Where is Spitting Image when you need them? According to Hansard it is the only time in parliamentary history that the leader of the Opposition has been called a chlorinated chicken by a PM - although in 1846 Benjamin Disraeli accused William Ewart Gladstone of being poulet-like for supporting the repeal of the Corn Laws.

If Corbyn had been quick-witted enough he could have riposted, as hinted by Robert Peston, ‘I am not a chlorinated chicken but you, Sir, are a lame duck.’

Brian McCusker,

Hartoft Street, York

We must be the laughing stock of the world

I AM in dismay at the games our politicians are playing in spite of the damage being done to our country. We must be the laughing stock of the world.

At the time of writing Boris Johnson has called for a General Election to give the people a final say. Despite calling for one himself for the past two years Jeremy Corbyn has chickened out.

His excuse is that if the bill to prevent a no deal Brexit goes through and then Boris wins a General Election in mid October he can overrule the law and still enact a no deal Brexit. To ‘protect’ the country from this Jeremy is refusing to agree to a General Election!

This means that Jeremy believes that if there is a General Election Boris will win a majority and Labour will be defeated. The best way to protect the country from a no deal is to win an election and get rid of this rotten Government (and I say this as a life-long Tory). What does it say about the state of our politics when the government are a complete shambles and the opposition are frightened of a General Election because they think they will lose?

Tony Taylor,

Grassholme, Woodthorpe, York

What’s Remain response to ‘Surrender Bill’ claim?

A catchy slogan that resonates with the public mood has influenced how a vote works out. 1979’s ‘Britain isn’t working’ and ‘Take back control’ in the 2016 EU referendum both spring to mind. Having watched Boris Johnson in PMQs, expect a ‘Corbyn’s Surrender Bill’ barrage from the Tories in the forthcoming general election. Have the coalition of Remainer parties got an effective response?

Geoff Robb,

Hunters Close, Dunnington