Rafael Behr is surely right that the biggest challenge in mobilising voters on Brexit is that they are bored with it (The remainers’ big problem? Voters have switched off, 11 September).
No one in Britain believed Hitler was a real menace until the Panzers arrived at Dunkirk and bombs fell on London docks.
Similarly, until the rights we enjoy under European Union laws are lost and foreign firms say with regret that they must relocate to stay within the customs union and single market, no one will take Brexit seriously. The idea of a “final deal” sometime this autumn is also wrong. There may be a withdrawal agreement and then the legendary EU can is kicked down the road until 2021 or even longer in a transition period.
Brexeternity now beckons, and those at the TUC or in the Commons who say the decision on consulting people can wait for a final, final deal are going to spend a long time hanging around as Brexit continues to suck the life juices out of politics and good governance.
Dr Denis MacShane
London
• About 100 years ago (summer 1915) my grandfather was one of the youngest members of the Russian parliament (fourth Duma). In his memoirs, during his exile in Guildford, he wrote:
“The inertia of the government, its bad preparation, its inadequate behaviour at the most serious moments, stood out and was clear to everyone. Right at the heart of the government and in the administration of the country, complete chaos reigned. Ministers argued with each other and not only was there no collaboration, but on the contrary, they often worked against each other.”
Look what happened.
Peter Zinovieff
Cambridge
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