Ed Davey needs to look rather closer to home for the reasons for the Liberal Democrats’ poor performance in the general election (Davey blames ‘toxic’ Corbyn for poor election show, 20 January).
It is his party that is toxic because of its complicity with the Tories when in coalition. The consequences of the Lib Dems’ desire for a smidgen of power in 2010 remain with us. Millions are struggling in poverty today because of the savage cuts made during the coalition years. Many of us have not forgotten their turnaround on the Health and Social Care Act, which wrought havoc on the NHS and opened the door wide for privatisation.
Perhaps Davey might also care to examine his own actions as energy secretary in the coalition government, when he got rid of Warm Front, the only state-funded grant scheme available to improve home energy efficiency, which was designed to help people on low incomes. Davey decided it should be scrapped and replaced by the “green deal” scheme, which was largely loan-based rather than providing grants. As a result, we still have no decent schemes to tackle energy efficiency and fuel poverty.
It is time that the Lib Dems were called to account for their actions when in power with the Tories. They should not be allowed to wear a mask of concern for people’s living standards and for the environment when their party did so much harm.
Linda Lennard
St Albans, Hertfordshire
• I nearly spat out my vegan muesli on reading your report about Ed Davey! Who was it who told us that Jeremy Corbyn was unfit to be PM on a daily basis during the election campaign? A clue to the answer ... she refused to countenance a coalition with Labour, and she lost her East Dunbartonshire seat.
Deirdre Burrell
Mortimer, Berkshire
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