IN my own style I have made ongoing contributions in the Letters Pages to the Brexit debate/horror show/shambles. Yet some individuals more experienced and articulate than myself make the case so much better.
Such is the contribution of Ian McConnell ("Evidence racks up, but vacuous Brexiters refuse to admit their mistake", Herald Business, December 1). He summarises the total failure of our Brexit mission in his concluding paragraph: "Some Brexiters seem galvanised by the shambles, as if it is a good thing the UK has decided to shoot itself in the foot so that it can show some kind of British bulldog spirit in prevailing against the odds. It is a sorry state of affairs indeed. Yet no-one seems willing or able to call a halt to it."
I notice that the Brexit banner is still being carried by the Brexit-loving Tory newspapers but most of the prominent individual Brexiters have gone to ground, even on these Letters Pages.
The case for leaving is being shredded day by day, they must be keeping the head down and drawing comfort from the sheer brazen neck of Theresa May and David Davis, whistling a bright and brittle tune and proclaiming continuing progress while the ship is heading towards the rocks. They are certain that they can resist any scrutiny whatsoever, tell everyone else to shut up and just "do it".
I read the international media often and widely. The vast majority of commentators, especially those who like us, are appalled by the level of incompetence and recklessness shown by our negotiators . They are disappointed in what Britain has become in our inane interpretation of "Brexit means Brexit" and our resolve to "see it through at whatever cost".
Brexit, we now know, means being poorer, more isolated in the world, less respected by those who used to respect us.
Are we blinded by the rubbish we are being told – or is this what the country voted for?
Ian McLaren,
27 Buchanan Drive, Lenzie.
THE revealing article by Ian McConnell, your Business Editor, must certainly be considered by many as a wakeup call for the Scottish Government (“Engineering grows but skills shortages persist”, The Herald, December 1).
By default, the SNP Government undermines the status of practical engineering skills by adopting a policy of reducing entrance requirements for academic study at university. In so doing it implies that these establishments are so special that matriculation should be manipulated through their old oak doors at any forfeit. I feel that what in fact it should be equally serious about is actively promoting vocational qualifications gained at vocational establishments as the way ahead for the regeneration of our engineering, construction and related industries.
I found that the article provides a stern warning that while orders and exports in the engineering sector are on the rise, our capacity in adept human resources has been threatened both by scarcity and by Brexit. It is increasingly obvious that skilled craftspeople from within the continental EU will consider themselves as having a more secure and welcoming future in places like Germany where engineering has a much higher social respect than here.
The undeniable success of Jim McColl (a former engineering apprentice) in both saving and developing Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow must inspire other potential entrepreneurs. However, such people will not feel so confident if the Scottish Government continues failing to convince the public that they should start examining afresh the purpose of post-school education.
I believe that if indeed we witness an exodus of skilled workers when we leave the EU, the SNP will most certainly be left with egg on their face. At that time we may well have healthy order books in our Scottish engineering sector which are unable to be fulfilled while we also have young people with a university degree in medieval history vainly looking for a career.
Bill Brown.
46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.
SHOULD the Government call time on Brexit? The promises made can never be delivered. It has already cost the country £60 billion pounds and it is now going to cost a further £50billion-plus to trade with the EU. At this rate austerity will have to continue to the next century to get Britain out of the financial chaos we are in.
Better to abandon it now and reform the EU. from within and save ourselves the pain of more austerity. Time, therefore, for the politicians to get a grip on things and think about the wellbeing of Britain, not themselves.
Ed Archer,
18 Hope Street, Lanark.
I HAVE given up on this Brexit and our Government. Having been self-employed most of my working life, I would never tell anyone to send a bill for what they want. The wastage that goes on in the EU is so bad that no reputable company will audit its books. Surely this country should be given a bill for what they reckon we owe them and we should deduct an amount for our share of the EU assets, going back to when we joined about 40 years ago.
I was one of those who voted to leave as I believe that in the near future we will be better off and our children have a better standard of living. For example, how is that we are buying milk from the Netherlands and our own dairy farmers are going bankrupt?
Like a lot of others I voted to join the Common Market because it was a chance to for easier trade with other countries. As I can remember there was no mention of them telling us what laws we were going to have hoisted on us.
Bob Mitchell,
49 Main Road, Elderslie.
LEADING Brexiter Sir James Dyson, interviewed on the Andrew Marr show last month, claimed the key to a successful manufacturing industry in the UK was having a "flexible" workforce – one that can be easily hired and fired – and eliminating corporation tax as a tax on profit wasn't fair. I wonder if those who voted to leave the European Union disenfranchised through alleged continental labour threatening work and increasing costs to the NHS and councils would change their minds if job's became less secure and support services even further underfunded?
Paul Shaw,
20 Argyle Way, Dunblane.
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