Too many in Westminster still misinterpret the Brexiteers’ ethos

sir – Lord Hague (Comment, October 15) seems to misconceive the motivations and aspirations of the Leave-voting majority.

We were not voting to “defend the formidable power of our sovereign Parliament”, especially when that Parliament is already so obviously unrepresentative of our views. We voted to restore the sovereign power of the British people over its lawmakers, so that they were fully accountable to us.

Now we see that power being snatched away from us again by MPS so they can hand it back to Brussels. We did not vote for a Brexit in name only; nor, despite the claims of many Remainers, did we vote for Brexit only so long as it was contingent on a “deal”. Above all, we did not vote to see our Parliament arrogate to itself even more powers, merely to be able to ignore or otherwise subvert the clear instruction we gave it in the 2016 referendum. Nigel Henson

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire sir – If Boris Johnson achieves Brexit on October 31, there will be 17.4 million grateful voters. But with their objective realised, they may not feel the need to back him in a subsequent general election.

Gratitude is no guarantee of a vote, as Winston Churchill discovered for himself in 1945. John Curran

Bristol

sir – Michael Deacon’s analogy comparing British politics to an Eighties family lost on a road trip (Sketch, October 16) is almost right.

In a Brexit context it would be the Leave-backing parents in the front seat trying to get to their destination, while the Remainer children in the back seat cause as much disruption as possible. John Henesy

Maidenhead, Berkshire

sir – As Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resumes her quest for another referendum on Scottish independence (report, October 16), I believe that the British Government should seek to defer this for at least five more years.

The previous referendum was meant to be a once-in-a-generation choice, and a further five years would provide time for further reflection on the pros and cons of leaving the EU, and what the financial viability of an independent Scotland might be. Rob Serjeant

Totnes, Devon

sir – I was much taken with Canon Alan Hughes’s notion of high employment prospects for Northumbrian border guards in the event of Nicola Sturgeon declaring a “hard” border at Berwick-upontweed (Letters, October 15).

My wife, however, was not so pleased; all she could foresee in that event was her old fellow digging out his long-retired military kit and occupying the nearest Pele tower. Edward Cartner

Alnwick, Northumberland