'We cannot and should not have to suffer this level of incompetence' - Your Letters plus 1957 Church Stretton Carnival remembered through rare photo

During a debate in the commons an MP shouted "quick send in the clowns", a second MP stood up and with a pointing of a figure gestured to the Labour front bench and shouted "don't bother they Are here. An instantaneous roar of approval came from the opposition benches while stony faces were apparent on the faces of ministers.

Sir Keir Starmer with his perceived weaknesses and lack of vision stared at the floor totally befuddled and completely lost. Sitting next to Sir Keir was his chancellor Rachel Reeves who through sheer incompetence had failed to make sure she had everything in place to rent out her home. She didn't seem to notice the laughter, it seems she was counting on her fingers the money she was going to take off the pensioners.

Sat close by Rachel, David Lammy who was totally consumed in trying to work out how he got the moves wrong when he was dancing to the Hokey Cokey the previous night. All night he kept getting it wrong putting his left leg out when he should have been putting his right leg out same thing with his arms, ah well he thought nobody's perfect.

Rachel now looking for a friend looked across the front bench for Angela Rayner, she scolded herself for being so stupid in not remembering Angela had resigned because the Prime Minister's ethics adviser had found her guilty of breaching the ministerial code and falling far short of the standards expected of a minister.

Shabana Mahmood sitting a little further along the front bench was trying to work out how to remove illegal immigrants out of hotels and into other accommodations throughout the country, poor woman seems to have forgotten the plan should be to remove them off our island, perhaps we should give her a little more time to work out illegal immigrants are here illegally and should be expelled from our island.

One of the front benchers could be seen mouthing "isn't it rich" ? "isn't it queer"? "losing my timing this late in my career".

We cannot and should not have to suffer this level of incompetence. God knows we suffered enough from the previous clowns. Like all countries we are suffering a deficiency of leadership and this deficiency may have grave consequences.

John Green, Midlands

Highway robbery of flooded roads

Bring back Dick Turpin, infamous Highwayman, he only robbed you once!

Across the Midlands motorways and roads have been left flooded and its hardly been a severe winter. Floods, blocked culverts blocked drains, pot holes, uneven surfaces, dirty signs, no signs, delayed roadworks, poor traffic alerts on motorways, road blocks, no traffic police, on it goes – the longest and slowest highway robbery.

Every year Highways get council tax and government funds. Every year the region’s road system gets worse. It can't handle floods, frost, leaves, work delays, new projects, old projects, new ideas, budget control, indeed traffic is on everyone’s list too. A road to nowhere exits in the West Midlands.

Anyone bravely attempting to cross from Darlaston side via Junction 10, to Walsall, can tell you £75 million of tax payers money resulted in four lane chaos and delays, instead of two lane chaos and delays. Get a grip Highways, sort it out councils. A new old movement is stirring. Let’s restore canals. They move quicker than the M6 on most day. Bring back Dick Turpin!

Name and address supplied

Clarification on model show

In a story about the model show in Telford, ​the photo of the “ship” was not a ship but submarine and the aircraft next to it was a Lysander – the light aircraft which took agents and supplies into occupied France and landed in a field illuminated by the Marquee resistance. 

Most took off from Tempsford Airfield, Bedfordshire, near where I lived as a child. My mother said one always knew when a flight was going out that night as the police chained up the telephone kiosks – presumably to stop enemy agents phoning the details to Germany!!

Richard Camp, Wellington

Have an opinion? Want to be heard? We want to hear your voice!

Write to Readers' letters at [email protected]

Letters to the editor must include the writer’s name and address and will only be published anonymously in exceptional circumstances. The editor reserves the right to condense or amend letters.

Do you have any pictures from the past you would like to share with us? 

Do need help recognising an old street, old faces? If so, send them to [email protected] including your name, where you are from, and as much information as you can about the photo(s) and we will publish as many as we can online and in print.