Peaceful union

IT is recognised, although no one can actually prove it, that the 73 years of peace in Europe since the end of the Second World War have been maintained by the collective agreements, actions and responsibility of the continent’s nations.

Hardly mentioned in and since our EU referendum, it was the presentation by the press and television of the centenary commemoration of Armistice Day which underlined that every effort should be made to prevent a repeat of such suffering and carnage.

Remaining as part of the collectiveness of Europe seems a small price to pay to continue with the stability of the past 73 years and making a contribution to prevent mistakes of the past.

A Kelly, Ferryhill

National unity

THERE is a growing mood among ordinary voters for a government of national unity.

The impatience of the ordinary people with the House of Commons is mounting. They knew a compromise was always going to be necessary, and they admire Mrs May so much for the difficulties she has faced.

Now they have lost patience with all the other members of parliament.

We are in the grip of a national emergency and a steadily growing band of voters will accept nothing less than a government of national unity headed by Mrs May.

Nigel Boddy, Darlington

EU blackmail

I AM not an expert in Brexit, but I hope to highlight some facts.

Since Article 50 was signed and until the end of 2022 when the implementation period ends, we will have paid £60bn to the EU and that is not including the £39bn divorce bill. It is a total of £100bn. We should not have to pay our £39bn until the deal is done.

If we leave without a deal, we will stop freedom of movement, take back sovereignty, and stop paying £350m a week. We get these no matter how we leave, so the EU has given us nothing! We are paying for a deal that does not exist!

We have been given no trade terms, no end date and the Spanish and French have made threats against Gibraltar and our fishing grounds.

If a trading deal is not done by 2022, we will still be paying £14bn per year to the EU or we will go into the backstop agreement which we can only leave when the EU says so! Then the EU will have leverage to make us sign over fishing rights, Gibraltar or anything else that takes its fancy.

It is in the EU’s interest to take us into the backstop because then it will have leverage over us.

Mrs May’s deal is not a deal – it’s a surrender!

There are scare stories about what will happen economically if we exit without a deal, but don’t fall for them. It is the interests of the UK and the EU to use common sense to reach a trade deal – the EU has more to lose than the UK, and over half the world trades OK on World Trade Organisation rules.

We can leave with a no deal and it would be, I think, sorted within a year. Or we go for Mrs May’s deal and be bullied by the EU for at least another four years of uncertainty.

Don’t fall for operation fear.

A Whitfield, Darlington

Brexit betrayal

AT long last, the PM has struck a deal with the EU which should satisfy almost half of the country – unfortunately for democracy, not the half which actually won the referendum.

In doing so, Mrs May has not only betrayed those Leave voters for whom she promised a proper Brexit, but also the people of Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, not to mention our fishermen. She has put us in the position of having to stay in the EU, under its laws and rules but without any say in decision-making, until the EU says we can leave, which considering the fact that we will continue to pay it billions more each year than we receive back, will be never.

With this deal, Mrs May will raise a tirade of hatred against the Conservative Party such that it will be hammered in the next general election, and voters with nowhere else to go will hand victory by default to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

How ironic that despite 65 per cent of Conservative seats voting to leave, the Conservative Party (apart from a small number of MPs), has done everything it can to frustrate Brexit.

Denis McAllister, Leyburn

Maggie recalled

LET us go back to the first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher who took office in the early 1980s.

Her premiership was stormy. She took on the trade unions, and anybody in her cabinet who disagreed with her.

Then the Argentinians invaded the Falklands. She assembled a military Task Force, which travelled 9,000 miles and reclaimed the islands as British.

Mrs Thatcher had the full support of Parliament and the country and refused to take the matter to the United Nations.

Theresa May is the second female Prime Minister who has had to make a tough decision. Unlike Mrs Thatcher, she does not appear to have the support, but she is still there fighting for which she believes is right for Britain.

Ray McKay, Darlington

Get on with it

YET another cabinet member has resigned as he is unable to follow the wish of the people. Does this mean he has to resign his seat that was given to him by the people, and his car, house and salary also?

Maybe I just don’t get the way it works. Let’s just get it done and move forward without those who feel unable to do the job given to them by the people.

Kevin Phillips, Darlington

Great again

TO each and every one we say – bring back Great Britain.

Let the scaremongering stop.

Rid the country of belittling benefits which produce much hardship and poverty.

Give opportunity to people to raise themselves up and their country.

Give them confidence to go forward and make the people great in their country of Great Britain.

And leave the European Union now.

Judith Kendall, Newton Aycliffe

Limerick lines

IN our U3A group we were recently challenged to write a limerick in the style of Edward Lear, perhaps reflecting the current state of affairs in the country.

This is my purely tongue-in-cheek view of Brexit:

It’s ages since Britain chose Brexit.

It’s coming unless someone wrecks it!

But, with nothing done

And time marching on,

It could be Theresa who’ll exit!

Ann Virr, Pittington, Durham

Fleeting fame

ONE of the side issues of the Brexit process is the resignation of people you’ve never heard of from jobs you didn’t know existed. The latest being a chap called Sam Gyimah.

In 1968 Andy Warhol predicted that everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. He may well have been correct.

Martin Birtle, Billingham