Letter: C Shakesheff

C. Davies seems to think Switzerland has frictionless borders. In reality, there are 100 or so very well manned border crossings on the Swiss frontier. As for free-trade deals, although trade minister Liam Fox has travelled the world in search of easy trade deals, he has come back empty handed. This is no surprise; non-EU countries would prefer to deal with the EU than with Britain if only because the EU represents a bigger market. The EU is already negotiating a deal with Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, the country most favoured by Liam Fox and other Brexiters is the USA, a country led by a man who makes and breaks deals at will and only cares about America. Paul Drechsler, President of the Confederation of British Industry has said that without a customs union sectors of manufacturing society risk becoming extinct. He has also said independent trade deals will not bring any material economic benefit to the UK. Our own Government has said that all of the possible options for leaving the EU would leave us the poorer. That’s not what people voted for in the referendum and it’s why we need a vote on the Government’s terms for leaving.