Delay Brexit

YOUR list of Brexit options (Echo, Mar 13) was one short. The European Court of Justice in December declared that our Government had the right to revoke Article 50 (A50) so there is no need for the Prime Minister to go cap in hand begging for an extension.

We have the opportunity to revoke the present A50 application and then invoke another A50 as soon as possible thereafter.

I am sure that many people would not enjoy being shackled to the EU for another two years but as we are now aware that talking to the EU is a complete waste of time, it would enable us to make the necessary agreements with individual countries and organisations to hopefully exit Europe in 2021 in a clean and quiet manner.

Tom Teasdale, Eaglescliffe.

So misleading

BREXIT has stirred up a literal hornet’s nest of anger, frustration and misrepresentation of facts, feelings and reason.

I voted to leave. I was not mislead, lied to, fed false promises or influenced by any faction supporting leave or remain. Prior to the vote there was a significant groundswell of voters like myself who never wanted to be part of the EU and who only wanted to trade around the world.

I felt disenfranchised by successive governments from Blair to Cameron.

I knew there would be problems. I did not know all of them, but I wanted sovereignty and my pinprick of a vote to count.

Julia Breen quotes "facts and figures" accusing leave of numerous lies that influenced a majority of leave voters (Echo, Mar 14). While I agree with some of her comments, is she also guilty of peddling lies and misinformation? She happily quotes Labour Party estimates about preparation costs to leave that have no confirmation as fact while rightly deriding the leave campaign's NHS figure.

She shows no balance to her comments which are all one sided to suit her beliefs. How does she know that I was mislead? How does she know that millions more were mislead enough to sway a leave vote? She does not.

As a journalist, she should at least produce a reasoned factual argument, evidenced based for all her comments and beliefs and not mislead readers – not that I would in any way suggest that myself.

John Walker,

Newton Aycliffe.

Second vote

AT last we can clearly see the extent to which our MPs hold the electorate in contempt.

The broken promises, from “we will respect the result of the referendum”, to “the UK will leave the EU on March 29, 2019” were so much hot air.

It is now clear that voting in the UK has no credibility. Since the first vote did not produce the result that a number of MPs wanted, we are now being offered the chance of "or a people’s vote” in the hope that a different decision might emerge, ie that we remain in the EU.

Has anyone really considered that a second vote might produce the same result?

Of course, there could be some very careful wording on the ballot paper to ensure the required result, or, dare I say, some underhand fiddling of the counting procedure – with a government that is prepared to renege on its promises, who knows what extent they would be willing to go?

Let us forget United Kingdom as our designated title and submit to the fact that we will simply be another state in the federal states of Europe and subject to imposed rules and regulations decreed by Brussels.

Brian Sutherland, Durham.

No mandate

THERESA MAY in the House of Commons said it was "the will of the people" to leave the EU on March 29.

I would remind everyone that it was approximately 25 per cent of the population and approximately 33 per cent of the registered electorate which voted in the referendum to leave.

With Northern Ireland and Scotland voting to remain, these figures do not illustrate a number representative of "the will of the people of the UK to leave the EU”.

For Mrs May to make such a crass misleading statement when she is negotiating on the same matter at an international level shows unbelievable lack of judgement.

Alan Kelly, Ferryhill.

Why vote?

BECAUSE of the wishes of 80 per cent of MPs, including my own, and, apparently, 95 per cent of the civil service, Brexit is a dead duck.

Despite a thumping majority in the referendum for leaving, the can will be kicked so far down the road it will be out of sight. So much for democracy!

The will of the people is considered by MPs and most of the media, including The Northern Echo, to be meaningless.

Having voted in every election that I was able to, I will not be voting any more. What is the point?

Chris Greenwell, Darlington.

True Europeans

WATCHING the Independent Greek MEP Notis Marias speak on television for a minute or so made me realise why I voted to leave the EU.

He said Britain is a proud, sovereign country which sees the EU as a dictatorial organisation, not one that respects individual traditions and customs. He said a hard and dogmatic approach wouldn’t work on us, and a trading relationship, as we had at the start of our membership, might be what we are seeking.

That sums it up for me.

Being a member of the EU means the country is gradually, noticeably, slowly losing its identity. I believe it has already gone in some parts.

Parliament should recognise and share our British grit, determination, confidence and indeed loyalty.

True Europeans are truly Europeanised. I don’t think we are – yet.

M Embling, Crook.

A vote short

PERHAPS our Prime Minister Theresa May should be reminded of Einstein's definition of madness: "Doing the same thing over, and over and expecting a different result to materialise."

I rest my case, doctor.

Terence Fineran, Darlington.