Let’s hope we don’t regret leaving the EU

“Remainers” seldom refer to EU integration because of concerns about elephants in the room, not imaginary mole-hills magnified into Himalayan Mountains.

H Thomas (WM letters, October 23) reminds me of runners asking short questions, requiring long answers, when approaching inclines.

Without supporting evidence, he asserts that Brexit will harm Europeans more than Britons.

Monthly UK exports to the EU are £300 per citizen. Monthly EU exports to the UK are £57 per EU27 citizen. A 15% trade reduction post a no-deal Brexit would depress UK monthly exports by £45 per head. EU losses would be £8.50 per head.

A 15% loss of EU sales equals 8.25% of the UK car industry’s income and 102.5% of profits. French and German car producers would lose 1.29% of revenue and 15% of profits.

The evidence is clear – Brexit losses will impact individual UK citizens and businesses far more than their EU counterparts. No EU business is considering relocating into Britain. Several UK businesses are considering quitting Britain.

Who will welcome new trade deals? Foreign firms generate most of Britain’s exports. With productivity double that of UK businesses, they already supply non-EU markets from existing facilities elsewhere.

Why are we so poor? The UK lies second to Lithuania in the EU/OECD table of income inequality.

Inequality has been rising in the UK since 1979. It is the result of deliberate UK government policy, and those who financed the leave campaign have been amongst its main beneficiaries.

For 12 years UK interest rates exceeded German ones by 55%, thereby stifling investment in the UK, as successive governments force-fed the greed of banks to the detriment of the rest of Britain. Is it any wonder that UK productivity lags other countries?

“Undemocratic EU.” Every member of the EU Parliament is democratically elected. It, together with the council of ministers, and not the commission, passes laws. There are 158 democracies on this planet. Only one appoints more Parliamentarians than it elects – the UK (750 lords 650 MPs).

“No one votes on ground of race.” Really? Three Indian and three Celtic candidates contested a two-member local government ward. The Indian candidates received 24% fewer votes than their Celtic running partners.

We leave the EU on Friday, March 29th. Let’s hope we don’t all feel foolish the following Monday.

JP Williams

Tregaron

Why not try moving matches to Summer?

How about summer rugby as an answer to the loss of young people, walking away from the game?

All the pro and test games carry on as now, but all games under pro level play through the summer.

Benefits: games played on Friday nights at 6pm, 6.30pm – leaving the rest of the night and all weekend for youngsters to go out and party.

Saving on electric by training and playing without lights, they are not needed.

Also it will give pro players who have lost form or have been injured a chance to regain form and fitness playing for their local club, benefiting both parties?

Are the WRU forward thinking enough to do this and save our game? Of course not. It will be the same old, same old until our game dies.

DG Wheeler

Neath

Animals may not see the fun in Hallowe’en

Hallowe’en means spooky fun, but it also poses some truly frightening dangers to cats and dogs, so people should take precautions to make the day a treat, not a trick, for everyone.

Keep sweets and treats out of animals’ reach, and make sure children and guests know not to share them with animals. Many animals can’t resist sampling treats – wrappers and all – that contain toxic ingredients such as chocolate and xylitol. Candles and carved pumpkins can cause burns and start fires, so make sure they are out of reach and can’t be knocked over.

Costumed visitors can make even the friendliest animals skittish and prone to bolting or biting. Stay with your animals in a quiet room, away from the door, and ensure that they’re microchipped and wearing collars with current ID tags, just in case. Walk dogs before trick-or-treat time, and always keep animals indoors – left outdoors unattended, they’re targets for cruel people, especially at this time of year.

Costumes can impair animals’ ability to see, move, and breathe, and they pose a choking hazard. So leave dressing up to the children, and let cats and dogs be their natural adorable selves.

Jennifer White

Media and Partnerships Coordinator, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta)

Why not just accept the result of the vote?

Kevin Sullivan is being economical with the truth when he claims in the Western Mail (letters, October 18) that we need a second referendum so that people like himself can make a reasoned decision.

It would appear that Remainers like him are so desperate to overturn the result of the People’s Vote in June 2016 that they are prepared to masquerade as the undecided hoping for some guidance about how to vote.

No, Mr Sullivan, we have already had a People’s Vote and the people made their choice. You don’t like it? That’s democracy. We are not going to accept the old EU ploy of demanding a second vote until you and they get the result you want.

If the result in 2016 had been to Remain we would no doubt be seeing letters from Mr Sullivan and his ilk urging us to accept the democratic will of the British people and they would vigorously oppose any attempts by Brexiteers to hold a second referendum, arguing that the largest vote in British history had been taken and a decision reached.

Well, that’s the position now, whether or not you like it. Live with it instead of whingeing from the sidelines.

Jayne Isaac

Maesteg

Second ballot would be an insult to voters

MR Terry Green says that my “You remainers lost – get over it” attitude does democracy no favours (WM letters, October 23).

These arrogant words were not mine. I simply disagreed with David Hands that a second referendum was democratic.

Mr Green’s wish to declare the 2016 referendum null and void is grossly undemocratic.

We’ve already had a people’s vote and a reversal of that would be an insult to the voters, a betrayal of democracy, and could be a massive source of trouble for the foreseeable future.

Douglas Davies

Porthcawl

Try the truth to tackle the trick or treaters...

I have read online different advice about how to deal with trick or treaters during Halloween but I’ll just tell them the truth – “I’m skint!”

Barbara MacArthur

Cardiff

Lord Hain is standing up for real justice

I find it rather “rich”, if you’ll pardon the pun, for Dominic Grieve to castigate Peter Hain for his arrogance at using parliamentary privilege to name and shame a businessman. He suggests that this undermines the rule of law.

Where has Mr Grieve been for the last few years? One could suggest that the justice figure that stands on the top of the Old Bailey has not been blind for some time. The one eye that covers the rich and famous is clearly wide open and staring down at the scales and noticing that they can be tilted with a large bag of money and or an equally large bag of privilege and celebrity. The other scales are failing to redress the balance with honesty and integrity. One could suggest this is my humble opinion, but there are many lawyers and barristers decrying the bias and the appalling reduction in legal aid.

I would suggest Peter Hain’s intervention will go some way to redressing the balance or at least highlight such inequality in the minds of the voting public.

Businessmen and celebrities with deep pockets could tip justice to avoid convictions, by just getting the right representation.

Methinks the establishment figures are more outraged at the fact that the system they put in place (NDAs) to protect themselves and their ilk under the guise of helping the ordinary citizen has been found out.

It is not enough that we the voters say there is one law for the rich, and now with the lack of legal aid much less law for the poor, we must assert our democratic right, protest strongly, and remember at the ballot box.

Thank you, Lord Hain, you may not be the most perfect person to cast the stone, but you have certainly highlighted a situation where once again Justice’s both eyes should be blinded, and the scales returned to their former equilibrium.

Glyn Scott

Barry