YP Letters: Double standards of EU Remain campaigners

IN Dick Taverne’s Saturday Essay he argues if circumstances change there could be ‘a massive switch of public opinion in favour of Remain by the time a settlement is reached’. I suppose Dick Taverne is an ideal proponent on mind-changing since that is just what he did when he switched to the SDP after being elected as a Labour MP.

He uses the ‘small majority in favour of Leave’ as a good reason for another referendum if things don’t look good in the future, but I don’t recall him – or anyone else – calling for another election when someone won by a small majority in the General Election.

Further to this, if Remain had won by a small amount, I doubt if Dick Taverne would be calling for another referendum if things got bad. Dick Taverne suggests a ban on immigration could bring about staff shortages in the NHS. If the UK has the prospect of the immigration problems that blight southern Europe – a possibility with the state of the ‘Jungle’ in Calais – it might concentrate minds on populating NHS staff with indigenous British people.

From: Ian Oglesby, High Catton Road, Stamford Bridge, York.

REGARDING anti-democracy. Those hoping to overturn the EU referendum result, some openly, others covertly, have no respect either for democracy or for this great nation.

We see parts of the establishment from the Bank of England to the House of Lords protesting that voters have had the temerity to challenge their powerful unrepresentative positions. In the Commons, Liberals, most Labour MPs and some Conservatives are still prepared to ignore and oppose the opinions of the people, in many cases with personal interests in mind.

If our referendum result were to be over-ruled by some plot, I am sure that positive developments since June 23 would ensure an even larger majority. Those who threatened us with doom and thumbed their noses at the result will have to reconsider their positions within our democratic system.

From: Frank McManus (Vice-chairman, West Yorkshire European Constituency Labour Party, 1988-1990), Longfield Road, Todmorden.

OWEN Smith MP wants the Parliamentary Labour Party to call for a second referendum before the people’s Brexit vote is implemented. This would lead to calls for a third one to resolve any 1-1 tie, or would it be safer to make it best of nine as with snooker, or penalty shootouts in football?

More seriously, this is another case of MPs seeking to be the party’s sole deciders of policy. The Brexit vote was won by the return to our polling booths of an unvanquishable number of traditional voters in formerly industrial communities, whose wishes were neglected by the New Labour entryists.

From: Joe McHugh, Fairfax Flats, Otley.

IT appears that Theresa May has captured the hearts of the British citizens – as all previous Prime Ministers needed time to bed into the job. And in my humble opinion she could be just as successful as Harold Macmillan, Lord Home, Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron! The lady has to be given time to win her spurs.

I don’t think we will see any clashes at Prime Minister’s Questions, like we did when Harold Wilson used to taunt Alec Douglas-Home about his heritage peerage. On one occasion Harold Wilson made fun out of Lord Home being the 11th Earl of Home, but Lord Home retorted by saying that anything was better than 12 Harold Wilsons.

Income tales connected

From: John Wheeler, Yorkshire branch of Socialist Party of Great Britain, Doncaster.

TWO news stories in your paper (The Yorkshire Post, August 30) made me smile.

Page 1. Yorkshire millionaires soar by one-third.

Page 4. Wages fall costs staff £1,000 over year.

Are the two facts connected? Well yes they are.

Extortionate incomes of company directors depend on inflated prices and depressed labour costs. It is called capitalism – the system we all live under.

Contrary to your editorial, it is not something that can be resolved under capitalism because it is integral to it.

We do not need a profit system but a society dedicated to meeting individual and society’s needs. That’s called world socialism.

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton.

I NOTE your page one headline “Yorkshire millionaires soar by one third” (The Yorkshire Post, August 30) – and a sub heading “Yorkshire low on prosperity index” (page 7). Forgive my cynicism but could there possibly be a connection?

Do they have human touch?

From Neil Richardson, Kirkheaton.

A REMARKABLE claim of Sheffield’s University researchers appears in your in front-page column The robots who learn (The Yorkshire Post, August 31). Recent studies with ‘learning robots’ could apparently mean further advances and machines ‘able to predict human behaviour’.

Exactly how will these advanced machines cope not only with astonishing variety in human nature, but also our freedom to change our minds? Even the simple human act of Joe removing a can of lager from the fridge on Friday evening might (based on Joe’s recent behaviour) be likely, but it is not inevitable.

He could have second thoughts, brew a cuppa, sleep, or decide to go out.

Joe’s missus, we suspect, would like to accurately predict his behaviour.