Letters: Staying in the customs union and the single market is an absolute must

For the same reasons it is not possible to say that the new proposals do what the Leave voters wanted.

Now we have had President Donald Trump adding his pennyworth to the debate.

Many who were persuaded by the arguments to leave were not told how countries importing to the EU need to satisfy many directives to ensure compliance with things like safety and electrical interference, for example.

It is only necessary to look at some common household items like vacuum cleaners, LED lights, telephones, and electric shavers which all have the CE mark on them indicating compliance with all relevant EU directives (which the UK played an important part in drawing up).

These products usually come from countries outside the EU like China and Korea. If the UK wishes to do business with the EU when it is outside then it too has to continue to comply. While Remain voters would prefer not to leave the EU at all it is important that any deal which is done makes it possible to trade with the EU on the same basis as we do now.

Ideally this would involve staying in the single market and the customs union and the nonsense spoken by many about just walking away from the EU without a deal would impoverish the people of this country more than they have already been by the increase in prices caused by the devaluation of the pound after the Brexit vote and the likely loss of much manufacturing like Airbus as a result of not being able to trade as they do now.

Louie Macari,

42 Imlach Place,

Motherwell.

“THE dream is dying”, said Boris Johnson as he exited the Cabinet. It isn’t a dream. It’s a nightmare.

Wilf O’Malley,

11 Delnies Road,

Inverness.

I ASSUME that uppermost in the minds of those protesting over the weekend at President Trump’s visit was his inhumane treatment of Mexican families at the US border. And rightly so.

However I suggest that there is at the very least one other reason for taking up our metaphorical cudgels, that being the relationship between Mr Trump, Brexit and the NHS.

Of course he is all in favour of the hardest of Brexits amounting to the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.

He is well aware of the enthusiasm of the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, and that of his fellow Hard Brexiters, for the opportunity such a Brexit will bring to hand over the National Health Service to US businesses.

If we allow the Government to turn its back on membership of the world’s biggest and most economically powerful single market, ministers will have little choice but to accept the terms the Trump administration dictate. At the top of his list of his demands will be unfettered access to our health service.

Was it the “will of the people”, or at least those who voted Leave in the Referendum, that our health service be “Americanised” by Liam Fox and his long-standing US allies?

We, the people, must not allow this, the final plank in what the Extreme Hard Right see as the completion of the Thatcherite Revolution, to happen.

John Milne,

9 Ardgowan Drive,

Uddingston.

CHARLES Coull descries the First Minister for interfering in the internal affairs of Spain (Letters, July 13). In this he joins the clamour of raised voices complaining about President Trump criticising German policy regarding Russia and, horror of horrors, Theresa May and the current Brexit fiasco.

I seem to remember President Obama among other national leaders voicing their opinions on the independence referendum and telling us how we should vote. There was also no compunction on the part of these leaders to poke their nose in the European referendum. Strangely there was no uproar from the media. Could it be because they are in reality organs of the state?

However President Trump’s comments in his interview with the Sun regarding a trade deal with the UK being off the table should serve as a wake-up call to the Leavers. Any trade deal will be massively to the detriment of the UK and our standards. The time has surely come for Theresa May to take the sensible option and withdraw Article 50 before disaster strikes.

David Stubley,

22 Templeton Crescent,

Prestwick.

THE reference by Charles Coull (Letters, July 13) to an “itsy bitsy provincial government” is offensive to the people of Scotland, and to denigrate our parliament especially at a time when Westminster is a complete shambles is ill-informed to say the least.

His bland assumption that we would resent them interfering in matters reserved to Scotland ignores the fact that this is what they are doing; one would expect he would be aware of the fishing, farming and food standards power they have usurped.

Or is he just a British nationalist who objects to Scotland having any powers at all?

Jim Lynch,

42 Corstorphine Hill Crescent,

Edinburgh.

NO serious person doubts that the more extreme form of Brexit we undertake, the more damage we will do to our economy, our scientific/learning/knowledge-based communities, our relationships with our closest neighbours – and this at a time of international turmoil based on the capricious whims and fancies of the leaders of Russia and the United States.

Westminster has a natural majority of MPs in favour of the softest of Brexits. MPs are elected to serve the interests of their constituents. With the Cavalier Brexiters in full retreat, now is the time to negotiate a good future relationship with the European Union.

My preference for a self-governing Scotland is membership of the European Free Trade Association (Efta) and to trade with the EU via the European Economic Area (EEA).

The UK could achieve something similar, though there are always many ifs, buts and maybes where the UK is concerned.

GR Weir,

17 Mill Street,

Ochiltree.