YP Letters: Free trade here and free trade there...

THE current Brexit problem (the EU will manufacture more later) is solving how the UK and the Irish Republic will be foreign countries with a land border, and simultaneously not be foreign countries so they can trade with each other unexceptionably. Students of logic will have noticed the delicate and contradictory nature of this problem.

Bill Carmichael: Our Brexit backstop should be to leave Irish border as it is and let smugglers do their worst

But all it needs to solve cross-border trade is a brand new body which the UK and the EU could sign up to, and free trade can go ahead under the rules of this separate new body. We just need to create a European Integrated Exporting & Importing Organisation (the EIEIO), all sign up and the problem is solved.

By operating under the membership rules of this new organisation (the EIEIO) rather than the Customs Union, the UK and the EU can all agree to trade frictionlessly, but the UK would still be allowed to make trade deals with the rest of the world.

That’s how we do it. With free trade here and free trade there.

From: Ken Cooke, Ilkley.

BREXITEER correspondents repeatedly blame the EU for the threat of ‘withholding’ medicines after Brexit. Now who propagates Project Fear?

The UK has a very successful pharmaceutical industry which exports 45 million packs of medicines every month to the EU and EEA. In return we import 37 million packs each month from the EU. This benefits both the industry and our health.

This massive business only works because of shared standards and the frictionless trade fostered by the EU. The whole point of Brexit, as far as I can see, is to disrupt this important mechanism.

Withholding medicines is not EU policy, it is a consequence of ‘cake-and-eat-it’ Brexit. Stop Brexit!

From: John Thwaite, Gisburn Road, Hellifield.

REMAINERS seemingly don’t want Joe Public to realise that free from EU we will be able to arrange trade deals with whoever from wherever at favourable rates, meaning most commodities will be imported cheaper than they are at present.

Think about this all you people who are unsure about “after Brexit”. Things will be in our hands, not those of the EU.

Of course there will be bad points, but these will be far outweighed by good points and sovereignty.

From: John Hall, Pennithorne Avenue, Baildon, Shipley.

THERESA May wants “to deliver the Brexit that the British people voted for”. A total 37 per cent of the electorate voted for Brexit, and that’s about the extent to which Mrs May seems to be aiming in terms of withdrawal. Good job PM!

Parties agreed on HS2 plan

From: Mr K Redshaw, Wentworth Drive, Harrogate.

I WOULD remind David Behrens (The Yorkshire Post, October 20) him that for the first time in my memory we had a consensus between the three major parties when HS2 was conceived.

This was because, at the time, it was clear that the two main lines, East Coast and West Coast, were almost full then, let alone for the next few decades. When any private company wish to run an ‘open access’ service they are often turned down because there is no spare capacity.

Were this situation to continue, there would soon come a time when major infrastructure projects would require large parts of the network to be closed down for engineering work.

If you think the usual Bank Holiday work is inconvenient, think much worse than this but on normal working days and for weeks at a time (The Yorkshire Post, October 24).

This is why our politicians were persuaded that HS2 was the only way. The saving in journey times are a consequence of the new infrastructure and new faster trains. British Rail was often criticised but it had a business-led management starved of the very investment that must now be found.

From: George Beaumont, Crofton, Wakefield.

THE politicians don’t appear to be interested about scrapping HS2. The saving must be approaching Brexit benefits.

Probably if Jeremy Corbyn decided to include scrapping HS2 in his manifesto some action would be taken.

From: B Murray, Sheffield.

IT is scandalous that the Government is paying for HS2 when we are £1.8 trillion in debt.

Labour split on devolution

From: Coun Jane Cox, Conservative group leader on Doncaster Council (Finningley ward) and Coun Nick Allen (Bessacarr ward).

WE were both interested to read the article by Jon Trickett MP about ‘One Yorkshire’ and how his party intend to deliver ‘people power’ to the north of England (The Yorkshire Post, October 27). Previously, under Labour, this aspiration never came to fruition, despite achievements such as elected mayors.

How can we trust Labour to deliver this sort of change when the political will is not there?

In South Yorkshire, Labour cannot agree to the first part of devolution as the local party is split. Although we have a Metro Mayor, we still have no finalised Sheffield City Region.

It is clear that the real purpose of Mr Trickett’s article was to gain political ground for Labour. All he is did was criticise the Government’s decisions.

We would like to remind him that Doncaster Council, despite these times of austerity, saw fit to advertise for a lobbyist on a salary of £80,000. Some would argue this is something which the chief executive, elected mayor and Sheffield City Region Mayor should already be doing. This is not to mention Doncaster Council’s investment in the town centre of many millions.