IT is a pity that Bob Waite’s frustration with the Government’s progress on Brexit (Letters, November 22) takes the form of personal comments on individuals, none of whom has the power to resolve the issue.

The Brexit delay arises as the result of the view expressed by the Leave campaigners during the referendum debate that the UK would have no difficulty if it quit the EU of retaining access to the single EU market.

The statement made was that the EU member countries needed their trade with us no less, or indeed more, than we needed our trade with them, so that they would have to accept collectively any conditions we wanted to impose.

One after the other they are saying this is not the case.

Since a new agreement giving access to the single market requires the agreement by consensus of all 27 members, it only needs one dissenting vote to deny the UK access.

It is frustrating for Leavers but that is democracy for you. The alternative is negotiating 27 new individual bilateral agreements.

Maurice Vassie, Deighton, York