We already have the best deal – it’s staying inside the EU

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The good news is we’re part of the largest trading bloc in history which took 20 years to negotiate – integrating 800 million people and a quarter of the world’s GDP. The bad news is we’re on course to lose it all in October. Not only are we now likely to leave the EU without a deal; a ridiculous idea has taken hold that existing EU trading deals with over 60 countries might just be handed to us on a plate.

And there’s an even more ridiculous idea floated in extremist Conservative circles that we might improve upon deals decades in the making. What irony that our likely next PM’s understanding of Greek tragedy so dwarfs his understanding of global trade.

Stefan Wickham​
Oxted, Surrey

We have forgotten

Absolutely heartbreaking pictures from the Rio Grande river on the US/Mexico border showing the bodies of Oscar Ramirez and his daughter, who drowned while seeking asylum in America.

Over the next few days we shall hear calls for a change in policy, and requests for a more humanitarian approach to all the desperate people fleeing many serious issues in Central America.

Sad to say, after various platitudes and much hand-wringing, I predict that precious little will change in the day-to-day reality in that region.

After all, when you label refugees as criminals, diseased, benefit-seekers – I have even heard cockroaches – it takes a long time to return to a semblance of humanity.

Just take a look at the equivalent in Europe: are we helping those at sea? Are we using more compassionate rhetoric? And how many people still recall, Alan Kurdi, a young Syrian boy who washed up drowned on a Turkish beach four years ago?

Tragically, as pointed out by Patrick Cockburn, nothing has improved. If anything, it has only got worse.

Robert Boston
Kings Hill, Kent

Work with the big oil companies, not against them

The article on the accusations against Rachel Riley for “greenwashing” Shell prompted me to remind all the “green” organisations not to continually attack the big oil companies. Granted, many of their projects fly in the face of good environmental practice, but we need to woo these companies and eventually work with them to change their operations.

They are powerful, they are wealthy, they have many of the best scientists and engineers, and they have influence in the world. They are the sorts of organisations which, if converted to supporting green policies, could make a huge contribution to tackling climate change and promoting the best environmental activity.

D Corey
Redcar, North Yorkshire

HS2 isn’t so bad after all

Chris Blackhurst rightly points out that the under promoted point of HS2 is additional capacity through longer – and more of them – express trains on the new line. He could also have pointed out that taking a large number of express trains off existing routes frees those routes for additional capacity with local lower speed trains by reducing the time gaps needed to accommodate expresses. The HS2 line will also carry high speed freight. So HS2 is very much the wrong name. Change the ‘S’ to a ‘C’ for capacity.

Robert Forsyth
Deddington, Oxfordshire

General election now

Michael Clarke is quite right in stating that it is usually acceptable to change prime minister without an election because people have voted for individuals to represent them – usually under the name of a political party.

However, at the last election the Conservative Party quite clearly and repeatedly asked people to vote for “Theresa May and her team”, not for an individual. Having now decided to seek an alternative leader/prime minister there is no mandate for this change and the person chosen must call an election. Unfortunately I think that this is unlikely to happen.

Pat Johnston
Hexham​, Northumberland

She has form

It’s typical of Theresa May’s cynical opportunism that she spends the fag end of her premiership making grandiose promises that she won’t have to try to keep.

Dr Anthony Ingleton
Sheffield