YET another diatribe from the doom and gloom merchants. Please let us face the fact that a bitter, squabbling marriage is over.

It is always difficult to accept that such a union is finished and there will be more arguments and disagreements. In a couple of years, when we have sorted out the finances, we will be able to work together better as friends than ever we were as partners — for the benefit of the children as responsible adults.

See the stock market. The FTSE is up, the DAX and the CAC40 are down and the DOW doing nothing. The pound is down — great for our exporters. It will rise again and you will see the financiers and bankers who are talking it down now will make another shed load of money having bought sterling cheaply. House prices have not fallen yet but if they do it will be good for first-time buyers.

Now we should look to our former friends and partners — EFTA and the Commonwealth — who are ready to do trade deals with us. Their outlook and beliefs are far more in keeping with ours than the muddle of the EU countries. Let us look out to the wide world, not to just the inward looking EU. How long would Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande last if they tried to stop Mercedes, VW, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and all the German and French wine producers selling to us?

There is talk of war and security. Consider the total disaster we have been responsible for in our meddling  as a ‘world power’ in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. We have destabilised half the Moslem world and made them our enemies. We try to foister democracy on countries who don’t want it and then our esteemed leaders make us live in an undemocratic union run by people who are unaccountable and have never been democratically elected to anything. Would Mr Obama and the Americans stand for that?

Do we really want to send our young men and women to war in a European army at the behest of unaccountable bureaucrats hiding away in Brussels? There is absolutely no reason why we cannot be a fully integrated member of NATO – the organisation which has kept peace in Europe since World War Two. The reason Russia is tetchy at the moment is solely caused by EU meddling on its borders.

Of course there is plenty of solid ground beneath us. We must, now, support our own manufacturing, farming and tourist industries and make them again the world leaders they once were. Buy British. We now have a chance again to trade with the world how it suits us without all the red tape and humbug which has been imposed upon us.

If you sit hiding in a darkened room saying ‘oh dear’ you will never see the enormous opportunities out there. There will be difficulties but we can make Britain ‘Great’ once more.

Ian Minshull

REGARDING the letter from Andy Houghton in last week’s Times; he said he was confused so I felt I must hold him to understand what we, who voted for Brexit, wanted. It’s very simple really, it’s to get our sovereignty back and have control over our country just like most countries in the world.

We want to be run by people we vote for and if they make a pig’s ear of it, we can vote them out. At least we will know who they are.

I realise that Ken Clarke said a few years ago that he would not be happy until parliament was no more important than county councils, well that would make me very unhappy.

Mr Houghton mentioned a mirage, no, it’s not like the mirage I was given by Ted Heath and then Harold Wilson. I was young and naive then and thought prime ministers were honest. What a laugh! What we ended up in was political not just trade. I am convinced we have got out just in time.

We may go through some ups and downs but the sooner the ‘In’ crowd accept the vote and help to improve our situation and stop the scare stories the better.

Dan Hunter

Tavistock

I VOTED Brexit because I could see a Europe being controlled by Germany.

Germany is trying to do politically what it could not do by two world wars. It’s plain to see that the present interest rate has been set by Germany for the benefit for Germany and not for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece who are struggling to exist.

When will the ‘remainers’ come to realise that with 27 other countries having a vote, we would never have full control over our destiny, and country. I am glad that we never had the Euro but if we had voted remain we would have been forced to adopt the Euro and all the money problems that comes with it. At least now we will not have to bail out Greece in the coming months/years ahead. 

Roger Cockayne