Conciliatory approach thrown back in UK’s face

I did not campaign and vote to leave the EU so our government could continue to meekly bow the knee to the EU, or kowtow to any of its governments including the Irish.

In the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum it was necessary to reassure our neighbours, and indeed the rest of the world, that the vote did not mean we were intending to retreat into isolationism but merely sought changes in our international treaty arrangements to take back control over our money, laws and borders, as the Leave side put it, control that should never have been ceded in the first place.

However, that phase has long passed, our government has been emollient to the point of nauseating smarminess, and it has all just been thrown back in our faces. And as far I am concerned it is simply not acceptable to have headlines about the arrogant EU setting deadlines for the UK to make progress on this or that.

However optimistic they may try to be, it should be clear to Theresa May and David Davis by now that the EU does not want any kind of ‘deep and special’ trade deal with us; we should never have been prepared to pay for the privilege of running a massive trade deficit with them; and we should never have entertained for even one moment the idea of paying them a bribe just to get trade talks started.

Dr DR Cooper

Belmont Park Avenue

Maidenhead