Letters - 20 January 2017
From prison letters to ministry on death
Quakers and Brexit
Thank you Antonia Swinson for your excellent article asking ‘whose side are we on today?’ (6 January). It was clear to me that over the Brexit issue Quakers, being on the whole ‘comfortably off’, were out of touch with the real issues affecting those not comfortably off in this country. It was refreshing to read your article. So many people seem to use Europe and the European Union interchangeably. It is perfectly possible to love European countries and yet reject, as many do, the ‘failing construct’ they perceive is the EU. Now the vote is behind us can we, as Antonia says, however we voted, all pull together for the good of all.
Ruth Hustler
A 51.9 per cent vote by 72.2 per cent of the electorate means that about a third of those eligible voted in favour. This would not change the constitution of most organisations yet it is removing my EU citizenship. Nobody knows what the new arrangements will be and the Brexit planning was, and continues to be, laughably and ignorantly vague. The prime minister’s mantra should be ‘Brexit means another vote’ not ‘Brexit’. The lack of democracy within the EU exists because the national governments want to keep control! The European Parliament, I believe, would love to expand their democratic activities, but the various treaties control what is possible.
For all that, I agree with Antonia Swinson’s critique of the state of the UK. Our ownership of land and other assets and Green Belt policies are homegrown inventions and not EU requirements – but they need to be addressed, post Brexit.
Barry Barber
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