It speaks volumes, doesn’t it, that one day Theresa May comes to York and speaks to the faithful few behind closed doors and the next day Jeremy Corbyn visits and stands out in the open talking to hundreds.

Is Mrs May so scared of ordinary people, or having to answer a single awkward question? Does she acknowledge that her future plans for this country are indefensible to anyone with a heart?

And does Keith Isaac (Letters, May 10) recognise that the Labour party does support the renewal of Trident (despite its irrelevance in the modern world of terrorism) and that the Conservative austerity and sneaky tax regime hasn’t worked?

Chris Bond, Acomb, York

Labour leader’s sums don’t add up

Jeremy Corbyn is promising to spend more and more on extra police, education, the NHS and anybody else he thinks might vote Labour.

He says there will be no rise in personal income tax or national insurance rates for those earning less than £80,000 per annum and Labour’s spending plans will be funded by higher rates for those earning over £80,000 per annum and also an increase in Corporation Tax rates from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.

With regards to income tax, the top 5 per cent of earners currently pay 47 per cent of all income tax collected. They are a minority of people and even an increase to 50 per cent will have a minimal effect in terms of extra tax collected.

With regards to Corporation Tax, the rate was 28 per cent at the end of the last Labour Government and the amount of tax collected in their last year was £43 billion. George Osborne reduced the rate to 19 per cent and by 2016 the amount of tax collected had increased to £49.7 billion. This was largely due to the fact that lower taxes mean higher profitability which means higher investment leading to more tax being paid and more jobs created.

Labour have never understood that reducing the tax rate usually leads to more tax being paid as there is more incentive to work. Labour’s plans will inevitably lead to less tax, less jobs and more borrowing. I suspect Jeremy Corbyn had the same maths teacher as Diane Abbott.

Tony Taylor, Grassholme, Woodthorpe, York

In a democracy we deserve answers

It’s easy to understand why Theresa May refuses to enter into debate with voters. Millions of us want to know what Brexit means and how much it will cost.

How much will it cost for the UK to reconsider 56,000 EU laws relating to: workers’ and consumer rights; tackling climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss; and protecting our human rights? How many civil servants will be needed and how long will it take? Will all proposed changes go through the British parliament?

Will Brexit mean that taxes go up and that services or pensions will be cut? How many hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost over the next five years as businesses relocate to the EU? How long does she really expect forging new trade agreements to take? How likely is the break-up of the UK? How long and how much will it cost to train British nurses to replace all EU workers in the NHS?

In a democracy we deserve answers. After all, a few weeks ago May refused the Scots a second referendum, specifically telling Nicola Sturgeon that it would be wrong to have a vote on Brexit before people knew what Brexit means.

Christian Vassie Blake Court, Wheldrake, York