IN SNJ letters September 13, Alma Geddin said she disagrees with me but I was only asking a question and neither she nor Gordon Benetti or Huw Niland have offered an answer.

As regards Alma’s defence of Neil Carmichael, I can assure her my questions were perfectly reasonable.

For example, as regards planning and development he said: “The key is to ensure decisions are made by local people” and “As a society we cannot rest easily with many people needing a home.”

He talked of the need for affordable homes.

I asked him what was meant by ‘affordable’ and to whom?

I had no reply and when decisions regarding developments have been taken by local people, they have been overturned by a government inspector.

What has this Government done to alleviate the housing crisis?

Clearly as the numbers in temporary housing or on the streets continue to rise the answer is absolutely nothing and yet Alma claims the Tory Party stands for home ownership.

She claims it stands for education, but we have a shortage of teachers.

We have university vice chancellors taking home more than the PM but that’s fine.

That reflects “personal responsibility” I suppose.

Alma says that she has been to a number of failed socialist states but doesn’t tell us where they are, although she was there long enough to conclude that socialism never works and nearly always ends in a failed economy and child poverty.

It occurs to me that China is the world’s fastest growing economy and is regarded as a socialist country so I’m not quite sure how that works.

The USA is the world’s biggest capitalist country and has the biggest divide between rich and poor, but presumably Alma thinks that a society like that is quite acceptable as long as she is on the wealthy side.

As regards the number of doctors in the NHS, if Alma is correct, it is because they started their training under the last Labour government, something this government has cut and as regards the numbers treated, that is because the population is increasing.

I am sorry Alma but I think you need to see what is happening to real people in the real world and not be bamboozled by the alternative facts printed in the Daily Mail and others.

In conclusion, to Gordon Benetti (SNJ, September 6), I think you will find the fastest U-turn in history was Theresa May on capping energy prices during her election campaign; or was it saying there was no magic money tree, but suddenly finding one with £1 billion on it to keep herself in power?

Howard Price

Nailsworth