In his letter “Britons deserve more than bland Brexit optimism” (November 29), Richard Wright asks for the subject to be addressed in a serious and grown-up manner. That is fine as long as those who would seek to reverse the decision to leave the EU would stop conducting the debate as though the EU was no more than a free trade organisation, focusing solely on the short-term economic impact of leaving.
Brussels is determined to produce an organisation where more and more power is arrogated to the centre and away from democratically elected national governments (ever closer union, etc). The British, being free traders but keen on national democracy, have tried for 47 years to modify this objective but to no avail. Since Britain does not support the EU’s main aim, it has correctly decided to leave the organisation. Nonetheless, after less than two years outside this body Europhiles are already arguing, on purely economic grounds, that leaving has been a mistake and that we should go crawling back.
Europhile Tories once had a slogan: “In Europe, not run by Europe.” It seemed an admirable enough aim but proved to be a practical impossibility. The pivot away from Europe may take some time but it is still a necessity if we are not once again to be run by Europe.
John Murray
Guildford, Surrey, UK
