Brexit day needn’t be about loss – it gained us the title of ‘second-biggest laughing stock on the planet’, didn’t it?

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Now that we have left the EU – ​yes, I know there is a transition period – we are hearing copious predictions about all the things we are about to lose.

Therefore, I thought it wise to mention the things we have actually gained over the last three and a half years to enable some balance.

Firstly, mainly thanks to the woeful Theresa May, we have seen criminals empowered across our country, not only due to a lack of police numbers but also down to a creaking justice system from top to bottom.

Next, we have gained a small army of emboldened vile racists. I am sure we have more casual racists also but it is the former we see on our screens and printed media, in my case I have seen them first-hand on College Green.

Another gain is the gratitude of the kingpins in the egregious human trafficking racket. Now we are not in the club, why should France, Belgium and others help us any more than the bare minimum? Inextricably linked is the under-funded, under-supported and under-manned Border Force – human smugglers must be laughing.

Last but not least, we have gained the epithet of the second biggest laughing stock in the developed world – no prizes for who is first. At least we can possibly lose this one quickly now that the execrable rabble, known as the Brexit Party, have left Brussels.

Yes, to sum up, we have a lot to be proud of!

Robert Boston
Kingshill​​

Plain sailing

The Brexit boat may have sailed, but it is a ship of fools.

No credible, independent study ever demonstrated that the UK would be better off outside the EU. If a comprehensive cost and benefits analysis was ever carried out, it was not made public. No meaningful feasibility study was undertaken.

Basically, Brexit is a victory for ignorance.

Richard Walker
Malvern

Chlorinated chicken

Why on earth would we want to import chicken from the USA?

Regardless of food hygiene standards, what about “food miles”?

Meat hygiene standards should be paramount, having read that the coronavirus possibly originated from a seafood market.

We should be working towards better standards if we are to continue eating meat and fish, and not destroy the welfare standards the majority of UK farmers support.

Unless we all become vegan, we must demand better animal rights by only eating free-range and organic meat that can be traced back to farms they were reared on.

If we can’t give up meat, we should eat less, but make sure we know where it comes from. Ask pertinent questions, talk to your butcher before you buy meat to satisfy yourself of its provenance.

We must continue to support UK farmers by encouraging them to achieve the highest standards in meat production.

We certainly don’t need to import USA chicken, whether chlorinated or not!

Geoffrey Rees
Hertfordshire

Tackling homelessness

Boris Johnson said in people’s PMQs that he would sort out homelessness by tackling the root causes.

Well, that would be poverty pay, zero-hours contracts, Universal Credit and high housing costs.

Can’t see that happening somehow! In the last 10 years, these issues have exacerbated the problems we have, with many one paycheck away from eviction.

You will have seen the numbers for those found fit for work, who die or end their lives in poverty. It’s a national shame.

As a benefits adviser, I have some solutions, not all, but we can improve things if we really want to. Johnson, you know where I am if you need me.

Gary Martin
London E17

A vision for the BBC

I have a dream. No, not that one.

I dream of being put in charge of the BBC... and then spending the next two to three months completely dismantling it.

I would sell off the shows, the equipment, the real estate, the allocated frequencies, the old recordings and send the lot of the “stars” packing, so they might realise just how (un)popular they are.

Any money left over would go for fixing the roads and for a few extra policemen.

Where do I apply for this dream job?

Fred Nicholson
Address supplied

Overlooked canyons

David Shobbrook is right (Letters, 29 January); only canyons (or gorges if you like) seen by travel journalists get air time. I’ve visited the Grand and Fish River Canyons and both undoubtedly impress. But neither match the isolated, desolate grandeur of the Indus gorge, reaching depths of 5,000 metres as it skirts the breathtaking Nanga Parbat massif in northern Pakistan.

In fact, few areas of the world match the isolated, desolate grandeur of northern Pakistan’s breathtaking mountainscapes. But I don’t expect to see anyone write about it anytime soon.

Marc Patel 
London SE21