Reluctantly I must agree with Andrew Smith (We do not need EU rules, Opinion, May 7) that Britain will leave the EU. What needs now to be decided is when the transition phase ends and with what trading agreement. The current emergency makes negotiations very difficult and it is therefore logical to delay leaving until both sides can concentrate and when Parliament and the public can be kept informed. This is logical to all except those who want us to crash-out with no deal and when it is impossible to distinguish between the economic downturn caused by Brexit and that caused by Covid-19.

We keep being told about how the EU “rules” are hampering our future, usually by those wo forget that most of these rules were agreed when Britain was a member and could have vetoed any which were not in our interest. Rules can protect ordinary people from “the rich and powerful” and without them they will become more rich and more powerful to the detriment of the rest of us!

Chris Sumner

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