WHEN dining out with a friend recently, he bemoaned the fact, that although a staunch Labour supporter all his life (we are now both in our 70s) he had lost faith in the Labour party and felt disenfranchised.

Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn had become the catalyst for his unhappiness.

I could not believe my ears, he had taken the words right out of my mouth - except the fact that I had always voted Conservative.

So now here we are, the two of us old codgers. We have been faithful to our preferred parties all these years, and because of the ineptitude of politicians over the last few years, we both feel disenfranchised.

So, who do we vote for now? The two-party, first past the post system for us is broken, but there is no alternative.

We need a new political party, some new dynamic younger politicians, we need proportional representation, and then we may bring the UK into a new era of honest and involved politics.

We both live in hope.

Stuart Wilson,

Vesper Drive,

Acomb,York

Stop this mess by revoking Article 50

THE British Parliament moves towards the endgame on Brexit, with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India advanced by Brexiters as magical alternatives to Britain’s current trade and investment relationship with the EU.

This is the nuttiest of the many nutty arguments that have emerged from the Land of Hope and Glory.

Much as any Australia, Canadian and New Zealand government of whichever persuasion would do whatever they could to frame new trade agreements with the UK, the bottom line is that their combined population of 65 million does not come within a bull’s roar of Britain’s adjacent market of 450 million Europeans.

The idea the Commonwealth could possibly substitute for Britain’s current economic arrangements with Brussels is an illusion.

Without a strong Europe, the continuing idea of ‘the West’ begins to look very weak indeed. And authoritarians around the world would like nothing more than a fully disembowelled West, no longer confident of what it stands for any more.

The analysis above is not mine. The words belong to Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia. May and Corbyn started this mess by triggering Article 50, the only failsafe way to stop it is to revoke Article 50.

Christian Vassie

Blake Court,

Wheldrake, York

650 MPs have defied the will of the people

History will record Tuesday March 12, 2019 as the day ‘democracy’ died in Britain. When a majority of 650 Members of Parliament defied the will of 17.4 million people.

Peter Rickaby,

West Park, Selby