Nothing to gain from extension

Mike Armstrong (June 11) speaks for those irreconcilable Remainers who will never accept the result of the EU referendum, at least until the inevitable collapse of the Euro pulls down the entire organisation and there is nothing left to remain in, or rejoin.

They are comparable to those who still belong to the Flat Earth Society, in that they refuse to face reality.

Michel Barnier and his cronies are aiming to delay any trade agreement in the hope that the government will extend the period allowed for talks in order that we will be tied into their restrictive systems for much longer. So far the UK government has treated them with the contempt they deserve and I trust that this will continue to be the case, as to retreat over fishing rights would be to betray those working in one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, to extend the negotiating period into 2021 would render us liable for the massive demands for payments the Brussels bureaucrats are proposing for the future, and leaving the members of their very own Juke Box Jury, masquerading as the European Court of Justice, interfering in our affairs, would make it impossible for us to conclude trade deals with other nations around the world. All this would render Brexit nothing more than a hollow shell.

As far as his assertion about going it alone is concerned this is risible, as we continue to be the centre of the Commonwealth, the fountainhead of the Anglosphere and the world language, and the possessor of historical commercial links around the world. The potential of trade with the USA, India, Australia,South Africa, etc, makes clear that the negative trade balance we experience with the EU is something without which we can manage very well.

Colin Bullen