Rishi Sunak’s substandard solution to NHS waiting lists | Short letters

Good to see Rishi Sunak dealing with NHS waiting lists in traditional Tory fashion. “While we have virtually eliminated the people who have been waiting the longest, we have not made enough of a dent in the waiting lists,” he says (report, January 8). I haven’t been eliminated yet, although as I await my surgery the chances increase every day.
Ormond Simpson
Kenilworth, Warwickshire

Am I the only one who feels sympathy for Dmitry Rybolovlev (Russian oligarch sues Sotheby’s for ‘helping art dealer overpay him’, January 8)? You have labeled him “the 180th richest person in the world”. But if Bill Shankly was right and “the first is first, the second is nowhere,” what does that mean for Mr. Rybolovlev?
Alex Koval
Manchester

Another reason to celebrate the Wetherspoon pubs: they are one of the few pubs that are dog-free (Letters, January 7). I can eat and drink without having to pretend to be interested in the age of other customers’ dogs.
Trevor Hopper
Lewes, East Sussex

When I bought the Guardian in Leeds ten years ago, having just arrived from Australia, the newsagent said: “You pay more for big words” (Letters, January 8). As someone new to the complexities of English society, I couldn’t have asked for a better lesson.
Matt Campbell
Sheffield

Does it take another great TV series to accelerate compensation?
recovery for the victims of the NHS blood scandal?
Judith Cutler
Kemble, Gloucestershire