![]() SIR – On the subject of inheritance tax ( Letters, June 2), I feel what should also be mentioned is that even before you die, if you need care and have more than £23,250 in your bank account the money you hoped would go to your children is used to pay for that care. Given the present woke hysteria in our universities, it is almost difficult to remember the mindset of a time that allowed such an invitation to occur – let alone do so without violent demonstrations. SIR – I too was up at Oxford in 1960 ( Letters, June 3) and I remember an Oxford Union debate in which one of the invited speakers was Sir Oswald Mosley. As he told us, the generation before ours had died to give us that freedom. We must be free to say what we want and always be prepared to listen to all points of view. The master said that the reason for both the motion and speakers was that freedom of speech was our most important freedom. The two boys chosen to propose the motion were Jewish. SIR – In 1952, the subject chosen by our English master for the school’s annual debate was “Adolf Hitler was a good man”. If they want respect, they must also respect others. Only then can they hope to enjoy a democratic society with the freedoms they want. ![]() ![]() SIR – Students at Oxford have every right to express their views on anything, but they must not deny the rights of others to express views with which they disagree. I had never thought George Orwell’s prophecies would become a reality. What is worse is that they are so serious about it, and are genuinely concerned that I might attract the attention of the “thought police”.Īs a Christian and one-time politician, I had felt myself somehow immune from these trends, but increasingly I witness genuine fear as sensible people have become wary of being heard saying unfashionable things. Such has been my experience of the cancel culture ( Letters, June 3) spread in recent times by the intolerant radical Left, which now controls so much of Britain. SIR – When your adult son or daughter – well educated, intelligent and successful – says “you can’t say that” or your young grandson tells you that your comment is “inappropriate”, you know the world is not as it was. Powell was forced to abandon his speech, as the noise from protesters made it impossible for him to be heard and fighting had broken out in the student audience. This was shortly after his “Rivers of Blood” speech and he had been invited to speak by the university’s Conservative society. SIR – When did this odious cancel culture start to infiltrate our universities? I recall being part of a group of students at Exeter in 1968 who organised a protest against a visit from Enoch Powell. ![]()
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