Letters: Starmer’s silence on rejoining is deafening

To all the naysayers who doubt that we can return to the EU soon, I say that there is no choice. Britain is in limbo. Up until joining the Common Market in 1973, Britain largely functioned by maintaining the imperial model, despite the empire having been lost by 1960. In that period, we ended up as the “sick man of Europe”.

If we continue to stay out of the EU and give up on any idea of returning (even if via Efta and the single market and/or customs union), we will suffer the same fate – accelerated decline. Donald Trump in the White House will only exacerbate this. 

The choice is obvious and if Starmer really believes in Britain, it must be done. 
Mark Grahame

At the 2019 Labour conference in Brighton, Starmer said: “I have a very simple message today: If you want a referendum – Vote Labour. If you want a final say on Brexit – Vote Labour. If you want to fight for Remain – Vote Labour.

“Labour will let the people decide. Conference, you know where I stand on the question of Remain: I’ve said many times that I will campaign for it. But I profoundly respect those who take a different view.” How times have changed.
Dudley Simms

Before your doppelganger Keir Starmer delivers his remarks on January 6, he should make one correction. As channelled by Matthew d’Ancona, he refers to “the 52% of Britons who voted for Brexit”. Of those registered to vote in the 2016 referendum, however, only 37% voted to leave the EU.

The oft-repeated claim that the majority of the British people voted for Brexit is therefore false. Unless the PM makes that clear, he gives an opening to those who would rage about going against the will of the people. 
Tom Bruch

What a speech! And what a shame Starmer didn’t use it. He could’ve used 52% of the speech. That would’ve been far more effective than using 0%. I’m 100% disappointed.
Simon Tomes
Teddington, Greater London

Is an early rejoining of the EU really on the table? The UK was certainly not a committed and supportive member state the last time we were in, so what has changed since Brexit?

All Britain seemed to be interested in then was maximising any membership fee rebates, staying outside of the eurozone, and acting like a negative and obstructive arsehole in the European Parliament.

Economically the UK electorate might now be convinced, but does the UK electorate WANT to be a member again, play by the EU rules and become a proper and fully committed part of Europe?

Choosing and then applying to rejoin purely for fiscal reasons is just so wrong, and a recipe for a repeat of the same old, same old.
Peter Kidman

A lesson from the Irish
Re: “Ireland’s shaky stability” by Aisling Redden (TNE #415). How come the Irish are so well off? Could it be that they are part of a free market covering the European economic zone? Perhaps the UK will come to its senses at some point.
Gill Windwood

Same old Tory
In “The absurd hysteria over the assisted dying bill” (TNE #415), Patience Wheatcroft writes: “The debate itself was conducted in a calm and respectful manner…” 

The notable exception, sorry to say, was one Robert Jenrick, who couldn’t resist a typically fallacious dig at the European Convention on Human Rights.
Stuart Shingler

I so agree with Patience Wheatcroft, and how refreshing that a sensible proposal supported by most adult citizens was passed with such a healthy majority. Damn the people of religion who wish to tell people how to live and die.
Eile Gibson

Sweeping changes
Nigel Warburton on Notre Dame (TNE #415) pondered how much of something can be changed before it loses its essential essence.

While I admire his classical explanation of the Ship of Theseus, surely Everyday Philosophy should stick to examples closer to home. To most Britons isn’t it better known as Trigger’s Broom?

To remind Nigel, Trigger, the roadsweeper in Only Fools and Horses, was speaking after being given an award by the council for using the same broom for 20 years.

Trigger: “I’ve maintained it for 20 years. This old broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.”

Sid: “How the hell can it be the same bloody broom then?”

Trigger: “Well here’s a picture of it. What more proof do you need?”
John Young
Usk, Monmouthshire

Is the restored Notre Dame cathedral the same as the medieval original? Is the Ship of Theseus, with all its rotten planks replaced, the original ship?

This reminds me of a report a couple of years ago in the international neurosurgery literature of a surgeon who claimed to have mastered the anatomically enormously complex problem of carrying out a head transplant on someone who, after a head injury, was “brain dead”. Of course, were this to be true, it would pose the question: is this a head transplant or a body transplant? In other words, who would the recipient be? The donor or the recipient? Or neither… 
Prof Roger Bayston 
Woodthorpe, East Midlands

I’m not sure there was a realistic alternative to what has been done to Notre Dame. The signs of continuous use over centuries have been removed along with the hazardous waste (lead dust etc) that were the result of a catastrophic fire.
Gina Ford

Russian roulette
I couldn’t disagree more with the conclusion of Paul Mason’s article in TNE #415 on how to deal with Russia and its allies – “since the soft power does not seem to be working, we need to think about the hard options.”

If the last three years of war in Ukraine have demonstrated anything it is that Russia is by and large a paper tiger, no more capable of invading Europe than living on Mars. Putin is no Hitler, he is a proverbial Machiavellian rational state actor.

The war in Ukraine should have been ended in 2022 as it prospers nobody’s (including Russian) interests. There needs to be an international settlement based on Ukrainian security guarantees and an immediate re-engagement with Russian political, social and cultural society. There is no need to keep fighting the cold war.
Nigel Peters

I couldn’t agree more with this piece. I have been staggered by the weak, foot-dragging appeasement and late-in-the-day drip-feeding of equipment to Ukraine. 

It is absolutely time for the UK to take a lead. There are already thousands of North Korean troops involved. There is no reason why a UK, Polish and French force should not take over the securing of Ukraine’s Belarus border and in other areas, and free up Ukraine’s forces there to address their troop shortages at the combat front.
Oli Nicholls

No pain, no gain
Ah, the delight of munching on a fresh chunk that you’ve torn from the bread you’ve been sent to buy! I’m consciously passing this particular bit of French heritage on to my English daughter, when we buy fresh bread from our local Middle Eastern bakery (and all-round excellent shop). 

Their baguettes are very decent, if not quite the real deal. At least they have the overall proportions right.

Not so with the loaves that the child was carrying in the 1962 photo used to illustrate “The pain in Spain” (Carousel, TNE #415). Those look like pains de deux livres – two pounds bread – an altogether heftier offer, suitable for large families. 
Jean-Marie Orhan
Ipswich, Suffolk

Whoever wrote the headline “The pain in Spain” for a story about French bread in Barcelona needs a pay rise.
Sally Davis

Nothing too taxing
As a farmer, I am slightly bemused by the hoo-ha stirred up by the National Farmers Union re the inheritance tax rise (Letters, TNE #415; Josh Barrie, TNE #414). It is true that we are generally cash-poor, asset-rich. But the effect of this policy is surely going to discourage some of the Clarksons of this world from buying farmland, which would put a downward pressure on prices. This would reduce the value of land to be taxed.

Lower prices would be welcomed by new entrants to farming who want to thrive and grow a sustainable business. Most extraordinarily, the NFU etc make no mention of the possibility of gifting your business to deserving successors, with no tax payable if the donor survives seven years!
Graham Lock

The real “FU” parties
James Ball (“The rise of the ‘fuck you’ party”, TNE #414) claims that parties such as Reform, MAGA Republicans, and Marine Le Pen’s party in France are “fuck you” parties, sticking two fingers up to the status quo. I beg to differ. They are clearly a reaction against the real “fuck you” parties: the Democrats in the US, Renaissance (Emmanuel Macron’s party), and Labour in the UK. 

In 2020, Joe Biden was elected to serve one term, give an opportunity for other figures to become known nationally, and then step down following an open primary to select his successor. His decision not to do so, along with his failure to implement policies on healthcare and student loans, helped Donald Trump to return to the White House.

In the recent French parliamentary election, the leftist bloc of parties helped Macron to push Le Pen’s party into third place. He then snubbed them, and the electorate, by appointing a prime minister from the party that came fourth, as well as trying to continue pushing ahead with hugely unpopular policies. 

At the July election, the British public said a resounding “fuck you!” to the Tories, giving them their worst-ever election result. Labour promptly turned around and said “fuck you” to the electorate, continuing with the ruinous policies of George Osborne, making it clear that they had no intention of doing anything about shit in the rivers, high energy bills, defective new-build housing, local government finances, etc. 

Each of these parties has offered some kind of change, been elected, and then said “fuck you” to the electorate. Is it any wonder that people are exploring other options? 

Labour and Macron have time to do something positive to change the situation before the next big elections. I hope that they soon wise up and do so. 
Oleg Mednik

BELOW THE LINE
Comments, conversation and correspondence from our online subscribers

Re: Critical Mass on the Trump-shaped problems facing American scientists (TNE #415). I’m currently reading The Three Body Problem, where an alien race goes to extraordinary lengths to hold back Earth science. Turns out, they needn’t have bothered.
Geoff Stevenson

Re: “Asleep at the wheel” (TNE #415), on the survival of the European car industry. I have found that the most environmentally friendly car that you’ll ever own is the one you don’t sell.
Mike McDermott

“Killing time on the Costa del Crime” (TNE #415) by Richard Luck was a brilliant article on the severely underrated The Hit. It’s great to see the also severely underrated Stephen Frears getting some love; how amazing that he could follow this with Prick Up Your Ears, My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons and The Grifters, all 10/10 classics. 
Kate Lansley

Re: James Ball on GPSR, “The new Brexit timebomb” (TNE #415). While the EU has ignored the effect this will have on single-person businesses run by artists and craft makers – and even larger businesses that don’t have the time or margins to adhere to the rules – the blame and the cost should be aimed at eBay, Amazon and other online marketplaces that have allowed unregulated sellers from China, India and elsewhere to flood markets with low-quality knock-offs.
J French

Re: Your Great Life of Charly Gaul (TNE #415). He was surely the king of sport cycling. Unbelievable stamina and mental strength. Charlie Connelly’s article was full of wonderful stories covering the fierce rivalries and considered camaraderie forged out of respect. 
Keith Brisley

Re: Josh Barrie on Bar Cañete in Barcelona (TNE #413). My wife and I had a fantastic meal here when celebrating her birthday in 2018; so much so we still talk about it as one of the best nights we’ve had! We sat at the serving bar in front of the kitchen and asked our server to go “off menu” and just choose what she thought was the best food they could do. She was outstanding, as was the food!
Paul Radford

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