Madam, – Lord Justice Denning once said most presciently “The House of Commons starts its proceedings with a prayer. The chaplain looks at the assembled members and then prays for the country”.
After three years’ observation of political chicanery, duplicity, double-dealing, deceit and hypocrisy not only in Westminster but also in Holyrood and Brussels, the electorate is becoming increasingly fed up with the whole messy affair of political wrangling over Brexit.
Adding to this unsavoury state of affairs is the fact that the judiciary has now effectively become politicised and our political elite’s disdain for the electorate is almost palpable.
Not only have the majority of MPs (and MSPs) refused to accept the outcome of the EU referendum, but they are also refusing to allow the electorate a General Election to make their decision clear on the current situation.
Parliament makes laws and the courts uphold, interpret and administer the law.
What the establishment seems to forget, or is wilfully ignoring, is the indisputable fact that it is the people who in a democracy are sovereign.
Parliament, the judiciary and the establishment are servants of the people.
Whatever thoughts the electorate have about Boris Johnson personally, it perhaps is becoming more accepted that he may indeed be the only politician who can successfully champion The People against the Establishment.
If the power of parliament is to be curbed and the rights of democracy upheld, surely it is the people and not the establishment who must be entrusted with this precious task.
Boris may be our only hope in achieving this.
Iain G Richmond.
Guildy House,
Monikie.
Boris should take to courts
Madam, – If Boris Johnson stays on as Prime Minister despite his defeat in the Supreme Court then he has a very arguable case to challenge the new law passed by Parliament giving him until October 19 to get a deal.
Boris can argue the opposition parties very much have a conflict of interest when they recently passed that law. They are very easy to spot. Firstly, Boris has told the country he wants to deliver Brexit by October 31.
If he does so and has an election afterwards then he would undoubtedly win because he will have successfully completed what he said he would do.
However, by putting obstacles in his way – such as the new law – Boris can argue the real intention is not only to thwart the democratically-reached Referendum result but also to give opposition parties an unfair advantage in the next General Election.
In other words, the Act hastily passed was nothing more than a piece of pre-election opportunism.
Boris offered to have a General Election as soon as possible but opposition parties rejected that offer because they were terrified of losing at the time, thus demonstrating that the most important thing to them is their own interests. Another conflict comes from the EU’s negotiators.
Like them or loathe them, they are not stupid.
They know that, financially, the UK contributes a fortune to the EU coffers and if Britain leaves it would create a huge financial hole which can only be plugged by other leading EU countries contributing much more money than they do now.
That would be a vote loser so it is very much in the EU’s interests to keep the UK in for as long as they can and permanently if possible.
I am not saying Boris would definitely win in court. However it is an arguable case that should be tested via the courts.
The fact is the UK has, and still is, being used as a long-term meal ticket for countries like Poland and Luxembourg, Romania, Ireland, et al.
Time to leave the EU to stop us being used and abused.
Kenneth Brannan.
42 Greenlee Drive,
Dundee.
Lack of belief in indy cause
Madam, – Les Mackay suggests that when she advised Scots to “think very carefully” before voting in the 2014 referendum the Queen was intervening on the Unionist side (Intervention by Queen crucial, Courier, September 24 September).
This assertion reveals a deep lack of confidence in the Yes cause.
Nationalists who genuinely believe independence is in our best interests should welcome the Queen’s words; otherwise they are implicitly accepting that only those who think little or not at all about our future should wish to separate from the UK.
Martin Foreman.
17/5 Craigend Park,
Edinburgh.
No politician worthy of vote
Madam, – What a shambolic and disgraceful position our country is now in.
We have a Tory Government who are mainly Remainers and now within that party we have got the Boris Johnson haters.
The Labour party cannot even decide among themselves what they actually want.
The Lib Dems (ironic name) want to cancel Brexit altogether and then we have the SNP who still haven’t realised that it was a UK referendum, not a Scottish one.
Once upon a time our MPs were people we respected and were advised to go and speak to if you had a problem. Changed days.
The behaviour of MPs is shocking – with back stabbing, shouting and personal remarks.
We have MPs jumping from party to party and representing parties they weren’t even elected to represent – they are all desperate to keep their jobs.
One thing Brexit has done is raise all their profiles and given them far too much media attention.
I have voted all my adult life and now there is no person or party that I would trust with my vote.
If things don’t change I think a general apathy will prevail in our country.
People will just not bother anymore.
I see no chance of any deal ever happening and this could go on for years.
Maureen Robertson,
Belvedere Villa.
Burnside Road,
Barry, Carnoustie.
Travellers glad of EU protection
Madam, – Those British travellers left abroad due to the collapse of Thomas Cook must be thankful the UK is still in the EU, although not for much longer, and the protection our membership affords.
Under the EU Package Travel Directive from 11 December 2015, tour operators have been required as of July 1, 2018, to ensure their customers are repatriated.
The directive also provides travellers who have booked a package holiday with a refund before departure, in case a company files for bankruptcy.
This obligation aims to reduce the financial losses incurred by travellers and is yet another example of the benefits afforded by our membership of the EU, which many Brexiteers view as Brussels-imposed red tape.
Alex Orr.
Flat 3, 2 Marchmont Road,
Edinburgh.
Unintended consequences
Madam, – Clearly, proroguing parliament was as unwise and unnecessary as the 2017 general election – prime ministers ignore the law of unintended consequences at their peril.
John Birkett.
12 Horseleys Park,
St. Andrews.
