Sir, – There was a time when Britain was run by grown-ups. – Yours, etc,
KIERAN O’SULLIVAN,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – All the queen’s horses and all the queen’s men cannot put Brexit together again. – Yours, etc,
COLIN MacKENZIE,
Portmarnock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Like a polar bear in a warming sea desperately swimming between fragile, broken and ever-more distant ice, Brexit strategists go from slogan to slogan trying somehow to stay afloat in an ocean of hostile facts. Unfortunately the latest quelling of backbench grumblings has not led to proposals which are very much different from the previous “have cake and eat it” plans. At some point Brexiteers are going to have to engage properly with Europe and the socio-economic realities that surround them. They have dismissed calls to reverse course, glibly labelling Remainers as Remoaners. Hopefully when they eventually negotiate a deal it will be something workable and we won’t be left with Brexitears. – Yours, etc,
COLIN WALSH,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – The hard Brexiteers in the UK cabinet who have dominated the headlines for two years have agreed to a soft Brexit and have rolled over to have their tummies rubbed. All the rhetoric and debate has amounted to nothing. Their agreement to a “combined customs territory” sounds strangely like a customs union in all but name. Now that Britain has offered soft terms, the next few months will be a test of the EU’s commitment to Ireland. Our biggest worry in Ireland is that the EU will compromise in a way that damages Ireland. Ireland has been a loyal member of the EU. Let’s hope that the EU is a loyal friend of Ireland. – Yours, etc,
MARY MORRISSEY,
Castletownbere,
Co Cork.