There can be no place for Tory Remainers who betray the promises on which they were elected

SIR – The letter (September 8) from past chairmen of the Tory Reform Group provides an excellent insight into the ills that plague the Conservative Party.

It extols the faction within the party that puts its commitment to the EU above the decision made by the nation – a commitment that also threatens to reduce the party to a rump and usher into government an extreme Left-wing group. The letter’s nod to that foolish remark about the Tory party being the “nasty party”, and its claim that the party needs to appeal far beyond its traditional support base, suggests disdain for that traditional base.

To state that “the key issue is not Britain’s membership of the EU”, which “was settled in the 2016 referendum”, is quite extraordinary given that, three years after that referendum, proper governance has ceased as a Remainer Parliament continues to try to thwart the result.

In short, in its tone and message, the letter bears all the hallmarks of a group that would sit comfortably in a Parliament increasingly divorced from those it purports to represent. Nicholas Southward Edinburgh

SIR – The former chairmen of the Tory Reform Group suggest that the Government cannot focus on the single issue of Brexit. But how can it focus on anything else, given that this was the prime reason it was elected in 2017, based on its manifesto promises?

The assertion that Ken Clarke and Rory Stewart are two of the most popular MPs further illustrates how out of touch this group is with voters. Denise Burningham

Newton Abbot, Devon

SIR – Those Tories who failed to vote with Boris Johnson’s Government performed an act of consummate treachery, and we are well rid of them.

However, on a personal note, I find it sad that Rory Stewart has chosen to defy the will of the British people. Douglas Warren

Poole, Dorset SIR – A democratically elected Parliament voted down the Withdrawal Agreement on three occasions. The EU was insistent that it could not be renegotiated. I don’t recall hearing howls of protest from MPs that the will of Parliament was being ignored. Jennifer Wagstaff

Ellon, Aberdeenshire

SIR – The minority has come to govern the majority because an elected House of Commons lacks a popular mandate to oppose a snap election over Brexit.

In 1893 Britain was in a similar situation over Irish Home Rule. Lord Salisbury relied upon his referendal theory, whereby it became the duty of the House of Lords to refer to the electorate if an important question arose and the Commons lacked a popular mandate for its own policy. Salisbury used that theory to defeat Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill of 1893, when for his majority Gladstone was relying on his Irish allies.

In 1893 the House of Lords kept its independence owing to its hereditary composition. In 2019 it has become an appointed chamber filled with political placements, but perhaps they can learn from history. Lord Sudeley (Con) London NW1 SIR – In 2000, when I lived in the Wyre Forest constituency, the government announced the closure of the A&E unit at Kidderminster Hospital. Dr Richard Taylor then decided to stand as the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern candidate.

The Conservative Association persuaded the Liberal Democrats, who were strong in the constituency, to withdraw their candidate – and Dr Taylor won the seat, ousting the Labour MP. He held the seat in 2005, but lost it in 2010, when the Lib Dems reinstated their candidate.

The lesson is: if Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage can reach an agreement, we might resolve Brexit. Nick Wase-Rogers

Thorpe, Surrey