ES Views: Harsh reality of Brexit is becoming all too apparent

Have your say Twitter: @esviews Email: esviews@standard.co.uk
Brexit Secretary David Davis
AP
5 September 2017
WEST END FINAL

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Before the EU referendum voters were told by Michael Gove that “we hold all the cards and can choose the path we want”. Boris Johnson said there would “continue to be free trade and access to the single market”, while the current Brexit Secretary David Davis even quipped: “We will do deals with our trading partners and do them quickly.”

Instead of warning that leaving the EU will be arduous and involve bitter compromises, Johnson told diplomats to assume we could “have our cake and eat it”, meaning the cost of leaving would be low, with no restriction on access to the single market or border customs checks.

The reality is a far cry from this. As the pound keeps sinking, wages fall and no progress is made on Brexit negotiations, our divided nation will either crash out of the EU without a plan or be forced to throw itself on the mercy of Brussels.

You couldn’t make it up.
Dr John Cameron


We are told to rejoice that having voted for Brexit, the sky has not fallen in as predicted. In the meantime, however, the pound has collapsed as international investors have made their assessment of our prospects outside of the EU.

David Davis’s plan seems to be quite clear: over a period of time the question of debts and money owed will eventually be forgotten about. It won’t work and we are now in an acrimonious dispute with our continental neighbours thanks to Davis. Can anyone free us of these misguided politicians?
Dennis James

As the Brexit negotiations throw up the expected challenges, is it worth thinking about which EU we are negotiating with? While there are 27 other countries that make up the EU, there are many sub-groups and related bodies, and you have to wonder how the internal EU negotiations will be handled at the same time as the direct ones with the UK.

It might be useful to have some insight into this process as false steps within it might well scupper any Brexit deal.
Dr Michael Cross


Within the Brexit debate, one area where I feel obliged to speak out is in the Brexiteers’ characterisation of Germany as a malevolent threat waiting to reconquer Europe.

Having lived in the country for a decade, I can safely say that I never encountered a German expressing a desire to see their country dominate Europe, economically or politically. Indeed, the German and French architects of the EU explicitly understood the EU as a brake on any resurgence of German nationalism.

It is such ignorance which has seen Brexiteers fatally misunderstand their adversaries, who we might perhaps better keep as friends.
James Harris


Public safety is the priority for the Met

In response to some recent letters, I would like to clarify how the Met responds to requests for help from the public. We are here to protect all members of the public, irrespective of their ethnicity or language. When there is a serious incident a police officer will always attend.

With a non-emergency, we need to have a clear understanding of a situation so we can decide how to respond. In the case of someone struggling to communicate with us, we often send officers to make sure there is not a threat to their safety. We also take a wide range of factors into account when making our judgment, such as a person’s personal circumstances and whether or not they have been a victim of crime before.

We are immensely proud of what we do to keep the public safe and we will continue to do that to the very best of our ability.
Craig Mackey, deputy commissioner, Metropolitan Police


At least The Ritz keeps up standards

I’ve been going to The Ritz regularly for more than half a century and during this time sartorial standards in London have collapsed. Thank goodness, then, that the famous hotel has continued as a bulwark against the barbarian tide — even if it does mean asking a lady to change her shoes [Diary, September 1].

Apart from the gentlemen’s clubs, The Ritz is about the only place left in the capital that enforces a decent dress code, and the vast majority of the people who go there heartily approve of this policy.
Francis Bown


A big thank you for finding my purse

I want to say a massive thank you to the lovely person who handed in a large black leather purse that I left on a northbound Northern line train last month.

My whole life was contained in it but it was handed in at Camden Town’s lost property with everything still in there. To whoever did this, my gratitude knows no bounds.
Barbara Armstrong


Third runway equals pollution and traffic

Philip Mason makes some inaccurate arguments about how Heathrow needs a third runway [Letters, September 1].

I live in Ealing, where the noise is intrusive and continuous and the air often tastes metallic by the afternoon. As a chauffeur, he should know that the bigger the airport, the more road traffic it attracts too, so a third runway would add to delays and pollution in west London.

Heathrow is only one of many airports serving London, with Gatwick in particular ripe for expansion. Mason tosses aside the issue of noise and air pollution as if it were a minor concern compared to the economic wellbeing of countries.

It’s no use having a booming economy if you have got a dying nation.
Paul Thomas


Philip Mason doesn’t mention that expanding Heathrow will further damage our quality of life by reducing the “respite” from flights we are currently allowed, from a half to a third of the day.

He goes on to say that Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport has four runways but forgets to mention that the French capital’s residents are spared the kind of aircraft noise that blights life in south-west London, with planes flying overhead at 2,500 ft every 90 seconds.
Elizabeth Balsom

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McLaren's return to prominence great for F1

Few things please me more than seeing Lewis Hamilton, the best driver on the Formula 1 grid, cruise to an easy victory at Monza. But to hear that McLaren is set finally to ditch Honda as its engine supplier is something that will only benefit the sport.

It is sad that such a large manufacturer as Honda could not solve the reliability and power issues that have cost McLaren a place at the top for the past three years. But in order to keep Fernando Alonso it had to take drastic action and approach Renault. I cannot wait to see McLaren tussling with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull once again.
Kevin Mills

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