No control
Sir: Your leading article (‘The welfare monster’, 25 November) has fallen into the increasingly common trap of posthumously attributing to Brexit voters imagined reasons for their voting to leave. No, we didn’t ‘in large part’ do so in a search for a better economic model. We did so to rid ourselves of the Brussels behemoth and regain control of our borders. The economically literate of us knew there would be an economic price, but we believed the break for freedom was worth the (allegedly temporary) drop in living standards. How wrong we were. Our borders are as porous as ever, the Whitehall leviathan squats on us more firmly than Brussels ever did, and now the fiscal reality of an ageing and apparently idle populace condemns us to ignominious economic stagnation. Meanwhile the main propagandist (influencer-in-chief, perhaps) cashes in on his celebrity status in a TV jungle. Welcome to the modern world!
Jeremy Dyer
Poole, Dorset
Science fiction
Sir: Rod Liddle’s point (‘The science is not always right’, 25 November) is borne out by history, though it is unlikely that the Covid Inquiry will ever touch upon it.
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