Prince William has launched a major five-year campaign to end homelessness, emphasising that it has no place in a ‘modern and progressive society.’
While some readers point to the prince’s royal residences, supporters commend his dedication to the cause while both sides question the government’s dedication to the same issue:
'I'll take the announcement by the do-gooder rich prince with a pinch of salt.'
■ I am astonished that Prince William thinks he can end homelessness. It isn’t going to happen, unfortunately.
We live in a free market, survival of the fittest society where housing in our country is not a human right. It should be.
The government has at its disposal the powers to end homelessness by making it law. It’s as simple as that.
I take the announcement by the do-gooder rich prince with a pinch of salt.
Mike, Greater Manchester
The received cynicism raises the question of whether it is hypocritical for a wealthy prince to undertake this endeavour, or if he is effectively leveraging his privilege for a noble cause.
What do you think?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
■ The news that Prince William is embarking upon a tour of the UK to address the issue of homelessness (Metro, Tues) is fantastic! It’s an issue that is very close to his heart, as it was for his late mother, Princess Diana.
However, it is very disappointing that homelessness is NOT at the top of our government’s agenda, or at the top of the Labour Party’s political agenda.
There are millions of people in towns and cities across the UK who cannot afford their crippling high rents; millions of people who are facing unaffordable mortgage rate increases and tens of thousands of people sleeping rough on the streets of our towns and cities.
Prince William cares deeply about them but WHY don’t our politicians appear to care about them? The building of social housing in sufficient numbers (and at affordable rents) would have been the obvious answer, but successive governments quite simply failed to plan for this to happen. Shame on them!
Al, Charlton
■ Ending homelessness is Prince William’s aim in life. There are a number of royal residences that can be converted into living accommodation. Get to it, Wills.
Eddie, Rotherham
■ Prince William’s bid to end homelessness is a breath of fresh air. He follows in the footsteps of his mother, Princess Diana, who did SO much for the vulnerable and underprivileged members in our society.
Successive governments have failed to do very much for homeless people. Let’s all hope that the Prince of Wales will succeed, where our politicians have all failed.
Scott, West London
■ With reports of Harry and Meghan considering changing their name from Windsor to Spencer, I’d suggest they also change their first names, to Frank and Betty, and that Harry buys himself a raincoat and beret.
John Lewis, Liverpool
Is it a case of ‘holding our nerve’?
■ So Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt think it’s just a case of ‘holding our nerve’ (Metro, Mon) in the face of rapidly rising interest rates and inflation?
It’s like having Marie Antoinette in charge when you have such wealthy plutocrats at the top of government.
Rishi admitted he doesn’t know any working-class people. More tellingly, he is a product of Goldman Sachs – a bank famously described by Rolling Stone magazine as ‘a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money’.
Rishi and Jeremy’s wealth will no doubt benefit from the rise in interest rates, but ordinary people need to get used to a future with the vampire squid in charge.
William, Sheffield
Those who no longer have a mortgage will still feel inflation
■ I think Sarah Davidson’s claim (Metro, Mon) that those who no longer have a mortgage ‘won’t feel a thing’ is incorrect.
Retired doctors, senior teachers, policeman, middle-ranking civil servants and banking and insurance workers are seeing their pension lump sums, typically around £100K, diminishing by £4,000 a year due to inflation being four per cent higher than current savings rates; as is anyone else with substantial savings.
Whatever your target readership may think about ‘boomers’, a significant proportion of the country secretly welcomes any increase in interest rates and decrease in inflation.
Jonathan Bagley, Todmorden
■ Regulators have to take the blame for the current mortgage timebomb. They have allowed people to borrow to their limit at historically low rates.
This has pushed house prices up and created a self-worsening crisis.
Neil, via email
Could Russia lose the war in Ukraine?
■ It appears that Russia may very well be close to losing its war in Ukraine, let us all hope that a desperate Putin does not resort to the unthinkable and use nuclear weapons against Kyiv in order to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat – for all of our sakes.
Phil Brand, London
■ I think Wagner has done remarkably well, from wacky entertainer on The X Factor to nearly toppling a dictator is a meteoric rise.
Neil Dance, Birmingham
Are women biologically disadvantaged at motorsport?
■ Dave from Hove mentioned in his letter (Metro, Mon) that he believes segregating men and women in motorsport is not necessary. He states that women are as physically capable as men at both driving and racing so should compete freely with them.
He ignores the biological fact that, as multiple studies have shown, men on average possess 40 per cent more upper-body strength and 33 per cent more lower-body strength than women.
Modern racing cars, particularly single seaters, do not have power steering and racing them involves withstanding tremendous g-forces to the neck and upper body.
The cars’ pedals are very stiff and require considerable force to operate at high speed.
Women are therefore disadvantaged at motor racing, and whilst I admire any that do race with men, I also thought it was wonderful that they had their own series in Formula W.
Henry Walter, Hounslow
Readers review Axl Rose and Lana Del Rey at Glastonbury
■ I thought the newlywed toilet cleaners did a better job than Lana Del Rey at Glastonbury (Metro, Fri). At least they were on time!
Matt, Leicester
■ Axl Rose was looking remarkably like comedian Eddie Izzard at Glastonbury. Izzard can’t sing either.
John Nightingale, Essex
Bullies are everywhere but you won’t be bullied for your clothes wearing school uniform
■ In response to Asher’s letter (Metro, Mon), there are bullies in all walks of life and he will encounter this throughout his career.
Regarding school uniform, by wearing your own clothes you are subjecting yourself to being bullied by not wearing the latest designer clothes.
I too found this out as a gay man in my teens.
Bobby Jones, Kidbrooke
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MORE : William’s £3,000,000 project to end homelessness in five years
MORE : Rishi tells struggling borrowers to ‘hold your nerve and trust my plan’
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