I would like to thank Owen Jones for his excellent piece (Jeremy Corbyn has caused a sensation – he would make a fine prime minister, theguardian.com, 9 June). I really appreciate that he was big enough to admit that he had been wrong in his judgment of Jeremy Corbyn. Though I am sure he is quite right in his proposition that it was young people who were mainly responsible for the Labour gains, at 71 (and also not a traditional labour voter) I am definitely not one of them. Yet I have become excited by Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign, and I know of other “oldies” who have been equally inspired by him. I have been telling people who insisted that Jeremy Corbyn’s politics are old labour and outdated, that on the contrary, his politics are of the future, they are hopeful and progressive.
Penny Joseph
Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex
• Don’t encourage simplistic analysis of the voter age groups supporting Labour (Young people saw a chance, and we took it, 12 June). The number of people joining Labour after the failure in 2015 helped make it the largest political party in Europe, but they were not all youngsters. Many older folk (re-)joined because they saw the need to do something about the leadership and policies, and then seized the opportunity when it was offered. The number of young people signing up to vote was much higher than the Labour party’s membership. And there will have been young Tories in the mix too. The story is not just about age, it is about engagement for first timers, and re-engagement for old-timers who want to see the back of Blairism. The inspiration was and remains the possibility of re-legitimising socialism in Britain.
Dr William Edmondson
Rowley, Shropshire
• Sorry Brenda from Bristol, but another election looms, and this time a progressive alliance of Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP, Plaid and the Greens need to get their policy ducks in a row to win it. Firstly, these must provide hope, not just for the young, but for every community in the country. To do this Jeremy Corbyn must revisit and vigorously shake his people’s QE “money tree”. This could pay for real economic activity on the ground via decentralised infrastructure projects to make the nation’s 30 million buildings energy efficient, ensure a shift to localised renewable energy, and the building of local transport systems.
Secondly, the divide between young and old must be bridged by policies fostering intergenerational solidarity. Older people with significant saving should be offered “housing bonds”, paying, say, 3% interest to help fund a massive council and affordable homes programme. Tuition fees would be scrapped, but so too must be the threat of having to lose a home to pay for care, or having to scrabble for means-tested benefits such as heating allowances. Financed by progressive and fairer wealth and income taxes, and a clampdown on tax dodging, this should have an election-winning appeal to the majority of grandparents, parents and their young relatives.
Colin Hines
East Twickenham, Middlesex
• I still doubt that Jeremy Corbyn will be remembered as a man who wins a general election as Labour party leader. I still doubt that he will be remembered as a great leader of the opposition, or as a man who united the Labour movement. But I am confident that he will be remembered for many years to come as the man who galvanised the young generation to join a political party and to get out and vote. This may be his finest legacy.
Keith Scrivener
Sheepstor, Devon
• Reading Gary Younge (Despite the smears and distortions, this was a victory for hope, 10 June) brought a further surge of the euphoric feeling to which I awoke on Friday morning. It called to mind a quote from The Prelude by Wordsworth: “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive”. The wonderful contribution of the young voters leads me to the next line: “But to be young was very heaven”. As a 77-year-old lifelong Labour supporter, I felt like hugging every one of them.
Tom Mahoney
Bexleyheath, Kent
• I agree that the voting age of 18 seems purely arbitrary and outdated in the 21st century. It is indeed time we allowed 16-year-olds the vote (Editorial, 9 June). People who are disaffected with politics or who do not feel they understand the issues involved often choose not to vote anyway, whatever their age. The argument that 16-year-olds may not understand is a spurious one. At the other end of the argument, what checks are there that people with advancing dementia have the faculties to be able to make an informed decision sufficient to vote? For years there have been rumours near where I live, that Tory party supporters go to care homes and drive residents to polling stations so that they are able to cast their votes!
Jenny Page
Newton Poppleford, Devon
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