Theresa May’s hypocrisy has reached new heights if she’s really trying to win over union leaders

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Now the PM cares about workers’ rights? (AP)

As a lifelong active trade unionist and shop steward I laughed out loud at the news Theresa May was grovelling before the very union leaders she has previously treated with contempt, in a desperate attempt to get her Brexit deal approved by parliament.

For decades now trade unions have been fettered by draconian anti-union legislation introduced and sustained by the Conservative Party which May leads. Only now we are supposed to believe that May – who has generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights in her parliamentary career – now cares about workers’ rights.

Her overture to Len McCluskey and Tim Roache opens the question as to whether the union leaders will throw Theresa May a lifeline in the name of a mythical “national interest”.

I hope they recognise her for the implacable class enemy she is and tell her to f*** off.

Sasha Simic
London N16

The UK may not have the unilateral right to exit the backstop but the UK will not be paying into the EU budget (unlike the transition agreement). Surely other member states will not tolerate, for long, any club membership without paying the fees, and the longer the UK stays in the backstop the greater the savings that can be directed to the national interest.

May is honouring Leave voters by abiding by the principle of taking back control from the EU. Any variation to her agreement could cede control back to the EU and would have to be unequivocally better than our current member status. The negotiations have created escalating tremors of division within the Commons, while the framework of social and economic structures have been in place. A no-deal crashout could be volcanic unless you believe those structures are fully prepared for the fallout. Brexit was never going to make everybody happy and never will, but the people have spoken by majority.

The Commons voted with an overwhelming majority in favour of an EU referendum and now it is time to honour the outcome. The Commons has a responsibility to vote in the national interest next week.

Name Supplied
Kent

This Brexit will please no one

We now know that the electorate had a variety of reasons for voting for Brexit, including government failure over many years to listen to voters’ frustration on a range of issues unrelated to the EU. However it is very clear, and almost every TV vox pop confirms it, that the one issue overriding all others was a dislike of high levels of immigration and a wish to end EU free movement.

Leaving the EU with a Norway-style deal would involve continuing costs and a complete loss of influence on future EU policy affecting the UK. How could this possibly be better than what we already have within the EU? Most significantly, it would also fail to give Brexit voters the one thing that they most fervently (and it has to be said, most unrealistically) demanded: a drastic cutback in immigration. That, for most of them, was what the referendum was all about.

Gavin Turner
Norfolk

Brexit will remain an enigmatic challenge for generations to come.

The dark forces of nationalism; colonial nostalgia; unpalatable policies regarding social welfare, the NHS, education; anti-establishment distrust; the migration crisis; and the yawning chasm between the rich and the poor have led to Brexit.

This should be seen within the full panorama unfolding across Europe. It is time to unite against such dark forces or be dragged into an unknown abyss.

Dr Munjed Farid al Qutob
London NW2

There is a way out of this Brexit impasse

The United Kingdom should revoke Article 50 and remain in the European Union. At the same time this announcement is made, it should also be announced that before the end of this parliament there is going to be a referendum to decide whether the British people want to control their borders. If the result is yes, that decision should be implemented in the name of democracy.

What would the European Union do next? Well they have not done much against countries both inside and outside the EU that have gone against their wishes. The most likely outcome would be a compromise, especially on the number of EU citizens that can enter the United Kingdom at any year. Would they implement Brexit? I do not think so but let them.

After all that is what the British people have decided anyway. Controlling the borders would not only let people that this country needs in, but hopefully more refugees that need security more than most. It will also demonstrate how undemocratic the EU is and it might save it from itself, because if it continues as it is, it will eventually disintegrate.

Ronis Varlaam
London N8

When fake news goes left-field

For once a fun fake news story. The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison put a family photo on his web page, but not before someone from his office got to it. He was wearing gym shoes which some may have considered too common, so one of his staff photoshopped better shoes which did not have any obvious branding.

The only problem is that they seem to have used two left feet in shoes.

Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia