Steve Maxwell (Letters, March 30) seems to misunderstand the purpose and legal structure of the EU.

The 28 members have come together to form the biggest trading bloc in the world.

As such, the EU has the clout to negotiate the very best trade deals with other countries, which all the EU member states, including the UK at the moment, benefit from.

This means that the individual countries do not negotiate on their own, and indeed have agreed not to, in order to take advantage of agreements which they could never negotiate by themselves.

As long as they remain members of the EU the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and all the rest will never negotiate unilaterally with the UK.

And why would they want to leave the biggest trading bloc in the world? Why do we?

Remember, we do around 50 per cent of our trade with the EU.

They do around eight per cent of their trade with us.

Who’s going to hurt most?

Anthony Day

Lastingham Terrace, York

I fear we could see civil unrest over EU

Does Rachael Maskell, pictured in The Press on March 22 with her ‘Love Socialism, Hate Brexit’ placard, really believe there is any room for socialism in an EU run on principles of neoliberal free-market capitalism and austerity?

EU state aid and procurement rules alone will put a stop to Labour’s policies of public ownership and ending creeping privatisation of public services, including the NHS.

And free movement of cheap labour will continue to keep wages down and jobs insecure.

Rachael voted in favour of the referendum and the early implementation of Article 50.

If she and others in Westminster now succeed in reversing the biggest democratic vote ever cast in this country’s history, they will have disenfranchised 17.4 million British citizens.

I fear we are heading towards civil unrest, violence against politicians, an increase in xenophobia, and a rise in support for the far right.

Colin Hall,

Tower Place, York

Dishonourable is word for our MPs

THE word that currently prefixes the name of an elected Member of Parliament should in future be changed to “Dishonourable”.

Peter Rickaby,

West Park, Selby