THANK you for highlighting the motion by Stroud District Council on hate crimes.

From that motion will come further discussion to be enshrined into the council’s aims and objectives.

You mentioned in your article about other racially abused people being in the gallery – I want to add that human rights observers were also there.

After the meeting, I spoke outside to a number of people who were concerned about their future as they were not UK citizens.

Someone recently said to me that the result of the EU referendum was a bit like a major crash on a motorway.

You are completely in shock, disorientated and frightened.

The shake-up that this country is now facing is probably unique, as it happened so quickly and the outcome was so unexpected.

Certainly, this government is not prepared at all to face such a reality.

For those of us who worked in the remain camp in this district, there was a 54 per cent success ratio to 46 per cent (the referendum in Stroud saw 54 per cent of voters choose to remain in the EU).

That was in spite of the negative stance and distortions of the leave campaign, plus the help of the right-wing press.

I maintain that the national 48 per cent (the ‘remain’ voters) is a hefty figure, which should be seriously taken into account, especially as Scotland, Northern Ireland and London voted solidly to remain.

Personally, I think we have hardly seen the full implications yet of leaving the EU.

Interestingly enough, there is a 50-page “pop-up” national newspaper that is catering for the 48 per cent (The New European) which is now on sale at newsagents.

John Marjoram

Stroud Green Party district councillor