Banbury reader accuses correspondent of having no idea of a working democracy

“It was with great interest that I read the letter from Sir Frank Davies [June 2]. In it he made a bold and rather incorrect statement. Sir Frank says: “The minority must accept the will of the majority”. In these few words he has demonstrated that he has not the slightest idea of what a working democracy is. Let’s explore this with a hypothetical example.

The majority of people are right-handed, let’s assume they all get together and make a law stating that only right-handed people get to vote. Left-handed people will be denied a vote. Is that a fair and equitable system in which people can live? Of course not; Sir Frank in his diatribe about woke culture has just managed to cancel left-handed people if we use this example.

The part Sir Frank has left out is the important bit. Yes the majority gets to call the shots, but only as long as they don’t impinge on the rights of the minority. This is a vital ingredient in the successful running of any democracy. To not include provisions that protect minority rights is an affront that no right-minded thinker could endure.

Simon Garrett, BanburyModern ‘woke’ beliefs

I am glad to read Sir Frank Davies (Letters, June 2) is concerned about the state of the UK’s democracy and its prime minister’s behaviour.

I know little about the “modern ‘woke’ beliefs” Sir Frank mentions, but if he is saying Ms Carol Broom’s letter is an expression of these, please can he provide evidence to refute her opinion of Boris Johnson? There is plenty proving that, far from the prime minister “saving us” and “taking advice”, he ignored the scientific authorities and “caused many unnecessary deaths” dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. I recommend Dr Philip Hammond’s ‘Dr Hammond’s Covid Casebook’ with which to start.

Having considered the dangers of woke beliefs, I hope Sir Frank is also worried by other threats to the UK’s democracy about which there has been much written, such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Elections Bill, the Judicial Review and Courts Act (2022), revoking the Human Rights Act (1998), and even Lord Peter Hennessy’s remark in April: “I think we are in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember.”

Neil Iden, Banbury

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