Fantastic voyage

Sinister Remain motives are attributed to the Prime Minister and her civil servants, because of the seeming delay in negotiating our departure from the EU, but there is a simpler explanation, which is that the EU and its processes are all they have ever known.

Therefore they use them, as they know no other method, and probably because change is hard for most people.

Also, the EU does much of the work for our Civil Service, leaving them with the mere enforcement of their rulings.

And so they cling to the mother ship, and this is misconstrued as a wish to stay in the EU, when it is probably merely self-interest in retaining what has become a comfortable job.

Neither did Theresa May enterofficewithourdeparture from the EU as a known task, and as no member has ever left before, no model for this process exists. This is therefore a voyage of discovery.

MALCOLM PARKIN

Gamekeepers Road Kinnesswood, Kinross

Menzies Campbell (Platform, 22 August) fails to tell us what will happen when Scotland again votes to Remain and England votes to Leave in any second EU referendum.

Like Jeremy Corbyn’s delusion that Scotland holds the key to a Labour general election, at a time when the SNP has increased its lead in the opinion polls, Campbell doesn’t appreciate that we are always outvoted by ten to one and have very limited influence on Uk-wide results.

Even if Labour had captured every SNP seat in Scotland in 2017 they’d still have lost the UK general election. In the 20 general elections held since the Second World War, only

twice, in 1964 and 1974, have Scots swung the result and invariably Scotland is lumbered with the government or referendum result England votes for. In 1975 Scotland voted to leave the European Common Market but was outvoted by voters in England who voted to remain.

When asked the one question he permitted Channel Four News, Jeremy Corbyn failed six times to answer whether he honestly believed that Britain was better off outside of the EU. His evasive, rambling responses explain why he has failed to make any headway with voters in England who are suffering under the worst Tory government in living memory and why attempts to reverse the EU result will fail.

With self government we would take our own decisions, including whether to join the EU or EFTA, thus getting the government or referendum result the majority in Scotland voted for – and that is true liberal democracy.

FRASER GRANT

Warrender Park Road

Edinburgh