Undoing Brexit would help nation's young people: Yorkshire Post Letters

Ironic that Kemi Badenoch dismisses the Prime Minister’s efforts to get better post-Brexit terms from the European Union as “magical thinking” (The Yorkshire Post, November 2). That describes the Brexit promises made 10 years ago.

Andy Burnham’s appeal for “consensus” on our future relationship reaches far outside Ms Badenoch’s “Westminster bubble”. The Opposition leader is being a little disingenuous to claim: “I can’t even believe that we are reopening this debate.” It only stayed closed for so long because politicians across the major parties at Westminster kept avoiding the topic.

Mr Burnham’s elevation has ended Westminster’s efforts to muzzle debate on something most recognised as hugely damaging to our country.

Leeds West and Pudsey MP Rachel Reeves seems to have a better grasp: “Brexit has made us poorer, weaker and less secure.” And the solution: “I do believe Britain’s future lies in the European Union.” But she doesn’t tell us when she had that realisation, only: “No one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were.”

Pity she didn’t share that sooner. Labour might have been quicker to ditch the daft “make Brexit work” slogan – definitely some magical thinking there.

Had she and Sir Keir Starmer been the change the country needed in Europe, she might still be Chancellor in a continuing Starmer administration. After all, 70 to 80 per cent of Labour members and supporters favour rejoining the EU – something Mr Burnham appears to recognise.

Meanwhile, your editorial (‘Reeves should focus on benefit cuts not Brexit’, November 2) warns against “relitigating Brexit”. We don’t need to relitigate 2016 because the public has already judged Brexit a failure – by a five-to-one margin, according to YouGov. Usually, it is the other side bringing up debunked ideas from a decade ago because they cannot defend how Brexit looks in 2026.

The Government can walk and chew gum at the same time – reforming welfare while rebuilding European ties.

Nor can you separate a £100bn-a-year benefits bill from a stagnant economy: Brexit’s four per cent GDP hit has shrunk our economy by £100bn a year, costing £40bn in annual tax revenues.

Growth from undoing Brexit would help the country’s finances and improve opportunities for young people – starting with the youth mobility deal expected to be announced at the November 20 UK-EU summit. Doesn’t that sound better than depressing young workers’ wages, as your editorial suggested?

Thomas W Jefferson, Batty Lane, Howden, Goole.

My thanks to Peter Brown (The Yorkshire Post, October 30) for highlighting the fact that, according to the Draghi report, the EU faces a stark choice between “exit, paralysis or integration”. Naturally Draghi, being an arch-Europhile, would not welcome Brexit but it’s up to us to decide our future.

Rejoiners now need to explain their preferred option of paralysis or integration. They would obviously be happy to opt for paralysis as they have consistently run for the hills every time I have invited them to comment on integration, which would mean the “ever closer union” we rejected in the referendum and for which there is no appetite on the continent.

Andy Brown (The Yorkshire Post, October 26) wrote a thought provoking column about a future EU possibly recognising that many of its members don’t want to be part of a European super state, but just want close collaboration and that could suit us. Germany’s AfD party submitted proposals for more flexible arrangements to Brussels but they were roundly rejected as being impractical.

It is difficult to imagine any unscrambling of the present arrangements as the markets would take fright at the potential break-up of the euro, with the prospect of debt defaults, especially if Germany was in the vanguard of such moves. If current Eurozone members were forbidden a more flexible relationship, why would they grant better terms to new members? The EU is in a mess, of its own making, and doesn’t know what to do about it. How wise we were to exit.

Peter Auty, Great Hatfield.

Our deceitful PM has opened the Brexit debate, even though he said he wouldn't.

The Guardian recently reported that 60% of Britons now regard Brexit as a mistake with only a third still in favour and 25% who voted for Brexit now regret it.

On the other hand the Guardian went on to state, that while 55% of all Britons would support rejoining the EU, that figure drops to 35% if the UK surrenders previous opt-outs such as joining the Euro and Schengen scheme.

As the Czech PM said not long ago, "we need more money"; that's why the EU want the UK to rejoin.

One thing is for sure the EU will drive a very hard bargain and the UK will be the loser and be worse for it. I have always maintained the UK should trade with the EU, but not rejoin.