Everyone claims to know 'the will of the people' – but there's only one real way to find out what it is

Latest news of Michael Gove ripping up reports simply confirms that there is no unity in the Cabinet and no simple way to implement the referendum result, which is not surprising as the question put to us was simplistic in the extreme.

It has been too easy for various factions within the government to claim that they and they alone know the will of the people. In fairness to them, Labour are doing the same.

Now surely it is time to help them all out by re-consulting the people with the questions omitted from the referendum. Put simply, these are:

What type of trade agreement do you want: to remain in the single market; to remain in a customs union; and/or to trade on WTO terms?

Do you want to renege on the Good Friday agreement?

Do you want a vote on the final agreement?

At least then politicians will be able to claim more honestly that they are following the will of the people.

John Simpson

Ross-on-Wye

The fact is that nothing happens in the EU until one minute before midnight and the ticking clock may be starting to work in Theresa May’s favour. If the EU 27 want a deal, national leaders will have to get involved, as she has long wanted. So far Barnier has done what she had hoped: made Davis, Fox and Johnson look ridiculous.

There's wiggle-room in the latest EU communiqué: “If the UK positions were to evolve, the union will be prepared to reconsider its offer.” That translates: "A deal is possible if she can blur the red lines on the single market, the customs union, the free movement of people and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice."

Those rejecting the May Way have two options: no-deal Brexit or a “people’s vote”. Neither has the legs for the Commons or a cabinet fearful of the PM Corbyn spectre. The DFJ trio is a busted flush; "new" Brexiteers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid are her people; Brexit's brain Michael Gove is on side. I think she's got the cards.

Rev Dr John Cameron

St Andrews

I disagree with Sunday morning’s editorial leader and think you are out of order. Jeremy Corbyn said that austerity is killing people, which it is: long waiting lists, stressed medics and withdrawn benefits are all the causes of this. He does not say that that was deliberate, but it is an undoubted consequence of austerity. And as such it is his duty to say so.

Joanna Pallister

Address supplied

Like many people with disabilities, I rely upon my wife to act as my carer on a daily basis. If my wife was not there to perform this role, I would be seeking assistance from social services so you could say that my (non-complaining) wife is saving social services money.

It may seem an easy task but “behind our curtains” my wife will clear messy faeces from around my posterior, clean a messed-up toilet, as well has handle soiled laundry. The angel that I married also handles a great deal more domestic chores than normal because I drop and/or spill a great deal because of my balance problems.

If you were to calculate a wage for this additional care and attention, even on minimum wage, it would not be unsubstantial. Yet, because the service provider (my wife) has reached pensionable age, we are unable to claim attendance allowance.

It is easy to state that my beloved is no longer at work but I would counter this by pointing out that she is taking on some very onerous tasks and, as previously stated, ensures that we are not drawing from an already tight social care pot.

Is it really so wrong to wish to see all care providers given a little assistance, even if those of pensionable age are given slightly less of an allowance? They are, after all, providing a vital service.

Name and address supplied

Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner for London, admitted to the Home Affairs Committee that it would be naive to assume that the reduction in police numbers had not contributed to the sharp rise in crimes across the board.

There was a snippet of information I read in this publication recently which informed readers that our trainee police force only receive two weeks training before joining their preferred force. As a probationer. In days gone by, the cadets would receive at least 14 weeks before allocation to a force.

Numbers of police have fallen drastically since 2010 to the lowest for decades, particularly in London, while rural areas seldom see a policeman. Hundreds of rurally located police stations have closed, leaving these areas vulnerable to crime sprees. In my area, we only see community police and then only sporadically. The area has experienced an increase of crime of late, especially drugs misuse and burglary.

But my real concern in the Independent article I read was that funding for youth services has been decimated – down from £145m in 2010 to £74m in 2017. Consequently youth crime and reoffending has risen.

If more isn’t done to prevent children from committing crimes, supporting them if they do turn to crime and are caught, and monitoring them while they negotiate their way back into society, we will have to imprison ever-increasing numbers of new and reoffending criminals.

Whoever believed that by reducing our police force and drastically reducing youth services the status quo could be maintained must be living in a parallel utopian world.

The austerity cuts of the past few years have blighted our country for years to come. Our daily lives have been marred by a steep rise in petty crimes and drug-related instances. Does anybody care?

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

Carbon dioxide is a relatively minor industrial product, the shortage of which is both temporary and unlikely to be repeated. There is, however, one essential resource, electricity, which government policy, here and abroad, is inevitably leading us to a dire long-term shortage.

As we continue to close fossil fuel burning and nuclear power stations, and replace them by wind farms, we are taking the path to shortage of supply, expensive electricity and frequent power cuts. In other words, we are heading away from a developed society with a high standard of living; something which very few people would knowingly vote for.

Because wind farms depend on the wind blowing, they can provide neither base load electricity nor switchable reserves. Pumped storage and diesel generator farms (which defeat the object of reducing carbon dioxide emissions) cannot remotely compete on cost with gas-fired power stations on spinning reserve and other conventional backups for electricity generation.

The carbon dioxide shortage is a major headache for some businesses, but a minor and temporary inconvenience for the general public. By contrast, the coming chronic shortage of electricity will be life-changing for us all.

Otto Inglis

Edinburgh