Put Brexit behind us and hold PM accountable for his current actions

SPECULATING about how Boris Johnson might approach the next election overlooks the significant danger that nothing will change and, just like the last four-and-a-half years, Brexit will continue to dominate our national life, dividing us and stultifying debate and preventing progress.

Back in July 2018, you published a letter of mine around who was to blame for the-then Brexit situation and I feel my final paragraph remains relevant unless we actively choose a different course: “Even after we leave the EU... the question will remain unresolved, dividing the nation. The UK will be like Ireland after the civil war: divided for generations over what should have happened back at the peace conference in 1921.

“And, like Ireland, only when those who lived through it are dead will the country be able to move forward.”

If we want to avoid repeating history, then we must put Brexit behind us and refuse to fight yesterday’s battles again, even if Johnson sees a rematch as his best route to victory.

I’m not suggesting that Johnson should be given a clear path: he should be challenged on what he’s done — and is doing now — on the economy, the pandemic, equality, feeding children: the list is endless. But we should not allow ourselves to be mired in his past incompetence.

Outlaw the “B” word, concentrate on what the Government promises and what it actually delivers and work to get a Government committed to the many, not the few, by concentrating on the here and now.

JOHN SIMPSON By email