Boris Johnson is claiming victory in the Brexit negotiations, but the rest of the UK has lost

I have just read with astonishment that our prime minister is to claim victory in the Brexit negotiations.

Does Boris Johnson not realise that, not only has he lost, but the whole of the UK has lost as well? He has not won a thing.

Does he not realise this deal will be a death blow to the United Kingdom? Scotland and Wales will demand independence, shortly followed, I am sure, by Northern Ireland. It would not surprise me if the English regions ask for independence from this grossly incompetent government.

The workers of the UK will, over the next few years, lose all their hard fought for rights. The standards of our goods and services will plummet.

It is time we regained democracy in this country by dumping this government and having honest and fair elections, where the electorate get what they voted for, not a government that thinks it has the right to impose its will on all.

David Janes

Nottingham  

As always in such matters, the UK-EU Brexit deal will invariably throw up more than a few surprises, aside from the usual headlines heralding a British “victory” in negotiations.

The fact that, for example, seed potatoes are not to be included in the deal will be deeply damaging to our rural economy. Scottish seed potato farmers are one of the biggest exporters of potatoes, used in the production of chips and crisps, in the world. The sector in Scotland accounts for around 80 per cent of UK production and is worth about £122m annually. One fifth of these exports go to the EU, amounting to more than 20,000 tonnes a year.

This is clearly a disastrous Brexit outcome for Scottish farmers and, like all other aspects of Brexit, foisted on Scotland against its will.

A terrible negotiating failure on the part of the Tory government, and a devastating blow to an extremely valuable part of Scotland’s farming industry – I am sure it will not be the first damaging impact to be highlighted once the deal is fully analysed.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh  

The very fact that Boris Johnson is claiming victory in a deal, which will damage Scottish potato farmers as much as tertiary education shows the extent to which this country has rapidly sunk. 

There was no war. There has been no war with any European country since 1945. With the Attlee government and post-war concensus, the United Kingdom became a creative and manufacturing hothouse. Successive Conservative governments have been undoing this.

What shall we gain? What positives does this "victory" bring? I cannot see the inevitable break-up of the United Kingdom as a positive thing. And we shall have to endure the faux-triumphalism of a right-wing gutter press that has its own undoubtedly sinister but unarticuated agenda.

Michael Rosenthal

Banbury

As the prime minister waves a piece of paper in alleged triumph, exactly how much money has been wasted by the British government, and by British business at its behest, on a no-deal scenario invented solely for the purposes of political theatre?

Philip Goldenberg

Woking

The Brexit Deal took place on Christmas Eve and the Irish agreement took place on Good Friday. Is God involved?

Chris Holden

Bristol

The treatment of the lorry drivers at Dover is yet another disgraceful indictment of our government’s handling of both Covid and Brexit.

The late announcement of the variant Covid virus was mismanagement of the highest order and started the port crisis. The Brexit lack of preparedness at the port itself was in full public gaze. Our esteemed ministers have been telling us for months how well prepared we are for the end of the transition period. If this was the case, even the most basic of contingency plans would have considered the welfare of the truck drivers, so it does smack of the usual lies that emanate from this bunch.

Reporters have described the conditions for the truckers as horrendous. I am not surprised to see their frustration turn to anger. These key essential workers are now just festive pawns in a political game between UK and France. Tut tut to both nations in the season of goodwill.

Paul Morrison  

Glasgow  

Unless I have missed something in the past couple of days, Arthur Walmsley’s letter ('Our flawed vaccination policy’, 23 December) shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what the vaccine can achieve, as did Tony Blair’s recent article ('We are in a race against time – we must change our vaccine policy now', 23 December).

My understanding is that there is so far no evidence that the vaccine stops or reduces transmission of the virus to other people; it just stops the vaccinated person becoming ill. The plan of vaccinating those at schools and colleges first would therefore simply provide protection for those that are much less likely to become seriously ill anyway – but still leave their more vulnerable parents and grandparents just as exposed to infection from them as they are now.

John Mansford

Preston

I have just finished reading Patrick Cockburn’s article, ‘Boris Johnson is as incompetent as General Haig at the Somme – the price is 50,000 unnecessary deaths this year’ (18 December).

Unfortunately, this strikes me as absolutely true, a shocking indictment of a shambolic and corrupt government. However, like the bankers of the 2008 financial crash, they will undoubtedly get away with it. Completely wrong, but completely inevitable.

Kevin Alderson

Address supplied

Dear Santa,

It's nearly 70 years since I last wrote to you with a request for a Christmas present, so I hope you have not been offended by my silence.

All these years later, my request is not just for myself, but for all we poor sufferers putting up with the buffoons, liars and incompetents operating under the guise of our “government”. Can you please give us a special gift this year, and arrange for replacements?

I know we have had this “present” for more than a year, and have had multiple opportunities to request a replacement during that time, but our minds have been distracted. Now it seems beyond all hope of repair. Please help.

Sandra Kelly

Worthing