A Yorkshire farmer’s request: please be positive and leave the EU on March 29 as promised – Yorkshire Post letters

From: James Thomson, Braithwell, Rotherham.
Brexit supporters who are marching from Sunderland to London.Brexit supporters who are marching from Sunderland to London.
Brexit supporters who are marching from Sunderland to London.

PLEASE be positive and leave the EU on March 29 as promised.

The UK and Commonwealth people rescued Europe in the First World War and the Second World War – with late help from the United States of America – from the evil and wicked dictatorship that wrecked the cities.

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As a frank, working, practical farmer, I offer this suggestion: if the EU makes it difficult at all to trade our meat, lamb and other things, we should give it to our hungry and poor Commonwealth people, and our Government pay the farmers.

It would ease our aid payments to them and make the EU sit up and see sense, and not be bullies yet again.

From: Canon Keith Punshon, Willow Bridge Lane, Dalton, Thirsk.

FOR generations the Mother of Parliaments has been held up as an example of true democracy (Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post, March 15). Parliament promised the people a vote on whether we should leave the EU, and the main parties promised to deliver the result. They will not.

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The Prime Minister is now calling on MPs to make an honourable compromise to deliver her deal. Theresa May negotiated behind the backs of her Brexit Secretaries and almost broke the Union. An honourable compromise? And Brutus is an honourable man.

More was broken than the word of politicians: our democratic system was. Who on earth would trust any future party manifestos, and who on earth, indeed, would actually vote again?

The Mother of Parliaments is not to be trusted.

From: John Turley, Dronfield Woodhouse.

COULD Phyllis Capstick (The Yorkshire Post, March 18) and others say which Brexiteer politicians were advocating the no-deal Brexit, which they constantly keep claiming people voted for, before and during the EU referendum campaign?

I can name several, including Nigel Farage, who were advocating a Norway-type deal and/or retaining membership of the Single Market or Customs Union.

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I agree, however, that the seats of some local MPs may be vulnerable at the next general election because of their views on Brexit, but I would suggest that rather than Yvette Cooper (Labour Pontefract & Castleford) and Mary Creagh (Labour Wakefield) who are frequently referred to in this newspaper, the two most vulnerable might be Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative Morley and Outwood) and Lee Rowley (Conservative NE Derbyshire).

They have continuously opposed Theresa May, and who would appear to prefer Britain remaining in the EU, rather than accepting her compromise deal.

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.

SORRY to disappoint DS Boyes (The Yorkshire Post, March 15), but according to my dictionaries of quotations it wasn’t good old Mark Twain who said “If voting meant anything they’d never let us do it”.

However, back in the early 1970s, I recall Leicester anarchists saying “if voting changed anything they’d abolish it” – a phrase Ken Livingstone used as the title of his autobiography. The anarchists also claimed that “Guy Fawkes was the only man to enter Parliament with honest intentions” and with some truth, that “it doesn’t matter who you vote for, the Government still gets elected”.

I couldn’t possibly comment.

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

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I WAS surprised to read (The Yorkshire Post, March 19) of the concerns of academics about the possible reduction of research grants if we leave the EU.

The EU gives us back £1 out of every £3 we send to them and tells us how we can use that money. Therefore, if we are keeping the whole £3, surely there will be more, not less, money available?

From: Coun Tim Mickleburgh (Lab), Boulevard Avenue, Grimsby.

I AM ardent Brexiteer, yet I can fully understand why Speaker Bercow did what he did (The Yorkshire Post, March 19). For you can’t keep raising the same matter week after week – most councils for instance have a six-month time gap before discussing an issue again.

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If it means we leave with a no-deal Brexit, then so be it. Better than a £39bn so-called divorce bill.

From: Barrie Crowther, Walton, Wakefield.

THERESA May seems intent on paying £39bn of taxpayer’s money to the corrupt EU – and, potentially, up to another £13bn if Brexit is delayed even for a short time. This is approx £600m per constituency plus delayed additions. This cannot be justified when all of our public services, plus the NHS, are crying out for funds. Time for a clean break.

In a manner of speaking

From: Mrs EH Bell, Newland Avenue, Driffield.

I COULDN’T agree more with Brian Sheridan of Sheffield on the subject of pronunciation.

The ones he gives as examples in this country, make me cringe, also “he/she was sat instead of sitting, stood instead of standing etc. My wonderful English mistress in my home town of Whitby would have been infuriated to hear such pronunciation and of course even TV announcers are guilty, at times, of such sloppy English.

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And I won’t get started on Americanisms, and President Trump!

From: ME Wright, Harrogate.

NEWLY arrived in Harrogate, Christopher Dunn is finding the misuse of ‘was/were’ and ‘them/those’ difficult (The Yorkshire Post, March 18). This is the wide-ranging local vernacular. Beware Leeds where yellow bins proclaim “Empty plastic and tins only – nowt else”!