LETTER: Let’s not bury our heads in the sand over Brexit

Many Brexiteers flippantly say ‘Don’t worry - we can trade on WTO rules after Brexit’. I wonder how many of these people understand what WTO rules mean?

They are, as the name suggests, rules which must be obeyed. Being in the EU protects us from this.

Boris Johnson flippantly says the UK will not impose tariffs on goods imported from the EU in order to keep prices from rising after Brexit. Under WTO rules, if we offer terms to one country then we are legally bound to offer the same terms to the rest of the world.

Our markets will be flooded with cheap imports from all over the world and this will destroy our own manufacturing, farming etc - we simply won’t be able to compete on price. This is because in the UK wages are higher than many countries and these costs have to be added to the end price.

Last week the oil refiners said they won’t be able to compete with cheap imports of petrol from the likes of Russia and will likely have to close. What then happens to north sea oil? If we can’t refine it there is little point in bringing it into the country. Imagine in five years time when we are 100 per cent reliant on importing petrol from other countries. Once we are so reliant they will put the prices up and bankrupt us.

Tony Taylor, Grassholme, Woodthorpe, York

We’ll have to eat best of British after Brexit

The pro EU zealots continue their Project Fear campaign with scare rumours of food shortages when we leave the EU in October. If foreign imports are affected, perhaps people will start eating the best of British. Who needs more than our lovely home-grown potatoes, carrots, peas, sprouts and cauliflowers, along with our sausages, beef, pork and lamb.

Milk, cereals, with bread and its accompanying jam and marmalade, or the huge selection of our own cheeses mean we will then be eating proper food.

Geoff Robb,

Hunters Close, Dunnington, York