EU pig’s breakfast

The Rev Dr John Cameron (Letters, 29 July) refers to the very amusing Yes Minister episode in which Sir Humphrey describes how Britain’s EEC membership was aimed at making a “complete pig’s breakfast of the whole thing”.

Many a true word is spoken in jest. However, in this case Britain went in with the best of intentions only to find the truth of the matter to be that Europe wanted to make sure that we found out how much they wanted (and still want) to do us down for having repeatedly cleared up their mess.

No one is ever grateful to someone who stops them having their fun and, let’s face it, we have stopped (as the Rev Dr shows) the French, the Spanish, the Italians and the Germans, not forgetting their various allies, from having their fun ever since Great Britain came into being. That is why, over the near half-century that we have been a member of the EEC and the EU, not a single amendment that we have suggested has been passed. Not one.

The EU has decided to treat us harshly. Europe often does try to do that. Europe loses every time.

However, a bad deal will make many of the 27 unhappy when they discover the economic consequences of the EU Commissioners’ refusal to cometoareasonabledeal.the losers in the long term will be the EU. The cracks are already there. Brexit will simply open them up.

ANDREW H N GRAY Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh Dr John Cameron’s pro-eu opinion (29 July) suggests a disportionate zealotry when he labels all would-be Leavers as “xenophobes,” ignoring such motivation as ambitions for national, democratic self-government, control of our borders and our money. Our EU membership, stealthily achieved by political “elites,” roped us in to a policy aiming for a “United States of Europe” without our democratic mandate.

The referendum of 2016 was, therefore, a fair correction of a longstanding democratic deficit. (DR) CHARLES WARDROP Viewlands Road West, Perth