YP Letters: UK can resist the bullying from Europe over Brexit

IT is heartbreaking to observe the unpleasant and arrogant way that the unelected EU bureaucrats are treating our Prime Minister (The Yorkshire Post, December 15).

While I believe that other members of the Tory government could have negotiated a much better divorce settlement than that which Theresa May has achieved, it is nonetheless absolutely infuriating to see how the EU leaders and officials are treating a British prime minister with such revolting disdain.

How dare they! Do they think we, as a nation, can be intimidated by their offensive behaviour? If so, they are greatly mistaken, as many of their predecessors have found out to their cost.

Now would be a good time for our Prime Minister to drop her grovelling and tell the Europeans we are leaving today and that they can go and whistle for their idiotic £39bn divorce bill.

Such action is necessary right now and would stop their bullying, aggressive anti-British attitude.

From: Thomas W Jefferson, Batty Lane, Howden, Goole.

IN your Editorial (The Yorkshire Post, December 15), you rightly say that we are edging closer to a no-deal Brexit and that this is the least popular option.

The reason it is unpopular is because it has been demonised, not least by Remainer MPs seeking to thwart Brexit, with predictions of shortages of medicines, grounded flights and a 20-mile queue of lorries at Dover. The reality is that the EU will be obliged to co-operate with us on all these matters, because World Trade Organisation rules demand it and it is in their own interests.

It is time to explode the many myths that have been propagated around this option, including that surrounding the Irish border. No-one will erect a hard border and suddenly, pragmatic solutions will be produced and life will carry on. Leaving without a deal will save us the bulk of the £39bn settlement and enable further talks with the EU to take place as equals.

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

MARK Stuart tells us that “no sane Conservative MP would risk the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn taking up residence in Number 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister” (The Yorkshire Post, December 14). Sorry, I’ve seen no recent evidence of sanity on the Government side, so maybe Conservative MPs are closet Corbynites.

Theresa May has made numerous mistakes, but part of her difficulties has been negotiating with her own side rather than Brussels. She triggered Article 50 far too early before Britain worked out what it wanted from negotiations.

That was to satisfy some of the loudmouths on her backbenches.

She wasn’t helped by Ministers such as David Davis and Boris Johnson who were notably inept when it came to European matters. They look more concerned with advancing their own leadership interests than the good of this country’s people.

But will another referendum solve the problem? I doubt it.

From: Ian Smith, Colston Close, Bradford.

IN response to Justine Greening (The Yorkshire Post, December 15), a precise instruction was given to leave the EU. If MPs and peers can’t follow it on the direction of 17.4 million people, then what are the chances of any outcome being followed?

It’s back to you, not us! Responsible Parliamentarians – if they still exist – should sort out this mess. After all, the irresponsible ones created it.

Change track on rail freight

From: Mike Hogg, North of England Representative, Rail Freight Group, York.

ROB McIntosh makes an eloquent case for the descoping of the North Transpennine upgrade, outlining how rail freight and full passenger electrification have been excluded by the law of ‘‘diminishing returns’’, to
wait for some unspecified 
future date when ‘‘additional funding may become 
available’’ (The Yorkshire Post, December 14).

This is little comfort for the ports and businesses looking to use rail now as part of their supply chains, unlocking economic growth across the region.

The promise of ‘jam tomorrow’ will not take a single HGV off the crowded motorway today, and runs counter to Transport for the North’s and many other stakeholders’ 
stated views.

With as much as £2.9bn to be spent on the 65-mile route, it seems incredible that the incremental work to provide capacity for freight cannot be included at the same time as the main passenger-beneficial works.

By cutting back now, before the development costings 
are even complete, the Government is missing an opportunity to exploit infrastructure synergies 
between passenger and 
freight traffic, and also to reduce 
the overall disruption to passengers by going in once 
only during the route’s upgrade rather than returning to the project ‘later’ to do more.

We and our members, 
many of whom have already invested heavily in their rail freight facilities, are at 
Network Rail’s disposal to 
find a solution.

For this, there must be a change of heart from Government – rail freight must be restored to this vital project in order to provide the links across the North that the economy so badly needs.

Bowing out

From: Peter Bye, Park Crescent, Addingham.

AFTER 20 years, David Dimbleby leaves Question Time. Perhaps now Sir Robin Day can rest in peace instead of turning in his grave every Thursday evening.