The EU’s patience with Boris Johnson is wearing thin – quite right, too

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Did the prime minister rush through the withdrawal agreement? (AP)

Our government’s behaviour regarding Northern Ireland would not be considered credible in a work of fiction.

They were repeatedly warned that Ireland posed an intractable problem for Brexit. Boris Johnson rushed a deal through to “get Brexit done” and signed on the dotted line without bothering to think through, or possibly even read through, the protocol. Having committed us to a deal with the EU that could never work for the people of Northern Ireland, it is now somehow the fault of the EU that it isn’t working and somehow the EU’s responsibility to fix it.

Having behaved with impeccable restraint in the face of repeated adolescent tantrums from the UK throughout the tortuous process, the EU’s patience is understandably wearing thin. Boris Johnson has only himself to blame for whatever fallout comes our way.

D Maughan Brown

York

Ed Balls is leading us out of the ‘dark ages’

Hannah Stephenson’s article, “Ed Balls on how his stammer made him stronger”, made me reflect that the “dark ages” are behind us in terms of stammering. Growing up in Ireland in the 1970s there was never a positive newspaper article about stammering; that was probably the case in every country in the world. Balls is doing a great thing by addressing his stammering; it helps young people who stammer who may need encouragement. I wish I knew about famous stammerers like Balls and the like during my youth in the dark ages.

Colm Ruane

Bronx, New York

Better fertility education

Dorothy Byrne’s laudable decision to introduce fertility seminars at single-sex college Murray Edwards (”Female students at Cambridge to be given fertility lessons,” 10 October) correctly highlights the need for better fertility education. However, fertility is not just a female issue and education is urgently needed for both men and women if we are to shift the paradigm from one of treatment to prevention in infertility.

Education has a fundamental role to play when it comes to achieving reproductive empowerment and equality but addressing this on ad hoc basis at college level is not the answer. We need a mandatory module dedicated to fertility education as part of the curriculum at secondary school level to ensure equal access nationally so that all young people enter adult life with knowledge on how to protect and preserve their fertility.

Alongside this, at societal level we need robust family friendly workplace policies and we must tackle the IVF postcode lottery so as to achieve equal and fair access for all those who need it. For women who wish or need to freeze their eggs when they are younger, there is a critical need to make egg freezing more affordable.

Education works, as evidenced by the impact the introduction of sex and relationships education had in reducing teenage pregnancies. I call on Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, to upgrade the current curriculum to include fertility education so that our education system prepares our young people for life, not just for work.

It can take a generation to make a difference so the time for action is now.

Dr Geeta Nargund

Medical director, Create Fertility

A lack of thought

Suggestions that the former editor of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Sarah Sands, wanted to remove “Thought for the day” from its important morning slot simply reflects the desire of certain sections in society to do away with contemplative thinking on current issues from a religious point of view, whether Christian or other faith. One of the values of freedom of speech is that one hears ideas from the perspective of others, and they might just help one’s own.

J Longstaff

East Sussex

Trees of life

The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the government-led national campaign, “Plant a Tree in ‘73”. I vividly remember bringing home my small sapling from school where every pupil had been handed one. Unfortunately it rapidly succumbed to the unwanted attentions of the family puppy but it would be fascinating to learn how many of those trees survived, as they will now be mature specimens.

Even better would be for the government to sponsor a similar campaign in 2023. It would be a clear and positive indication of their commitment to restoring the natural environment. What chance of an announcement at the Cop26 climate summit?

Robin J Bulow

Clacton-on-Sea