Brexit: the last exciting chapter of a political thriller called Project Fear

SIR – The latest hoo-ha about leaving the EU without a deal is merely Project Fear chapter umpteen.

The EU had made it clear even before we voted that we would get no benefit from leaving. We were asked whether or not we wanted to leave, not the terms under which we wished to do so.

David Cameron told Parliament on February 22 2016 that the referendum would be “a straight democratic decision. Having a second renegotiation followed by a second referendum is not on the ballot paper… If the British people vote to leave, there is only one way to bring that about, namely to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of exit, and the British people would rightly expect that to start straight away.”

We did indeed expect so, but almost nine months later we’re still waiting, and MPs are still raising obstacles. Neil Russell Portsmouth, Hampshire SIR – The verbs that have been used to tar Brexit went from leaping (in the SIR – The amendments passed by the House of Lords have nothing whatever to do with the Brexit Bill presented to Parliament.

The Bill is simply a formal way to bring about the notification (laid down in the treaty) that the UK wishes to leave the EU. It does not deal with the terms and conditions resulting from negotiations after that. It is in the nature of negotiations that the outcome cannot be predicted.

However, raising problems now does nothing to strengthen the hand of the negotiator. J L Hayns London SW11 SIR – I have not heard a word about what will happen to VAT when we leave the EU (bearing in mind that it was only introduced in 1973 as a condition of our entry into the European Economic Community). Do we recognise the unfairness of a tax that disregards a person’s ability to pay, and should we replace it with a means-tested tax? Stephen Wallis Billericay, Essex SIR – If voters did not like the Budget, they can vote the Government out at the next election.

With decisions made in Brussels, they have no such facility. Ron Goodwin Hutton, Essex SIR – With Theresa May’s imminent triggering of Brexit under Article 50, I feel one cause for sadness: that Ted Heath is not with us to witness it. Francis Bown London E3 SIR – No doubt the BBC will play sombre music the day Article 50 is formally invoked. John McMurray Bournemouth, Dorset