As someone responsible for Labour’s catastrophic defeat in December 2019, which has enabled the Tories to inflict chaos on our society and harm on the most vulnerable people for the last four years, John McDonnell has some brass neck to be lecturing Keir Starmer on how to win an election. He began his article (Starmer must say what he’ll do in power – if he leaves a vacuum, the far right will fill it, 4 January) disingenuously, by insinuating that Labour’s current popularity over the Tories is “part of a natural cycle”, rather than what is in fact an astonishing comeback, due in no small measure to Starmer’s efforts to expose the Tories’ unfitness for government. It may escape McDonnell, but it would make sense to me if Starmer’s giving away “very little, or any, detail on what he will do in office” was a strategy to prevent the Tories from helping themselves to what they wanted from Labour’s policies while misrepresenting the remainder of them to the electorate via the front pages of the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Starmer admires Harold Wilson, who – within five years of being elected in 1964, after 13 years of Tory rule – abolished capital punishment and legalised both abortion and homosexuality, none of which had been in Labour’s election manifesto nor required lavish public spending, but helped to make our country kinder and more just. Personally, I credit Starmer for his impressive work so far and trust him to know how to win an election and use power once in office. Martin Wallace London • John McDonnell is spot-on about the far right filling the vacuum if Labour cannot deliver the change the country needs and expects. While it is understandable that Labour does not wish to give any hostages to fortune, it seems to have just submitted to the establishment and made it very hard for people who think about the political direction of this country to work out what its basic principles are. New Labour – pre-Iraq – was exciting, with some great ideas. The message of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves seems to be that Labour will implement Tory policies more competently. They are still allowing the Tories to set the agenda. A paler version of Tory policies by a new Labour government will end in disillusionment and failure, and open the door to the far-right fraudsters and racists who are on the rise in Europe. Aziz Rajab-Ali London • There is little point in trying to second guess how the Conservative party sees its relationship from week to week with Reform UK and other far-right factions, but John McDonnell’s analysis deserves to be taken seriously, whatever his past political history and reputation within the Labour party. The Liberal Democrats and the Greens should have no problems with his warnings. But if, on this occasion, McDonnell sounds like the voice of sanity then Labour – and, consequently, the rest of us – are in serious trouble. Majoring on telling Conservative and former Conservative voters that Labour is a changed party does not capture the imagination of millions of people who want leaders to stand firmly against extremist rightwing parties, and stop them getting anywhere near political power. Geoff Reid Bradford • John McDonnell makes some important points. I will demur from pointing out that under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, McDonnell failed to convince the electorate that he could manage the economy, and the result was four further years of very rightwing policies and chaos. Starmer is correct to focus on getting into No 10 with a middle-of-the-road plan and a commitment to clean up politics. The electorate knows that it will take more than five years to correct the disasters of the previous 14 years. Tim Smart Fleet, Hampshire • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.