The changing EU
Sir: If, as Frederik Erixon writes, ‘there is a strange pre-revolutionary atmosphere in Brussels’ and ‘power will be handed back from Brussels to the nation states’ (‘The Last Heave’, 5 January), isn’t this what we have wanted and shouldn’t we delay our Brexit negotiations in order to see what happens?
The Brexiteers have always said that the EU, its immigration policies and the euro are not sustainable. After the elections across Europe in 2019 the forces for change will be greater than David Cameron found. Surely we need to combine with other like-minded nations, as we have done in the past, to strengthen the forces demanding change rather than walking away, leaving us unable to influence what happens in Europe?
Any subsequent UK referendum would relate to a different EU to the one we voted against in 2016.
Peter Bartram
Tadworth, Surrey
Populists are not extremists
Sir: I’m slightly sick of the word ‘populist’ being used to suggest some sort of extremist (‘The Last Heave’, 5 January). The political establishment has proven itself broken not only in this country (see the failure to agree on a viable Brexit policy, let alone run a train service), but also widely across the EU, where the establishment has turned its back on listening to the people. Reform needs to come, and soon. One result of social media and regular polling is that people are used to expressing an opinion, and expect to be heard. The idea that you elect someone for five years, during which time they can decide what is best for you, is out of date. We need a system where MPs are compelled to listen to their voters.
Andrew Levens
Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire
Alcohol and idiosyncrasy
Sir: In his eloquent paean to Alexander Chancellor, Geoffrey Wheatcroft is less than fair to his predecessors (‘The way we were’, 5 January).
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