Letters: In this dangerous world, we must now abandon Brexit

There is no “good time” for the utterly bizarre and potentially ruinous Brexit but with Donald Trump sitting in the White House dictating international relations policy unilaterally (with possibly dangerous outcomes) a responsible UK Government should abandon Brexit. European opinion (with the UK intact) should be a vital voice of reason in this increasingly volatile world.

Thom Cross,

18 Needle Green, Carluke.

THROUGHOUT my long career I have worked with a lot of companies in a lot of places. I've worked in the UK, across Europe while based in Paris and in the US spending a number of years in New York. I've held a number of fairly senior posts and had responsibility for global operations.

My work involves looking at how organisations perform, frequently to help them improve on already high standards, but very often we are asked to look at an organisation in difficulties and to help devise a strategy for preventing the worst excesses of their actions leading to terminal failure.

With this background and 40 years of experience in the field, I have watched with increasing concern and now deep despair the actions of the members of the Conservative Party who currently form the body tasked with negotiating the separation of the UK from the EU.

I choose my words very carefully as any vestige of government at Westminster has been suborned by the infighting of the Tories. Their approach to so-called Brexit is catastrophic, regardless of whether you prefer to remain a part of the EU (which in the interests of transparency I do), or you believe your interests are better served outwith it, the complete self-serving incompetence of those involved in the process, I promise you will only lead to disaster.

Avoiding that disaster will require vision, clarity around outcome that is informed by a detailed understanding of the implications of the complex range of actions and decisions that are required. Most importantly, plans must be in place that are understood by those tasked with leading on delivering success, that are communicated to the different stakeholders, that have a time frame and that are costed.

Do Boris Johnston's recent pronouncements address any of these criteria? Does David Davis's vacuous statements around negotiating positions provide any confidence that he even understands what negotiation entails? Worse, we hear that they, along with Liam Fox and Michael Gove, are "highly intelligent" when their every pronouncement can best be described as puerile and their intelligence seems to be measured by their ability to quote from classical texts.

It was once said that a leader can take a people to where they want to go, but a great leader takes them to where they need to be. So we turn to the Prime Minister and I choose to leave it to your own thoughts where Theresa May's political philosophy fits into that statement.

I have seen too many organisations in the same situation, and the time is rapidly running out before the position we are in places UK plc into administration. There are solutions but there is no-one in power within the Tory Party able to understand the problem, far less identify and implement any of them.

My greatest fear in all this is "No deal is better than a bad deal". That this foolishness is still a mantra that is being debated fills me with dread.

Bill Mitchell,

Upper Ardelve, Kyle.

IT should come as no surprise to those at the forefront of the anti-Brexit campaign that the current Government will do all in its power, using the best available political obfuscation, to prevent the true advice it hase received concerning the dangers to the UK economy, and its people, from getting out into the public domain.

One must never forget that the basic reason for the referendum, last June, was not to get an opinion from the public, but to save the Conservative Party and its MPs from annihilation, by UKIP.

To date, the only advice, the PM's Brexit team is prepared to listen to is what comes out of the mouths of its Brexit supporters. For example, when Theresa May addressed the Lancaster Gate conference last year, she had been advised by all her European ambassadors that advice should have been made available to the public in general. I would suggest that even if we were to ask for its release, even now, we would be told, most likely, that "it would not be in the national interest to release such information". Considering we were given false promises and basically asked to sign a blank cheque, it would be only right and proper that prior to any "jumping off cliff edges" takes place, we are presented with the true facts and implications and allowed to cast our referendum vote again.

Mike Dooley,

52 Auchendoon Crescent, Ayr.

ON the Andrew Marr Show on BBC 1 (October 15) the chief executive of Sainsburys stated that Brexit would lead to a significant increase in food prices, one-fifth to be exact. That's 20 per cent. With the public sector pay cap about to be lifted are we going to see that percentage going on wages to keep up with this sort of inflation?

The next guest was Chris Grayling who said that supermarkets would be encouraged to use British farmers. Is this to sweeten them up for the loss of their EU subsides?

Many do use British farmers, but we need to go overseas to get a longer growing season. Unfortunately for Scottish farmers they are more susceptible to weather liable to damage crops, than the helpful warm weather of many parts of Europe, that assist them to produce food earlier and later in the year. Food and farming policy really does need to be explained pre-Brexit, both to the farmers and the consumer.

In 2014 during the Scottish independence referendum, the SNP produced a 600-page document as to what would happen if we became an independent nation. Before Article 50 was signed the SNP Government also produced a weighty tome on how to keep Scotland in the EU, which was hastily cast aside by the Westminster Government.

Now, as we approach the sixth round of negotiations and seven months into Brexit, David Davis, Theresa May's Brexit Minister has not produced as much information that would fill the back of a postage stamp.

This is a glaring example of treating the electorate with contempt.

Robert McCaw,

6 Hamilton Crescent, Renfrew.