LETTERS
Walk away, Mrs May
I AM appalled that it appears Theresa May plans to send a further £20billion to the EU on top of the £20billion already offered. Neither amount should be sent. We should not be chasing a deal with the EU.
The British believe in compromise, the process by which everyone agrees to accept what no one wants. The Germans believe in securing exactly what they want, or nothing.
This mindset is dealt with by walking away from the negotiating table. It is what the Germans expect us to do, else suffer their ridicule.
To have offered £ 20billion in Florence, which was never enough to satisfy them, then to offer a further £20billion, only confirms Britain’s weakness under pressure.
The EU acts as if it does not need a trade deal with us. In fact, we do not need a trade deal with the EU.
So, stop trying for a deal, leave the EU now. PHILIP HODSON, Newmarket, Suffolk.
Toughen up, Theresa
THERESA MAY has a chance to show she can be as tough as Margaret Thatcher by refusing to pay the EU any more than the £20billion she has already offered.
She should set a short deadline for acceptance of the £20billion offer, which should only be payable on the conclusion of a satisfactory trade deal. Otherwise, walk away.
This way, we will save £40billion, which can be used to fund the NHS and help our industries to cope after Brexit. We have to stop pussy-footing around with the EU. We have a strong hand and should play it. JOHN KROL, London. A BREXIT bill of £40 billion? That should cover compensation for the illegal ban on British beef, the illegal blockage of Channel ports and their illegal financing of Europe’s motor and aircraft industries.
We should accept this sum in exchange for our agreement to a free trade arrangement. J. B. SMITH, Norwich.
Raise interest rate, Phil
THE main thing Philip Hammond should announce in his Budget today is that the Government is taking back control of the economy, which Gordon Brown gave away to the Bank of England.
He should then raise the interest rate to five per cent. Yes, it will be painful, but the sooner the better. GORDON WANLESS, London SW14.
Cost of penny pinching
WHO would have thought it? Switch off street lights and the crime rates goes up (Mail). Put restrictions on local waste sites and fly-tipping soars. Cut bin collections and there is an increase in rats.
Stop repairing potholes and compensations claims by motorists go through the roof. All these socalled savings have ended up costing far more than they saved. TONY WRAGG, Skelmanthorpe, W. Yorks. THE abolition of car tax discs saved £10 million, but we now discover the loss of revenue is £107 million. Well done, George Osborne. I hope your wife does the weekly shop. J. WALMSLEY, Bury.
Unravelling Brexit
HINDSIGHT being a wonderful thing, I can now see clearly how the Government should have proceeded after the EU referendum.
The result should have been debated in Parliament and a simple Bill enacting the result passed.
Whatever misgivings MPs and peers had, realpolitik and self-interest would have ensured the Bill would become law.
The EU should then have been notified of Britain’s intention to leave and be invited to begin negotiations. There would be no fixed timetable, but there would be an understanding that a transition would be required for both sides to adapt.
Once agreement had been reached, Article 50 would be invoked and the transition period would begin. Two years later the process would be complete and Britain would formally leave the EU. MIKE OGDEN, Worksop, Notts.
Proud to be British
ON A business trip to Rio de Janeiro, I was preparing my opening address when I started talking to a visitor from Sao Paulo.
‘You’re British,’ he said. ‘You must be so proud. I only wish I could claim to be British.’
He went on to explain: ‘When you compare the size of the British Isles with the major continents, you are minuscule, yet you once controlled more than half of the world.
‘ Your language is spoken and taught in every country. Your sportsmen have held every major world title. You have never lost a major war. London is the financial centre and a commercial hub. The globe takes its time from Greenwich, your pageantry is the envy of the world.
‘The label Made In Britain guarantees quality and an Englishman’s word is his bond.’
After this encounter, I delivered the best opening address in my 15 years as a chief executive. I hope our Brexit negotiators remember what the world admires about our country. DEREK ABBOTT, Bookham, Surrey.
H-bomb guinea pigs
AS WELL as the Cold War pilots (Letters), another group has been ignored by successive governments: the British nuclear test veterans.
I was called up as a National Serviceman into the Royal Engineers and in 1957 found myself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, doing groundwork for the H-bomb tests. The conditions were so bad that as ‘we were working and living in arduous
conditions’, our reward was 200 free cigarettes a month and a tot of rum now and again.
On the day of the test, someone in a protective suit told us we had nothing to worry about. We were not given protection and were told to sit with our backs to the test, close our eyes and cover them with our hands.
We felt the heat and flash from the explosion. We were told to stand and turn to observe the fireball.
It was then that we got the bang and blast, which blew a lot of lads off their feet.
A number of veterans have since died from leukaemia, which experts say can be brought about by exposure to ionized radiation.
GraHaM LeNCH, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.
Give me a hug!
SHOULD we hug one another ( Letters)? As a widow of nearly five years, I welcome a hug. I hug my friends, men and women, because it makes me feel better. It is good to feel intimacy with another person, if only for a few moments. This closeness can be missing for single people, especially if you have lost a partner of many years.
BarBara THOMaS, Billingshurst, W. Sussex.
Christmas meaning
THE celebration of the most momentous occasion in history is almost upon us.
Christmas TV ads extoll you to spend, spend, spend, but where are Mary, Joseph and the crib?
The end- of-year shopping bonanza has wiped out any pretence of religious observance. Big screen TVs, booze and the latest gizmos are promoted as what Christmas is all about.
But the real spirit will be in the churches and Nativity scenes celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of the Christian faith.
TONy Levy, Wednesfield, W. Mids.
PC kilt-wearing?
I AGREE with Leo McKinstry’s ridiculing of political correctness (Mail). I have to pity the ignorance of some Scots who may accuse me of cultural appropriation because I wear a kilt (worn in many a country).
Are we also culturally appropriating Scotch whisky, haggis, porridge, Scotch pies, Irn-Bru and deep-fried Mars Bars? N. J. WOOTTON, Wallasey, Merseyside.