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The discussions about "social mobility" (Letters, 11 April) seem to accept that it is a "good thing", provided there is some regulation of nepotism. This is like a discussion of the decor in the first-class cabin while the toilets overflow in economy class. There seem to be no political leaders or media opinion-formers speaking for those who have not achieved lift-off into these elevated zones. Somebody is needed to clean the lavatory, empty the wheelie bins, deliver the post, answer the phone etc. There is no one, it seems, shouting that we should value these people, who are most of us, much more highly. Instead they are implicitly branded as failures and expected to carry the austerity can for the misconduct of those who have escaped upwards.
Laurence Elton
Frome, Somerset
• Niall Ferguson believes that the left think he is an "imperialist scumbag" (G2, 11 April). I'd suggest that most, while seeing him as rightwing, understand that he remains a leading historian whose work demands respect. The problem is that Ferguson has begun to act up to the caricature he has created for himself, and instead of his politics amplifying the historical points he makes, too often it looks like it is driving his historical agenda.
Dr Keith Flett
London Socialist Historians Group
• "The first electrically lit house in Britain was Cragside", you claim, mistakenly (Let there be light bulbs, Review, 2 April). The first house illuminated by Joseph Swan was his own home at Underhill in Kells Lane, Gateshead. Lord Armstrong's country house at Cragside in Northumberland came second, although it was the first to be powered by hydroelectricity.
RR Hall
Newcastle upon Tyne
• It has been brought to my notice that the royal wedding is to take place on Save the Frogs Day, 29 April. Will there be an expectation for William to turn into a handsome prince during the ceremony?
Tony Edwards
Watchfield, Oxfordshire
• If Schwani finds a mate and moves on from his obsession with farm/construction equipment (Swan's three-year love affair – with a tractor, 13 April), will that make him an ex-tractor fan? Sorry.
Jake Burger
London
