Neither political donations nor special interest groups should dictate policy

George Monbiot condemns Andy Burnham for his alleged subservience to the interests of the wealthy (Andy Burnham has already made a mistake that will cost him his premiership: he lost his nerve over political donations, 2 September). If true, I agree. But the same could be said of any interest holding sway in our politics. Lobbying groups, activists, unions, thinktanks, people who obsess about this, that or the other. It is surely not OK for our democracy – at local or national level – to have its priorities dictated by those with the shrillest voices, as well as those with the deepest pockets. Speaking from Scotland, I think that our public realm is a case in point. It seems special interest groups are, to all intents and purposes, the main driver of government policy now. And all too often, said influence is framed by an ideological mission that does not necessarily align with that boring, broad swathe of folks who don't follow politics closely, and don't see government as a means to progress personal hobbyhorses or single-issue causes. The latter are, in their own insidious way, as injurious to democracy as the whispers of the wealthy in the ears of politicians. So too is turning a blind eye to such undue influence because its aims chime with your own beliefs. Leaders of any party must endeavour to serve not some, but all – without fear or favour – including those who didn't vote for them. Not easy. No guarantee of success. But abandoning that principle makes our politics all the poorer. Colin MontgomeryEdinburgh • I was surprised to see George Monbiot paying feasance to that liberal shibboleth, "the general interest". If a society is fractured by inequalities of class, race, gender, sexuality, etc, then there can be no "general interest" until these are overcome. Ensuring trade union influence over Labour policy through the continuation of union donations acts as leverage against policy being captured by the likes of Lord Alli and Lord Sainsbury. When Monbiot goes on to say that "Labour governments know they can safely bash benefit recipients, who aren't unionised, while they tread very carefully – far too carefully in my view – around the interests of oil workers", he misses the obvious point that the way, then, to protect benefit claimants is to organise them. Unite, for instance, already has a community membership for students, claimants and pensioners, and has organised days of action against benefit cuts and sanctions. Monbiot's proposal would not strengthen the power of benefit claimants, it would simply weaken the power of trade unions. Nick MossLondon • George Monbiot is right; Andy Burnham lacks the courage to take on vested interests, and nowhere is this more apparent than over climate breakdown. During an extensive Panorama interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the climate crisis was not mentioned once, despite record temperatures, drought affecting half the country and unprecedented wildfires raging throughout Europe. The cap on bus fares will be financed by abandoning international climate payments; and now Burnham wants to take a "pragmatic" approach to drilling in the North Sea. Next year we will breach the 1.5C limit stipulated in the Paris agreement, and this will be followed by the disappearance of coral reefs and the eventual disintegration of the Western Antarctic ice sheet – irreversible events that will undermine the marine food chain and raise sea levels by six metres. Andy Burnham's lukewarm approach won't look so pragmatic to our descendants when coastal cities worldwide are under water. Dr Robin Russell-JonesFounder, Help Rescue the Planet •