YP Letters: Remember who our friends are over Brexit

From: Keith Punshon, Willow Bridge Lane, Dalton, Thirsk.
Theresa May is reaching a crunch point in Brexit negotiations.Theresa May is reaching a crunch point in Brexit negotiations.
Theresa May is reaching a crunch point in Brexit negotiations.

AS the negotiations over Brexit come to a conclusion, we are seeing all sorts of speculation about what is happening behind the scenes... talks of compromise and of remaining in a Customs Union are rife.

I would like to ask who are our friends? For the Government in Parliament, Theresa May’s friends include Northern Ireland’s DUP and Labour MPs who risk their careers by voting for Brexit.

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Internationally, after the Salisbury poisoning incident, and now the Dutch revelations, our allies are the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

But where is the talk of compromise leading? Using the Northern Ireland border as an excuse, it seems to be leading inexorably to a Remainer agenda. Perhaps this is the straight down the middle compromise spoken about by the Chancellor.

What would that do to our friends? It would not lead to trade deals with the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, nor to the freeports that would re-balance a London-centric economy.

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It would not lead to reciprocated support for the loyal DUP or Labour rebels in Parliament. It would reward the bullying of the EU and lead to our being tied into a shared sovereignty of an organisation that wants to rewrite foreign policy. Where are the 27 on their own defence? Where is Germany on Russia, given their dependence on Russia energy supplies?

It would reward so many Remainers who have campaigned ceaselessly to reverse the referendum result.

I hope that the deal, when it comes, will not let down our friends.

From: Nick Yates, Laverock Lane, Brighouse.

THE reactions to Jeremy Hunt’s comparison of the EU with the Soviet Union are interesting. Undoubtedly there are similarities between the two.

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For example the EU is ruled by an unelected cabal and, while it doesn’t have an army, it uses financial rather than military force to impose its will on vulnerable members such as Greece.

If the EU does establish the army to which it aspires, who will be in command? Will each of the 27 members have an equal share? I doubt it. It will be controlled by one or a small number of the more powerful countries with a role equivalent to that of Russia in the old Soviet Union.

From: Cecil Crinnion, Sycamore Close, Slinsby, York.

I WOULD like to thank David Owen (The Yorkshire Post, October 3) for providing the first verse of the “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” song, I believed the words were “Woe Jeremy Corbyn”. I will now stop singing along. It won’t be long before it joins in obscurity that other classic left-wing anthem “Here we go, Here we go, Here we goooooo (repeat)”.

Yes to female Archbishop

From: Mrs Val Kent, St Juliens Way, Cawthorne, Barnsley.

I WRITE to say how impressed I was by the column by David Behrens (The Yorkshire Post, October 6). His comments about the outstanding ministry of Dr John Sentamu were ones, which I am sure, are echoed by many people of all faiths and none.

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As the mother of a female priest in the Church of England, I have to admit to bias when considering his speculations on whether or not Dr Sentamu’s successor should be female. My response is “yes, yes, yes!”

I have personal knowledge of only one of the 17 female bishops he mentions, the very impressive Alison White (Bishop of Hull), but I am sure that she, or any of the other 16, would do an excellent job as Archbishop of York. Not the same as, but perhaps just as memorable, as the “hard act to follow” that is John Sentamu.

Palin at his best on travels

From: Janet Berry, Barfield, Hambleton.

WHAT a wonderful ambassador Michael Palin is for this country – especially as he is from Yorkshire.

His two-part series on North Korea showed him at his best. He listened patiently to his two minders, young Koreans who kept a close eye on him.

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When they made sweeping statements of how they had been brainwashed to change history, he just gave a gentle smile and a sardonic comment.

I loved it when he showed them a very silly but funny Monty Python-esque dance of slapping fish – his young companions laughed with uncharacteristic delight, the first time they were unguarded about how they were expected to behave and what to say. It was brilliant.

The Silk Road with Joanna Lumley has also been interesting, but much of it is about the gushing presenter, a very different approach. How refreshing though to watch something that does not warn us about bad language, violence, sex and scenes that we might feel disturbing!

Maths in a muddle

From: Elisabeth Baker, Leeds.

I AGREE with a great deal of Tom Richmond’s comments about HS2 (The Yorkshire Post, October 6), but cannot agree with his arithmetic. When I was at school we were taught that to calculate an annual figure from a monthly one, the multiplier was 12, not 52. The annual expenditure on these three directors is thus £68,400!

Bags of sense

From: Richard Spencer, Keighley.

IN reply to Coun Tim Mickleburgh (The Yorkshire Post, October 6), use the charity bags to line waste bins. It saves buying black bin liners.

It’s not rocket science, it’s called recycling.