As the country begins to take in the electoral results of last week and takes a breath, I am reminded of what a former secretary of state for international development wrote 15 years ago. It serves as a timely reminder to all entering parliament this week. In her highly insightful book titled An Honourable Deception? New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power, Clare Short wrote: “The British (electoral) system sometimes has the effect of grossly exaggerating the scale of the victory or the defeat and therefore creates unrealistic expectations. More seriously, it generates executive arrogance, as governments with inflated majorities in the House of Commons feel they have no need to listen to dissenting voices. This is, I believe, a significant part of the explanation of growing alienation as the public becomes increasingly angry at the failure of successive governments to respect the views of the electorate.”

This time it is the Tories and not Labour who have been granted the power to deliver on the expectation of many while knowing that few of the promises made can be realised in the timeframe of five years. Exultant Tories, you need to listen to dissenting voices.

The electorate is watching you.

Alan Penny

Oakham

UK front pages react to 2019 general election Show all 8 1 /8 UK front pages react to 2019 general election UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Independent compares Boris Johnson's victory to Donald Trump's in America, branding it a "post-truth" election UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Guardian focuses on Jeremy Corbyn's loss, as well as the Tory win UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Times leads with an image of the prime minister with his dog, calling his win a "landslide" UK front pages react to 2019 general election The i simply said: "Johnson unleashed" UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Daily Mail was triumphant after the Conservative win, saying the result "will finally see Brexit delivered" UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Daily Mirror called the result a "NIGHTMARE BEFORE XMAS" UK front pages react to 2019 general election Daily Star led with a picture of Labour's Diane Abbott, claiming she wore two left shoes on Thursday UK front pages react to 2019 general election The Telegraph called it a "historic victory"

The future of progressive politics

There is too much truth for comfort in Andrew Adonis’ Voices piece (16 December), but also too much self-serving hagiography.

It is certainly true that both Labour and the Lib Dems need to be more careful in their selection of leaders. From Jo Grimond to Nick Clegg, the Lib Dems have always managed to select leaders who added value; they lost the art with Tim Farron and Jo Swinson.

But the key truth is that the brutal electoral system is rigged against a divided Left. With Roy Jenkins’ elegant recommendations for electoral reform, Tony Blair had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give the country progressive pluralist politics. History will rightly and severely censure his failure to do so.

Philip Goldenberg

Woking

Universities are discouraging students

I am horrified by Eleanor Busby’s report that 36 per cent of potential university students are now being given a lower grade offer to entice them to put the university as their first choice. This is because any teacher who teaches A levels, like myself, is judged by student results. Universities are effectively encouraging students to not master A level courses as well as they could, which they themselves will have to remedy once the student begins. Teachers will have to answer questions about capability as students have no incentive to get the best results.

Kartar Uppal

Sutton Coldfield

Will the EU put its £94bn bilateral trade surplus with Britain at risk?

The simple answer to Dr Docherty’s question (Letters, 16 December) is “yes”. It is barely credible he believes that a trade agreement between the US and Australia, a relatively “simple” affair between two states, is analogous to negotiating and concluding one between the UK and the EU. Unlike the withdrawal agreement, the trade agreement has to be ratified by all member states individually. Local politics, down to the level of the region of Wallonia, will come into play in the inevitable horse-trading. The French will be rubbing their hands with glee at the further prospect of dethroning the City of London. The German industry faced far greater economic dislocation back in the early 2000s when ordered by the government to implement economic reforms, the consequences of which were huge short-term pain, but look where the German economy is now. As usual, services, the backbone of the UK economy, seem to be worth barely any consideration when claiming that a trade deal is as good as done.

So yes, the EU will be happy to put its £94bn trade surplus with the UK at risk for the much larger political prize of holding the EU together. After all, it was prepared to condemn the Greek economy to years of penury to protect the purity of the euro. The current Tory proposal to legislate for no extension to the transition period simply gives the EU the cover it needs to put the blame squarely on the UK when the UK crashes out with no deal at the end of 2020. Happy days!

Robin J Bulow

Clacton-on-Sea

Of course Corbyn has enemies

I refer to the letter of Emma Jones (Letters, 16 December). She describes Jeremy Corbyn as having no enemies. What nonsense. He is the most reviled Labour leader in modern political history. According to an Opinium poll, 43 per cent of voters quoted Jeremy Corbyn as the sole reason for Labour losing the general election. What is incredible is that he lasted for four long years. He was always doomed for failure and his grassroot supporters clearly never germinated.

Christopher Learmont-Hughes

Caldy

Female leaders

Why is there such a clamour for a female leader of the Labour Party? Now, I have nothing against women as leaders, but we have had two female PMs. The first resulted in rioting in the streets, and the second, well, in my view, she was just plain useless. Elect the best person for the job... male or female.