It was heartening to read the words of the Labour MP Clive Lewis – they felt like a cool and level-headed salve amid the heat and fervour of public mourning (“Amid the mourning, we republicans should look back and learn – but we must not be silenced”, 16 September). It feels as if in moments of uncertainty our communities reach for the familiar, for a sense of belonging. Perhaps this sense of unity may be found by shifting our taxes and our time towards building a nation of equals, a reinvigorated democracy and an empowered citizenry. In essence, what we need now is a new social contract, where the same sense of respect and, dare I say it, love is afforded to struggling workers, isolated older people and children who rely on food banks to eat. Across the Commonwealth, people are struggling terribly. All the pageantry in the world cannot deflect from the need to incisively question the old ways of thinking.
April Cumming
Melbourne, Australia
• Clive Lewis misses the point about the monarchy. It is popular because it speaks to the irrational in us. That irrationality is all around us, and is probably a significant way of coping with the world. We all get a kick out of the spectacle, the silliness and the sheer stupidity of it.
Ian d’Alton
Naas, County Kildare, Ireland
