No-deal looks worst option for farmers
From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.
CONGRATULATIONS to Ben Barnett for an insightful article about the effects of the no-deal Brexit on British farming. It was an eye-opener to me who previously thought WTO rules might work (The Yorkshire Post, January 12).
For their own ends, some Conservative politicians remain over-optimistic about a no-deal Brexit and relying on World Trade Organisation rules (Sir Vince Cable, The Yorkshire Post, January 11). They are dangerously wrong. Thank goodness Baroness McIntosh is in touch with reality.
Relying on WTO rules is dangerous for other reasons. As with the North American Free Trade Agreement, the US is now sabotaging agreements by refusing to confirm appeal judges to hear cases of disputes.
World trade disputes will arise from time to time, it is therefore vital to have functioning disputes mechanisms.
I am sorry to say that no-deal, and relying on WTO rules, now looks like the worst options possible for British farming, and probably other industries as well.
From: Stephen R Hill, Sheffield.
GIVEN the horrendous debacle of Brexit, I am still at a loss to understand why there has not been any believable explanations of why David Davis and Dominic Raab felt the need to resign as Brexit Secretaries.
I am driven to the conclusion that both these very able Leavers reported back to the Prime Minister and were told that what they were negotiating wasn’t good enough, i.e. that it didn’t satisfy her Remainers.
I rated them way above Theresa May.
Many to whom I speak are also of the opinion that Theresa May took over with the intention not of negotiating a deal to leave, but of negotiating a deal she could sell to the Leavers whilst ensuring that we could remain.
I am disgusted by Theresa May’s recent utterings “it’s my deal or no Brexit”. How dare she!
From: John Cole, Oakroyd Terrace, Baildon, Shipley.
BREXIT (and we have not yet left!) is already having an adverse effect on economic performance – as predicted by the great majority of economists.
The most recent quarterly figures for business investment show a 1.1 per cent decline – and this is the third successive quarter that investment has fallen. The last time this happened was 2008 during the financial crash.
For every academic economist who thinks that Brexit will benefit the economy there are 22 who think the opposite. Rarely has there been such consensus in the economics profession. From: Coun Paul Andrews (Ind), Great Habton, York.
WHAT I find disturbing in the Brexit debate is that all the expert reports which state the consequences of Brexit will be bad are dismissed by Brexiteers with wild emotional statements, and without any reasoned explanation at all.
I know it is difficult to reduce multiple pages of words and figures into a few short sentences without oversimplifying, but it can be done. I am sure it would help readers like me to understand how flawed these reports are if an attempt was made, at the very least, to provide simple reasoned explanations.
From: Phyllis Capstick, Hellifeld.
I VOTED to leave the EU completely. We had two choices and they were to stay or to leave. The EU is set to be an unelected dictatorship. It is already part way there. It has taken over control of Europe, not by warfare, but by stealth.
Europe is good, but the European Union is merely created for the rich and powerful to become richer and more powerful, and to wield control.
From: Jason Smith, Cemetery Road, Low Moor, Bradford.
TORY MP Anna Soubry is apparently livid that she was called a ‘Nazi’ by a voter on the street (Neil McNicholas, The Yorkshire Post, January 15). While it’s not nice to call people names, it must be noted that members of Anna’s party have been implying Leave supporters are ignorant, stupid racists ever since the Brexit vote.
From: H Santiuste, Doncaster.
OVER 17 million of of us voted to take back control of our nation’s affairs from Brussels. Therefore, we do not expect our MPs to bow to the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who appears to delight in making arbitrary decisions prejudicial to our noble cause.
From: David Downs, Sandal, Wakefield.
HAVING read Carol Reed’s letter (The Yorkshire Post, January 15), I will inform her that we did have enough information to vote “out” in 2016 and you do not have to be clairvoyant to come to that decision. In 1975 we voted to enter into a European Common Market, not a United States of Europe.
From: Barrie Crowther, Walton, Wakefield.
CONSTANTLY we hear job losses at Jaguar/Land Rover are down to Brexit. Nothing of course to do with these vehicles being overpriced and, according to the motor trade, somewhat unreliable. Bring down the price to comparable foreign makes and watch sales rise.
From: Henry Cobden, Ilkley.
WHEN will David Cameron and his supporters apologise to the country for their Brexit legacy?
There was a time not so very long ago when you couldn’t keep him off the TV.
From: Thomas Brooke, Harrogate.
WHY are the SNP given precedence in every Commons debate on Brexit and allowed more time than, say, Yorkshire’s 54 MPs? If only our representatives could work as one on behalf of this great county. Are they continuing to let us down because they’re reluctant to be seen to be working together?