THE claim by the EU for access to UK fishing waters (“Fishermen’s group reacts angrily to EU bid for access to UK waters”, The Herald, March 8) should come as no surprise to anyone, particularly Scottish fishermen.

Edward Heath, who took us into Europe, said in later years that the interests of the fishing community were expendable and a worthwhile concession to the European Economic Community as was.

It is logical that our waters should be available to be fished by the other EU states, as they are now, but we have come full circle so that Scottish interests have been sidelined.

Fishing policies, including quota shares, will be in the mix of bargaining chips and yet again expendable. Will the Scottish fishing industry be consulted this time? I would think not as pre and post-Brexit fishing policy is beyond the competence of our Scottish Parliament.

It will form a part of any Brexit agreement and, if not, the backstop will be that it will feature in the 25 powers to be “temporarily” annexed to UK from the 112 identified powers.They will never be returned intact to our Parliament.

A similar fate will befall agriculture and the remainder of these 25 powers. Can we ask for their return? I fear not.

It has taken 11 months of non-meetings to get nowhere with the “bonanza” of powers promised by Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

My two great fears before the referendum were that we might crash out of the EU completely and that is looking increasingly likely.

If that came to pass Westminster, in its own inimitable fashion, would pursue a policy of keeping Scotland in its place: to preserve the Union; it is all Westminster has left. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the arch Brexiter, used a centuries-old expression to describe one country under the heel of another – a vassal state.

That is where we are heading if there is no fight left in us.

Ian McLaren,

27 Buchanan Drive,

Lenzie.

WE are told that the fishermen are furious that access to UK waters is being insisted upon for any trade deal. I fear they must be the only group who did not see that coming.

Farmers are now panicking as it slowly dawns on them that their vital EU subsidies are highly unlikely to be maintained by Westminster. At a stroke virtually all of our hill farms will be unviable.

The food industry is beginning to realise that the price of a trade deal with the United States will be acceptance of genetically modified foodstuffs, chlorine washed chicken and meat injected with antibiotics and fed on corn so they develop diabetes; and that is before we find out what China will insist on.

We are rushing headlong into a world that only the most rabid Brexit supporters would countenance.

Do not be fooled. Their strategy is to cloud the argument by blaming the Scottish Government for standing up for the people and hiding behind rejection of a second independence referendum.

It comes as a surprise, then, that I am totally in agreement with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Theresa May, the Prime Minister he wants to replace, when they state that they have a duty to acquiesce to “the will of the people”. When the Treaty of Union was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 1707 one other piece of business was enacted before business was concluded, namely, Act Salvo Jure Cuilibet.

This reconfirmed that, in Scotland, sovereignty rests with the people and in the European referendum Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain and this justifies the Scottish Government’s actions in standing up for the people.

David Stubley,

22 Templeton Crescent,

Prestwick.

THE three main points in the Brexit referendum in 2016 were, first, that the EU would give us a good deal because it needed to trade with us more than we needed to trade with it; secondly, that the rest of the world was eager to sign new deals with us; and, thirdly, that we would have a bigger role on the world stage.

At the time I doubted any of the above was true and now it is perfectly obvious that the power players we depend on to sustain this fantasy, from the EU to the United States to the foreign companies investing in this country, will act in their own interests and that we no longer have the heft to seriously fight our own corner.

Theresa May bet the house on President Donald Trump’s casual remark that he’d give us a “great deal”. The reality is that he has offered our airlines a substantially worse deal than the one they have at present with our EU membership.

We must renegotiate 700 such trading deals with other nations. That will be a neat trick.

Rev Dr John Cameron,

10 Howard Place,

St Andrews.

THE London Government appears set on dragging Scotland out of the EU against the wishes of a majority of Scots.

The Conservatives are keen to set up trade deals with the United States after Brexit but, in return for accepting imports of British goods, America will insist that we import foodstuffs that will include chlorinated chicken and beef injected with hormones.

Is this what we wish to see on our supermarket shelves rather than Scottish produce ?

Scotland needs to become independent so that we can remain in the single market and customs union.

Only then will we be able to keep such products out of Scotland and retain European rules that protect working conditions for Scottish employees and the quality and safety of our food; also, avoid restrictions on people from overseas being allowed to come here to work in our health service and help with fruit and vegetable harvesting.

Peter Swain,

Tyme Cottage,

Innerwick,

Dunbar.

I TOTALLY agree with Keith Howell (March, 6). The Scottish Government should simply roll over and accept whatever agreement the sterling team of EU negotiators that we have, led by the indefatigable Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnston.

The negotiators have so far shown that they know what they are doing over many issues including the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland and the implications for the Good Friday Agreement.

Aye, right.

Bill Robertson,

Inbye,

117 Old Greenock Road,

Bishopton.