Letters November 6: Allure of unrestrained power turns our leaders’ heads

David Cameron and George Osborne must have been green with envy as they entertained the world’s second most powerful capitalist after Vladimir Putin.

Newspaper columnists would have you believe that Jeremy Corbyn would take the country so far left that it would become just like Russia and Communist China. Don’t believe a word of it.

Jeremy Corbyn is still on Chapter One of Animal Farm whereas the leaders of China are more than halfway through the book.

The pigs are now firmly in charge, walking upright – two legs good, four legs bad.

These leaders don’t have to worry what anybody thinks about their business associates, as long as they don’t become an embarrassment by, for example, allowing stored chemicals to blow up and destroy a city.

If someone is foolish enough to do such a thing you simply disassociate yourself and permanently remove the embarrassment.

The way Russia and China are now run is capitalism personified. If you are no use to anybody then you scrape a living to survive.

If you can find a way to make a quick buck and still contribute something to the centre, then you have the freedom to do what you want as long as you behave yourself.

The leaders of these two countries don’t have to worry about burning coal, CO2 emissions, curbing the powers of trades unions, cutting tax credits reducing wages, or the embarrassment of bankers’ bonuses.

Can you imagine there being a problem trying to get planning permission to frack in China, or having to circumvent democracy by withholding funding in order to force your views on local elected representatives?

This Government is doing 
its best to emulate the Russians and the Chinese, but there is still a semblance of democracy in this country which is holding the Government back.

I get the impression that Cameron and Osborne are more envious than afraid of Putin and Jinping, but they need to be careful.

Their latest moves remind me of a recurring theme in crime thrillers where the young innocent gets in hock to 
the unsavoury local loan 
shark with terrible consequences.

I hope the boy David has his wits about him.