You would have us believe that pay growth in outer London lags behind the rest of the country due to a nasty case of “Brexit squeeze” [“Outer London out of pocket”, October 26].

However, the article fails to explain how it is that under identical circumstances, “earnings in the centre surged 4.4 per cent”. Are we to conclude that inner London is enjoying a post-referendum “economic boom” that is somehow denied to suburbanites?

You note that real earnings have fallen due to the pound’s devaluation following the referendum, but the base rate, too, was lowered soon after, and under any other circumstances this alone would be reported as the sole cause of a devaluation.

In the context of income distribution, we would do better if we noted that inner London property values surge ahead of the suburbs and that within every part of London, one street can be seen to prosper while shops in the next are failing.

Isn’t this “polarisation” more a symptom of an unchecked free-market combined with the natural cycle of urban boom and decline? Perhaps it is time we stopped blaming every negative phenomenon on Brexit and remind ourselves that economic outcomes are usually the result of the complex interplay of a variety of causes.

Chris Graham



With each passing day, the Government sinks a little bit further into the Brexit mess it has created.

The irony is that most members of the Government know perfectly well that Brexit is wrong and/or potentially highly damaging, yet are terrified of saying so because of the Tory civil war that would result.

They could earn the thanks of future generations by cutting their losses and dropping the whole thing now. For example, the poll tax was eventually dropped when it became clear that it was unworkable without severe social or economic consequences.

If the Government continues with this ideologically based project, I foresee serious civil unrest when the likely economic consequences become clear to all.

Alan Pavelin



The EU is not being “intransigent” or “bullying” the UK in the Brexit negotiations. The main reason for the impasse on negotiations is that the UK Government has no idea what it wants and probably cannot make the concessions to come to an agreement with the EU without tearing the Conservative Party apart.

The false idea of the UK being punished has been invented by the Brexiteers to cover up the fact that they had not thought through the complexities of these negotiations.

F Coombs



UK-US trade is vital for our future

In your comment article last Monday it was said that I made a “stunning announcement this weekend” about “no longer seeking a free-trade deal in goods with the US”. This is untrue. I made no such announcement and at no point have I, or my department, said the UK is “no longer seeking a free-trade deal in goods”.

The US is our single-largest trading partner, giving us a strong foundation on which to build a closer trading relationship as we leave the EU. The Department for International Trade continues to discuss both trade in goods and services with the US. This includes through our UK-US Trade Working Group, which I launched over the summer, along with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer.

Trade is vital to the economic well-being of our country, and as we leave the EU we will be able to shape trade policy according to our interests.

Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary

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T-charge will only punish the poor

A hard truth for the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is that only a small number of people must still be driving into central London and paying the daily congestion charge unless it is absolutely necessary.

Those that would do so are poorer and travel in older, cheaper cars. So not only is the T-charge ill-conceived, it also hits the poorest hardest. Now, to drive into central London you not only need to be able to pay the existing C-charge but own an expensive car.

Driving the poorest and those most in need to use a car off London’s roads while, according to TfL’s assessment, having a negligible effect on air quality, is a perverse act for a Labour mayor.

Given that the air-quality crisis is most likely caused by a combination of TfL’s fleet of more than 9,000 buses — a responsibility of the Mayor — and private drivers who took up government incentives to buy diesel vehicles to combat climate change, the decision to penalise those individuals who followed previous policy serves only to bring the current Government into disrepute.

Stuart Coster

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Cup exit is a chance lost for Pochettino

Allegedly, the Carabao Cup wasn’t Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino’s priority this season. But what have Spurs won, considering the team is talked up every season?

Last week’s 3-2 defeat to West Ham in the cup was a lost opportunity. The Hammers came to the game low on confidence. Spurs were leading 2-0 and cruising.

Was Pochettino to blame for losing the lead? He could see the team in cruise control and should have been reminding the players on the pitch to concentrate. Sir Alex Ferguson was the master at that at Manchester United.

If Spurs are to be taken seriously — and not become, as Man City boss Pep Guardiola called them, the “Harry Kane team” — they need to win trophies and not play to the gallery.

L Sequeira

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