Isn’t it time that Councillor Christian Vassie stopped whingeing over leaving the EU (Is this really a case of ‘taking back control?, Letters, January 4).

The record is stuck in the groove. Could he please move on - it’s divisive - and concentrate on improving York?

We’ve left the European Union. The remainers lost. Accept it.

I admire Boris Johnson, Lord Frost and the team for holding their nerve to secure a deal against all odds in the face of the EU’s intransigence. We secured all the main objectives - essentially a free trade and quota deal in order to gain our sovereignty.

Mr Vassie whinges about the fishing deal but why does he think that happened? The EU stole our waters when we joined and did he expect the French to concede and compromise? At least we got a 25 per cent improvement over four years instead of 14 years they wanted.

Mr Vassie is behaving is as badly as Donald Trump in denying the outcome of the American election.

Keith Massey, Bishopthorpe, York

 

Trade deal doesn’t make up for leaving the EU

Boris Johnson seems pleased with his deal. It may be better than no deal, but it won’t make up for leaving the EU.

I still fail to see why we put ourselves through the huge financial and time cost of Brexit, and the stress and loss to families and businesses. No-one seems to have an answer to this.

We always had parliamentary sovereignty and ‘control’. Because of Brexit, Parliament had less than one day to scrutinise a 1200 page bill which will have a massive impact on our futures.

Parliament had an unenviable choice: endorse a deal which introduces a mass of red tape and takes away many benefits we enjoyed as EU members, or vote against and end up with no deal, which would be disastrous.

It’s a bit like being given a choice between having your car stolen, or having it stolen and then returned broken with bits missing.

Mary Kendall, Wheldrake