The scorn that John Harris heaps on Jeremy Corbyn and his team over their handling of the article 50 bill is not merited (The biggest threat to Labour is devotees losing faith, 10 February). The alternative to backing the unamended bill was to defy the verdict of the voters in the EU referendum and to risk electoral meltdown in the party’s northern heartlands. No responsible leader could have contemplated such a course.
As it is, while Labour has undoubtedly lost the battle of Brexit, it has hardly lost the war over the future of Britain. Having renounced economic liberalism, Theresa May says she wants to create an economy that “works for everyone”, but so far this is more rhetoric than substance.
If the Labour party starts to spell out its own plans for revitalising and rebalancing Britain’s economy, while simultaneously laying the foundations of a fairer and more cohesive society, there is still all to play for and no reason for any of its members, new or old, to give up in despair.
David Purdy
Stirling
• John Harris blames Jeremy Corbyn not just for triggering Brexit but even for losing the referendum. The Labour party could not have prevented either of those disasters; but, if it is to have any chance of winning in 2020, it will have to recover voters lost to Ukip in 2015. “Accepting the will of the people” may turn out to be a perfectly sensible political judgment on Corbyn’s part, even if it upsets some remainers.
More imminently, there is a byelection in Stoke, which voted overwhelmingly for leaving the EU. Paul Nuttall has been on television, saying Labour opposes Brexit. If people had reason to believe him, it would greatly increase his chance of winning.
David Pole
Bridgend, Wales
