MR Hutchings’s stated acceptance of the need for the UK to avoid isolationism and individualism is, I believe, to his credit (Global outlook is the way forward for UK, Letters, November 12).

His attempts however to label the Remain campaign with precisely those negative characteristics the latter attributes to the Leavers is specious, misleading and ill-informed.

Historically, those advocating leave have seldom lauded the expansion of our horizons, hysterically preferring to concentrate on a questionable regaining of exclusive national sovereignty, defending state borders from a putative flood of migrants, looking for trading contacts which benefit first of all ourselves.

“But the world has now changed immeasurably”, argues Mr Hutchings. It is a little late in the day to steal the Remainers’ arguments.

That Europe has enlarged our educational, social, cultural and even political horizons, as well as securing to a significant extent peace amongst constituent nations, is ignored by Mr Hutchings, who seems unaware that Europe’s trading contacts also benefit us.

Europe, he says, resembles a “primitive (grouping) ... based on territory, religion or greed”. The UK on the other hand...

David Cragg-James,

Stonegrave, York

Can a second vote get us out of mess?

THE Conservatives fight like ferrets in a sack.

The Labour leader, on his magic unicorn, imagines that he can do what May cannot.

The Lib Dems endure the naughty corner, ignored for being smug enough to question leaving the EU since the start.

I’m still unsure about a second referendum. A referendum got us into this mess. Can another one lead us out of it?

The SNP alone saw the danger. Before the referendum they petitioned the Government that it was in the UK’s interest for any change to the constitutional settlement only to happen if all four nations voted for it.

Think about it. If Northern Ireland had voted Leave there wouldn’t be a problem with the border. Scotland would not be threatening to break up the UK. And the Leave vote would have had to be a convincing majority. It wasn’t. We have a stalemate. A 52 per cent In and 48 per cent Out second referendum result probably won’t sort it either.

When we get out of this, and we are not there yet, Parliament must pass legislation on minimum majorities required to change our “unwritten” constitution, to protect us from getting into this kind of self-destructive mess ever again.

Christian Vassie,

Wheldrake, York