MPS who impede Britain’s departure from the EU will not be forgiven by their constituents
SIR – It is extraordinary that proremain figures in the Conservative Party are threatening to resign if the Prime Minister pursues a no-deal Brexit (report, January 13).
The Conservatives’ 2017 manifesto said: “We continue to believe that no deal is better than a bad deal for the UK.” This was repeated many times by the Prime Minister.
If Parliament decides that Theresa May’s deal is indeed a bad deal and votes it down, then all Conservative MPS are bound by the manifesto to support a no-deal exit. MPS of any party who betray the referendum result will not be forgiven. Gareth Williams
Ross-on-wye, Herefordshire
SIR – Having a meaningful vote on our nation’s affairs is the essence of democracy.
However, our MPS apparently know what’s best for us, and seem resolved to stymie our aspirations. If the Brexit vote reflected a general feeling of disfranchisement, these MPS’ arrogance will only exacerbate it. I suspect that our system is about to enter reset mode as we realise that our political organisations cannot deliver. Dr Paul Marshall
Great Yeldham, Essex
SIR – Nothing will cause greater irritation to the 17.4 million who voted for Brexit than Lord Hattersley’s suggestion that they had “no idea” what it would mean.
What right does he have to preach such nonsense? It shows just how out of touch he and the rest of the political class have become. George Cockburn
Bishops Castle, Shropshire
SIR – There has been a lot in the press about the despair of big Brexiteer donors. I gave over £1 million to Vote Leave, as well as, earlier, hundreds of thousands of pounds to Ukip.
I wish to add my voice to the other donors and to make one simple point. As a recent poll made very clear, no deal is easily the most popular solution for Tory activists. If Tory rebels succeed in preventing it, they will have gone a very long way towards putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street, perhaps within weeks, not to mention losing their own seats. Stuart Wheeler
London SW1
SIR – We represent eight businesses involved in the production and marketing of food in Britain, buying from and selling to EU and non-eu countries. We jointly represent sales of more than £270 million and employ over 1,200 people.
We are not afraid of trading on World Trade Organisation terms. Britain trades on these terms with some 20 countries, including the US, China, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.
Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-france region, said that ensuring “fluidity” of trade was essential. Another official said that closing Calais would be an “economic suicide mission”.
Mrs May said no deal was better than a bad deal. The deal on the table is a bad one because we give up our biggest bargaining chip (£39 billion) in order to leave. We have no agreement on future trade arrangements and, moreover, the EU has no incentive to give us a timely free-trade deal. We could be in limbo for years, which would bring damaging uncertainty.
William Burgess
Chairman, Produce World Group Ltd Paul Wilkinson Chairman, Fengrain Stephen Long
Lutton Farms Ltd and five others; see telegraph.co.uk
SIR – If you consent to have an operation, but then discover that the anaesthetic has a high risk of causing you long-term harm, are you no longer allowed to withdraw your consent?
The people may have signed up for Brexit, but they must be given another chance to confirm that they still want it to go ahead. Dr Chris Keast
Brimpton, Berkshire