ROLAND Parsons (letters, “Country is Great”, July 11) exposes many of the myths that were peddled by the dishonest Leave campaign.
People have been lied to and their expectations are far short of reality, in some cases simply not possible.
This is not about whether you think the UK should or should not be in the EU (my own view is that we should remain) but is about the facts of the global trade system.
For example, Mr Parsons says: “They should first negotiate a provisional free trade agreement with the nearby nations of Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Then worldwide English speaking nations of every nationality.”
What Mr Parsons fails to understand is that Finland, Denmark and Sweden, as EU members, and Norway, as an EEA member, are not allowed to negotiate a separate free trade agreement with the UK.
Similarly, focusing on “English speaking nations” is of little help when, of our top ten trading partners, only two are English speaking nations (USA and Ireland).
We hear a lot these days about getting a trade deal with New Zealand – but we trade less with New Zealand than we do with Azerbaijan!
Once the grim reality of our future outside the EU sinks in, many people may start to wish for a return to the EU, however imperfect and bureaucratic it seemed.
That is why I am supporting the Liberal Democrats and their campaign to keep the UK in the EU – as the Leave campaign liked to remind us, the great British parliament is sovereign.
So whether we are a member of the EU can only be decided by an act of parliament, not an advisory referendum.
Arthur Snell
Cranham
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