Even Brussels did not believe Theresa May could stay on after losing Conservative support
SIR – The revelations in BBC Four’s Brexit: Behind Closed Doors came thick and fast from Guy Verhofstadt. But, despite easily outmanoeuvring our incompetent team, the EU side got one thing wrong.
They speculated that following Theresa May’s loss of her majority at the general election she would be gone within two hours as “the Tories are f---ing ruthless”.
Since then she’s survived a noconfidence vote, lost 1,300 councillors at the local elections, will be trounced at EU elections that she only recently told us would not go ahead, and been given another week to provide the 1922 Committee with a departure date.
The Tories have now even lost their reputation for ruthlessness. Tim Coles
Carlton, Bedfordshire
SIR – The documentary from within the EU was the final humiliation for British viewers. They were far from being the tough negotiators Michel Barnier was expecting, and he could not believe his luck when he could report that the British were so unprepared that he was able to dictate both the agenda and the timing of the talks.
To then hear Guy Verhofstadt recount Olly Robbins’s suggestion that he would probably apply for Belgian citizenship once it was all over – jest or not – confirmed our suspicions that Theresa May’s team never had its heart in the job. How depressing. N W Bainbridge
Peterborough
SIR – I watch with growing concern as the embattled Prime Minister continues to negotiate with a party led by an apologist for terrorism whom she has already condemned.
The political disaster that is the Brexit betrayal will only be made substantially worse if a deal, involving remaining in a customs union, is forced through with Labour’s help.
Theresa May and our manifesto both pledged to leave the EU. Nothing could have been clearer. Mrs May’s version of leaving is an erroneous fudge and everyone knows it.
We could and should have left the EU on March 29, as the Prime Minister repeatedly promised we would. And, until we leave, this whole debacle will continue.
Richard Drax MP (Con)
London SW1
SIR – Like a majority of voters in the unambiguous EU referendum, I voted to leave and not remain in the EU. In part, this was to do with the democratic deficit implicit in the European Commission and its relationship with the individual member states.
The abject failure of Mrs May’s administration to enact withdrawal under the notice of Article 50, citing third and fourth votes and a potential second referendum, would seem to reflect that our House of Commons has become infected with the same democratic deficit. Lord Fisher
Kilverstone, Norfolk SIR – After the general election in 2017, Theresa May told MPS: “I got us into this mess and I’ll get us out of it.”
I wonder why she has not repeated those words after the “mess” of the council elections. David J Dodd
Gramont, Tarn-et-garonne, France
SIR – It insults our intelligence for the Prime Minister to assert that if it were up to her we would already have left the EU. We haven’t left because she has sought extensions from Brussels. Stephen Garner
Langham, Essex
SIR – When will the Parliamentary Conservative Party realise that Mrs May will never resign? Like Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny she will have to be relieved of her command.
The question is: do those in the PCP who can do something about it have the courage to take the necessary steps? John Fox
Gravesend, Kent