ES Views: Does this latest vote signal a betrayal of the Brexiteers?

I’m not sure what to make of the Brexit vote in the House of Commons.

From the cheers, one might deduce that some MPs see this as one more step towards staying in the EU. The campaign to derail Brexit started soon after the referendum and has now taken hold. The Leave side surely now needs to re-emerge and argue its case and knock down the arguments to remain.

As someone who expended time, money and resources in support of the Leave campaign, I get the feeling that a betrayal is coming my way.

If that happens, I have to ask myself: what is the point in voting if my vote means absolutely nothing?
Paul Lebby

My generation may have swung the referendum in favour of invoking Article 50 but now the possible consequences are becoming clearer. As much as it might upset some people, since we started this process I think we should also have the final say on any deal.

I believe we could cope even though such a ballot would need a transferable vote choice between a hard Brexit, soft Brexit or staying in the EU.

Politicians should be our servants, not the other way around. With this latest vote, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Mike Cobb

Theresa May could have saved herself a huge amount of trouble if she had decided to treat Brexit on a multi-party basis, with people such as Keir Starmer and Vince Cable fully involved in the negotiations — a coalition for this issue alone.

She would then not be in the position of having to look over her shoulder the whole time to try to keep her minority of hardline Brexit supporters on board. It has been a case of putting party before country on the biggest issue since the Second World War. In truth, though, all Brexit has done is divide both main parties.

Could she not, at this late stage, bring in the opposition parties, instead of relying on the DUP to keep her afloat?
Alan Pavelin

For once, Parliament has done its job in standing up for itself and the country. Too often in recent months the whips have had their way and MPs have put the wishes of party bosses before what was clearly the right course. Let’s have more of this.
Rev Andrew McLuskey

Nothing mature about a Trump visit

Your editorial [Comment, December 12] suggests that it would be “mature” of Londoners to follow the lead of President Macron and welcome Donald Trump. But the difference between London and Paris is that Trump has attacked the culture and values of London on many occasions.

From his campaign accusation that parts of London are so “radicalised” that there are areas where the police can’t go, to his tweets after each terrorist attack which merely make self-serving points about his travel ban or gun control, he has only ever shown himself to be opposed to everything that makes this city great.

We must also remember that Trump has been accused of aggressive sexual behaviour towards women. To ignore this just because we hope our economy will benefit from trade with the US is no more “mature” than it was for the Hollywood establishment to turn a blind eye.
Séamus McGrenera

Christian schools can be divisive too

While I agree that faith schools should not encourage segregation, I feel it was slightly disingenuous for your editorial to focus on Islamic and Jewish schools to highlight the issue [Comment, December 13].

Possibly the most disturbing case of religious intolerance was actually in a Church of England school, where a rastafarian pupil was removed from class, placed in isolation and ordered to cut off his hair. The CofE has remained strangely silent on the issue.

Are the British values of individual liberty, tolerance and mutual respect not something we should adhere to?
Rashid Nix, equalities spokesperson, Green Party

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Let Millwall stay in their spiritual home

As a long-time supporter of Wimbledon FC, Wednesday was a day of huge celebration, knowing the club would at last be returning home.

The club left Plough Lane in 1991 at a time when local authorities thought of football clubs as irritations rather than being the heartbeat of communities. But my joy was cut short by the simultaneous news that Millwall FC may be forced out of Bermondsey by a local authority that appears to have learned nothing.

I hope every supporter in the country will put aside any rivalries and back Millwall in their fight to stay in their spiritual home.
Dr Peter Grant

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