It’s Farage’s fault

Nigel Farage is touring the country, with stops including Edinburgh, telling everyone what a terrible mess the Conser vatives and Labour have made of Brexit, and that

by now the UK should have left the EU. The country is tearing itself apart, but Mr Farage acts as though it has nothing to do with him or his party.

The Leave campaign was fought based on lies and promises which were impossible to deliver. £ 350 million a week extra for the NHS, the easiest trade deal in history, 70 million Turks already heading to the UK, taking back control of our money, laws and borders... All exaggerations or lies in 2016. They not only broke their promises, they broke the law too. The Vote Leave campaign was fined £ 61,000 by the Electoral Commission for breaking electoral law over spending limits.

The country is deeply divided, and it is divided because of the way the Leave campaign was run. Jeremy Corbyn, to his credit, is trying to find a solution that will bring the country together; only Labour represents all parts of the country, whether people voted Leave or Remain. He is being unfairly criticised by all sides for his efforts.

The Brexit Party is a party led by right wingers, a mix of City bankers, property developers, care home proprie - tors and former Tories trying to pass themselves off as the worker’s friend. An admission of culpability for the mess the country is now in would not go amiss from Mr Farage and his Brexit party.

PHIL TATE Craiglockhart Road, Edinburgh

The outcome of votes cast across the EU in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections will play a key role in how Brexit is ultimately shaped. In these elections traditionally dominant centreright and centre- left parliamentary groups are forecast to lose significant numbers of seats – and the majority they have held for 40 years. The liberals and Greens should be stronger, and the right- wing,

EU- critical populists in Matt eo Salvini and Marine Le Pen’s new European Alliance of People and Nations much stronger.

Majorities will be harder to form and less stable; nation

f i r s t par t i es s eeking “l ess Europe” and more power for member states will have a greater influence on policy.

The European Parliament has to sign off on the Brexi t wi t h d r awal a g r e e ment

( assuming it is ever passed in Westminster) and this could be problematic if the current stable majority, which has generally backed the European Commission’s Brexit approach, is disrupted by a large contingent of populist, EU- critical MEPS. The new parliament will also have a considerable say in the makeup of the new Commission, which could involve British MEPS, and will eventually negotiate the EU’S future relationship with the UK. Finally, MEPS will have to agree the future relationship itself.

In all of these areas a more divided, polarised and unstabl e Europ e a n Parl i a ment with potentially conflicting demands could create considerable problems for the UK.

ALEX ORR Marchmont Road, Edinburgh

Nicola Sturgeon claims that, for her, the EU elections are entirely about Brexit and not her raison d’être of independence – but we all know, if the SNP does well she’ll insist the vote endorses her demand for indyref2. Nicola, don’t insult the electorate’s intelligence.

MARTIN REDFERN Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh