Expats deserve representation in Parliament

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Spain is Europe's top destination for British expats (Getty)

Expats living abroad have no representation in Parliament. If they are allowed to vote their votes are spread thinly around the UK to the constituencies they were last registered and therefore have no political impact and their needs are not addressed.

The typical size of constituencies in the UK are 72,400 in England, 69,000 in Scotland, 66,800 in Northern Ireland and 56,800 in Wales, making an overall average size of a UK constituency of some 66,150.

The number of UK citizens living outside the UK is estimated to be as much as five million, or greater, more than the populations of Wales and Northern Ireland combined and approximately the same as Scotland.

Here’s a simple suggestion to even the odds and give those five million expats real representation.

Any country with an expat population in excess of 67,000 should be allowed their own MP, just one per country. Not a representative MP selected from sitting MPs, but voted for and elected from the expats resident in those countries. Smaller expats communities could amalgamate their voting numbers with neighbouring countries to reach the required number of residents for their single MP.

Doing this would ensure the five million plus expats living outside the UK would have real representation in Parliament, instead of what they have now, nothing.

For those who recently have screamed about democracy in the wake of Brexit, surely this would be real democracy.

Robert Greasley
Germany

Houston is proof that climate change exists

Again we see the power and horrors of nature at its worst in Houston. Why are so many rare weather events occurring more often when so many, including our leaders, doubt the existence of climate change?

Yes, weather changes each day but the changes in the extremes, the highest, lowest, wettest and driest should not all occur in one lifetime. Climate change is real and the sooner this is accepted, the sooner some world of science can start to work on solutions. Prayers should be given for those suffering and for guidance. Balance is needed by many, at many levels.

Dennis Fitzgerald
Australia

There is nothing wrong with vocational GCSES

The research expressed in the article entitled Girls who study vocational GCSEs ‘significantly less likely to do A-levels or go to university’ may well have found that pupils that study Health and Social Care at GCSE are less likely to study A-levels or attend university but it is incorrect to infer that the study of Health and Social Care in any way reduces the opportunities for these pupils to attend university.

Young people who choose to take Health and Social Care at school are inspired by more vocational courses and seek to further their interest in this area through apprenticeships or diplomas. A-levels and universities traditionally offer more academic learning, with study of theories, algorithms, history and literature rather than practical working skills and knowledge. It is no surprise therefore that pupils who choose to take the applied GCSE courses are less likely to continue in formal education. Pupils taking a GCSE in Health and Social Care often have good interpersonal skills and see themselves working with people either in hospitals, care homes or the community. Some, of course, do opt to study A-levels and attend university to become nurses, midwives and social workers.

Your article worries me because it has an underlying thread that somehow these more vocational courses are less valuable. We need courses in schools for our wide and varied population. We need people to succeed at academic, practical and vocational courses. Our NHS is desperately short of nurses, midwives, social workers and doctors. We have an increasing elderly population and record levels of mental health cases. So why wouldn’t we want our young people to understand more about health and social care?

The spokesperson for the Department of Education confirms my worst fears that, for some reason, those in power fail to appreciate the importance of “applied” GCSEs. The dropping of my own subject, ICT, from GCSEs this year will result in a generation unable to use a spreadsheet.

M Bogdiukiewicz
Oxford

Health and safety gone mad

On a recent visit to the church of St Mary Magdalene, in Newark, I asked a church warden how they changed the light bulbs in the hanging chandeliers.

The warden informed me that the church Verger used to use a pole to lift down the chandeliers, then replace the bulbs. The chandelier was then hung again using the pole.

In all the years this system had been in operation there had never been one single accident.

However, along comes the Health and Safety mob and insist that the pole is never to be used again, but a professional company, using scaffolding, must be the people to replace the light bulbs.

Today the light bulbs are changed by a company using mobile scaffolding who charge £3,000 when called to replace the bulbs.

Perhaps the church may consider sending the bill for replacing the light bulbs to those at Health and Safety who have placed this additional financial burden on their limited resources!

Colin Bower
Sherwood

Donald Trump’s hypocrisy knows no end

Is the Donald Trump deploring North Korea’s missile launch as showing "contempt" for “minimum standards of acceptable international behaviour” the same Donald Trump who said he was “very proud” of dropping the “mother of all bombs” on Afghanistan last April?

Sasha Simic
London N16

We cannot do business with Michael Barnier

The EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier appears to be a man that Britain cannot do business with; a new EU negotiator is called for as Michel Barnier engages in what seems a personnel vendetta against the people of Britain, egged on by Jean-Claude Juncker.

There are many issues that the Brexit row brings forward, and to close the gates on one issue, that of the payments that the UK should pay, as his main bargain option is one is not one that a negotiator should use as the key for the gate for everything else.

So in these circumstances the UK should stop all negotiations with the EU and look to jump ship with a free trade agreement already in place on so many issues. It is for this reason the EU should be side stepped for its instance on this one issue, until they come to their senses.

Stephen Lambourne
Address supplied