Mrs May is running out of time to strike a deal that delivers on Brexit
SIR – At the time of the Chequers agreement, many of us warned against making Britain a vassal state of the EU.
At today’s Cabinet meeting, Theresa May has a second, and probably final, chance to get it right. Chequers is dead. She should reset her sights on a Canada-plus deal or an exit under WTO rules, both of which would yield an outcome that honours the referendum result. Dr Robin Brooke-smith
Shrewsbury, Shropshire
SIR – Theresa May has announced that EU citizens already living here will be allowed to stay in the event of a no-deal Brexit (report, September 22).
This is the latest example of her total incompetence in the negotiations. She could simply have said at the outset that EU citizens could stay here as long as UK citizens living in the EU were given reciprocal treatment. She refused to do so, apparently with the idea that this would be part of the negotiating strategy. She has now conceded without securing equal treatment for UK citizens living in EU countries. Yet another concession to no good purpose. Patricia Jagger
Elstow, Bedfordshire
SIR – I am no fan of Mrs May, and believe that the job of Prime Minister and the task of getting a good Brexit deal are beyond her capabilities.
However, she is not to blame for our current predicament. The true culprit is David Cameron, who failed to read the mood of the country, returned from negotiations with the EU empty-handed and then resigned after the Brexit vote.
Dr Richard A E Grove
Isle of Whithorn, Wigtownshire
SIR – The fact that MPS cannot reach a consensus on Europe is deeply worrying. Signing the Maastricht Treaty alienated everyone who prizes British sovereignty. The referendum polarised opinion. Leaving now will distress the Remainers. Staying in will enrage the Leavers, and a fudged compromise will leave everyone dissatisfied.
While we worry about the EU, Russia is getting too big for her boots; social media is threatening the health of the rising generation; climate change is becoming ever more alarming, and the delivery of services by local government is rapidly becoming impossible.
There is a strong feeling that Westminster is fiddling while the world burns. S A Harvey
Ipswich, Suffolk
SIR – Contemplating a second referendum, Ian Tunnicliffe (Letters, September 21) asks: “Why not make it the best of three?”
When we were young my brother and I used to play table tennis for the championship of the world. If I lost we went to best of three, then five, then seven. We got to 11 once, but then had to go to bed. Judith Barnes
St Ives, Huntingdonshire