YP Letters: Take proper pride in Britain and reclaim our independence

Did Margaret Thatcher do enough to halt Britain's national decline? The Yorkshire Post's letter writer, Arthur Quarmby, does not believe so.

I AM puzzled by the lack of self-confidence in the British public, and have been looking through my own life seeking an explanation.

Britain emerged from the Second World War victorious, and with our Empire still intact – but the euphoria did not last.

The first post-war election threw out our successful war leader Churchill, and brought in a new Labour government led by Clement Atlee.

The United States set out to help Europe recover from the war with their lend-lease finance; however America had little sympathy for a British socialist government led by unknowns and we were not helped.

Moreover they had long sought to dismantle the British Empire and, in the absence of Churchill, went about it in a bull-headed way instead of the steady and careful independence by which we hoped to establish democracy throughout what was to become the British Commonwealth.

The British economy was in a very poor way at the end of the war, but the Labour government put its policies before financial recovery, which consequently was very slow indeed. Rationing continued for longer after the war than during it and even bread, never rationed in wartime, went on the ration.

So Britain was demoralised, and that supreme self-confidence which its inhabitants had demonstrated for over two centuries disappeared and the public mood went from “My country, right or wrong” to “My country – wrong!”

Our then Prime Minister chose to throw the Argentinian invaders out of one of our few remaining colonies, the Falklands, yet Margaret Thatcher failed to halt the national decline which had led to our signing away our freedom and independence to what was originally the Common Market and became the European Union. Now is the last opportunity for we British to take a proper pride in our wonderful country, to reclaim our independence and relaunch ourselves on the wide world and succeed – yet again!

From: John Fisher, Menwith Hill.

IN regard to the exit of Britain from the EU, there are some aspects which cannot be predicted with any degree of accuracy.

The decision to remain in the EU has a reasonably predictable outcome based on our past membership.

Instead of pie in the sky promises from the Brexit campaign, they should explain how they would provide a Government capable of resolving the potential problems.