May’s divorce offer is an EU masterstroke
the eU negotiators are from small countries with little international diplomatic expertise and might have allowed their personal views to cloud their tactics.
I believe theresa May has played a masterstroke, albeit an expensive one, in agreeing to a large divorce settlement. effectively this has outmanoeuvred european Commission President JeanClaude Juncker.
With the exception of the diehard ‘ United States of europe’ advocates, the main worry in Brussels over Britain leaving the eU is that other countries will be obliged to increase their own national contributions to fund the shortfall left by the UK leaving.
An invitation to pay more tax is never popular and could result in voters right across the Continent taking a closer look at the need to be in the eU at all.
If the UK has provided a getoutofjail card, today’s eU politicians will have sought early retirement before the divorce billions have been spent.
the upshot is that theresa May’s offer has undermined the eU negotiators. Undoubtedly, they will be told at some point they are not irreplaceable and their mission has been changed to stop the UK walking away without a deal. So it is probably game, set and match to theresa May! VERNON J. YARKER,
Maldon, Essex.
Pipe down, Heseltine
LORD heSeLtINe needs to come clean about why he wants to overturn the eU referendum result.
Is it because it infringes parliamentary democracy?
Or does he believe it is an essential stepping stone in the path to world government that we have to be part of a Federal Republic of europe?
ALAN GRAVES, Reigate, Surrey. the bizarre claim by Lord heseltine that a Labour government would be better than Brexit (Mail) reminds me of when he swung the mace around his head in the house of Commons.
he later quit the Cabinet because he wanted the buyer of Westland helicopters to be an eU firm not a U.S. one. It’s not the first time he’s behaved in a crazy manner! DAVID KILPATRICK,
St Albans, Herts. MIChAeL heSeLtINe is doing his damnedest to upset the applecart in an attempt to derail Brexit by allying himself to Corbyn.
If he no longer feels able to support the Conservative Party, what’s to stop him doing the honourable thing, resigning the Whip and disposing of his title and house of Lords perks. GEOFF NEAUM, Heydon, Cambs. WhY listen to the ramblings of Lord heseltine? his craven ambition was to be Prime Minister, and he has never forgotten he was well beaten by Margaret thatcher. And now he has to pray silence to another woman leader!
CLIFF SCOTT, Liverpool.
Simple solution
the best way to get civilised treatment for Laura Plummer is to stop all UK tourism to egypt. that should do the job overnight.
STUART PARKIN, Newquay, Cornwall. I’M FeD up with people who go abroad, break the law of the place they are visiting and then expect our government to bail them out. Laura Plummer took 290 tramadol tablets into egypt, protesting that she did not know they were banned there.
But buying them over the internet carries a warning they are opiates. She’s learned her lesson the hard way. Mrs JOYCE CRICKMORE,
Colchester, Essex.
Driving up prices
WhAt a brilliant idea from the Government to tax lorries by the mile. the lorry owners will put up their charges to recoup the money, and we poor mugs will pay more for our shopping.
the price of raw materials will go up for manufacturers and customers alike, and our exports will rise in price. this will make our world trade ambitions postBrexit more difficult to achieve.
Meanwhile, the Government will pocket the cash from this stealth tax on the general public.
M. TARRANT, Welling, Kent.
Dirty laundry
I AM horrified that inwash scent boosters to freshen laundry are still being sold in supermarkets.
the labels clearly state: ‘harmful to aquatic life with longlasting effects.’ how on earth can manufacturers produce, and supermarkets sell, such dangerous substances, knowing the effect that they will have?
H. WILLIAMS, Coventry.
Recycled homes
hAVe you ever sat on a park bench where the slats are made from recycled plastic? have you ever built a toy house from Lego?
have you ever thought that the solution to our unwanted plastic is to recycle it into building materials to make houses with a lifespan in decades?
A modern timberframe, timberclad house has a life expectancy of 40 years and uses valuable natural resources. how much better to build in lifesize Legotype blocks with roof trusses in plastic planks topped with plastic tiles. two problems solved in one go. PHILIP HORTON, Orpington, Kent. hOW strange the Government is bringing in controls to stop us using plastic, but at the same time our money is being changed from paper to plastic.
M. BOUCHIER, Louth, Lincs. I hOPe the Government will ignore the growing clamour for deposits on plastic bottles. they might be recyclable, but they are not refillable.
even if this madcap idea were adopted, all the empty bottles would still have to be collected by lorries for recycling. Imagine how much pollution this would cause.
And who would want to join a queue in the supermarket to get 10p back on an empty bottle? It would be far better to promote the use of biodegradable plastic.
WILLIAM LOUGHNAN, Belfast.
HMS to the rescue
A MORe fitting role for the new aircraft carrier hMS Queen elizabeth would be as an emergency medical ship. Staffed with a team of doctors, nurses, engineers and sailors, it could be sent around the world at the drop of a hat to help in natural disasters. the money to finance this could come from the bloated overseas aid budget.
GRAHAM WILLIAMS, Cardiff. hMS Queen elizabeth might use ‘an elderly version of Windows’ (Letters) for security reasons. the latest version, Windows 10, sends every keystroke straight back to its American masters.
PETE WILLIAMS, Uxbridge, Middlesex.
Name-dropper
JeNIFeR (with one ‘n’), who is irritated that people can’t spell her name (Letters), is not alone.
My father chose the same first name for me because he said it looked neater. But it is often spelt incorrectly on official documents, including my passport. My daughter has also informed me that, because I was married with two ‘n’s, it probably wasn’t legal.
JENIFER BARRACLOUGH, St Leonards-on-Sea, E. Sussex. PeRhAPS Jenifer should be grumpy with her parents for giving her a name with an unconventional spelling rather than with those who innocently spell it incorrectly.
Mrs GILL WHITFIELD, Bristol. I SYMPAthISe with Jenifer. I have been called enid, edith, edna, eunice Ina and Una, but the icing on the cake is when someone calls out: ‘hi ena!’
ENA BURTON, Woodville, Derbys.