Hands up, TNE readers, if you thought Johnson would sack Patel. No takers? Hands up if you knew he wouldn’t but thought he should. Full house, I suspect.
Repeat the process with the Brexit questions. Hands up if you think:
- we’ll be better off economically and our influence in the world will increase;
- we’ll be more secure and our social class divisions will decrease;
- we will benefit from the removal of freedom of movement.
Your arm will not be getting tired. Trouble is, just as there were 70 million people in the USA who thought Trump should be re-elected, there are lots of Brits who are delighted that Patel is staying on and that we’ll finally be free of the pesky EU.
After all, what did the EU ever do for us, and given English monolingualism, so well illustrated by Peter Trudgill last week, they know all they need to do is keep on saying the same things, shouting them when we duffers don’t understand. What’s the harm in a bit of bullying and invective if apparently stupid people have the temerity to disagree with you? Just drown out the arguments, that’s what democracy is about!
Phil Green
Pity the teaching profession. Their job has always included teaching and reinforcing good behaviour. Currently, they have to do this against a backdrop of the government openly teaching our children that bullying, lying and cheating are not only behaviours people can get away with, but also even profit from!
Jeremy Chopping
Bedfordshire
• Have your say by emailing theneweuropean@archant.co.uk. Our deadline for letters is Tuesday at 9am for inclusion in Thursday’s edition. Please be concise – letters over five paragraphs long may be edited before printing.
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