished class. That is, access to secure, well-paid work and safe working conditions, all of which have disappeared in the “gig” economy.

If moving to the centre means the continuation of the old politics that ignored this angry and discontented group, these disaffected voters will continually switch their vote towards whichever populist politician appears to respond to their needs.
Derrick Joad, Leeds

Philip Collins quotes Keynes: “We have to invent new wisdom for a new age.” Well, the “new wisdom” should be a new voting system: proportional representation. That would empower the electorate and pretty much ensure a “progressive alliance” – centrists but also the left – defeating the right. Oh, and if Prosper’s Andy Street and Ruth Davidson had any sense, they’d join the party most aligned with their thinking: the Lib Dems.
Jol Miskin, Sheffield

The meningitis outbreak must be extremely concerning to young people and their families (“Meningitis almost killed Olivia”, News, last week) but at least there is a remedy in the form of a vaccine.

This is the generation whose parents were fed false information about MMR, and it has caused harm ever since. In this case, the NHS and the health minister were on top of the issue, unlike in 2020 with Covid (“Covid could have destroyed the NHS. We must care for those who saved it, Forum, last week).

There is positive news, too, in Matt Russell’s account of living with deafness caused by meningococcal meningitis in 1990 (“Meningitis made me deaf but I never let it hold me back”, News, last week). Apart from the breakthroughs in restoring hearing, there is more support in living with a hearing impairment than was available when I lost much of my hearing due to industrial causes, at about the same age.
Richard Styles, Walmer, Kent

Rachel Sylvester (“Inside Palantir’s growing grip on UK public services, NHS and military”, News, last week) demonstrates how well versed the company and its supporters are in deflective messaging. Palantir’s UK boss, Louis Mosley, narrows ICE’s work to “tracking illegal immigrants and deporting them” in line with Donald Trump’s democratic mandate, and Bedfordshire’s chief constable describes increases in policing efficiency but not how the data Palantir analyses can be checked.

But what about the problematic dependence on a foreign company for immediate and enduring access to the essential data, in a readily comprehensible form? When we are attempting to lessen our transatlantic dependencies in other respects, why do the opposite in this critical arena? 
Dave Hunter, Bristol

I realise that the point is to shock the bourgeoisie, but I do find it disappointing that on the day you report the collapse of the trial against the former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams (“Adams welcomes end of IRA victims’ case, but evidence told its own story”, News, last week), the New Review should devote so much space – and approval – to the band Kneecap. I doubt if victims of that cruel form of paramilitary punishment would recognise the “underlying sensitivity” Miranda Sawyer finds in one of the rappers. 
Martin Brayne, Chinley, Derbyshire

When I bought my 3,000th copy of The Observer last week, the front page “celebrating 100 years of the original cryptic crossword” gave me hope I would see a 100-year-old example. No such luck. Maybe you could give us a feature on crosswords through the decades? (And I really have bought 3,000 copies. I believe the first one cost sixpence in 1964.) 
David Holdsworth, Settle, North Yorkshire

I’m sad to read that there will be no more grown-up advice from everyone’s favourite centrist, Kier Starmer (“Dear Keir: I don’t want to strap myself to a rocket and hand the launch controls to Trump”, Forum, last week). Will we now have guidance from Rachel Reeves? 
Kartar Uppal, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

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