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Robert Jenrick is no kind of role model for Labour | Letters

Readers reply to an article by Jonathan Freedland on the shadow justice secretary’s fare-dodging stuntRobert Jenrick isn’t diagnosing disorder. He’s manufacturing it (It’s easy to dismiss Robert Jenrick’s fare-dodging stunt. But he understands something Keir Starmer doesn’t, 30 May). The issue isn’t whether people are annoyed by fare-dodgers or spooked by barber shops that stay open late. It’s why that resentment gets more political airtime than landlords hiking rents, billionaires dodging taxes, or private equity firms bleeding the NHS dry.What Jenrick is doing isn’t tapping into some universal British frustration with rule-breaking. He’s engaging in the oldest trick in the reactionary playbook. Inflate petty infractions into moral panics. Redirect public rage downward. Claim the mantle of common sense. It’s the politics of distraction, dressed up as concern for order. Continue reading...

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