Brexit is not about sovereignty – it’s about restoring the class system

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Posh boys such as Jacob Rees-Mogg have jumped eagerly on board the Brexit bandwagon (PA)

Will Gore is right to draw attention to the cavalier tactics of extreme Brexiteers (“The vilification of Soro shows we are at the mercy of Brexit conspiracy theorists”). But the malignment of individuals such as George Soros is just part of the overall strategy.

Having recently researched my family history back to the 18th century, it’s clear to me now what Brexit is really all about and why posh boys such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson have jumped so eagerly on board. True, on one level my research just confirmed what we already know about the Victorian era and the early decades of the 20th century. But to view it through the prism of your own family history comes as a shock.

Here was a society where the lid on working-class aspiration was clamped firmly and unyieldingly in place. It was not until the 1960s that anyone from my family could afford to go on to further education. Before that it was a never-ending story of youthful promise snuffed out, of a “gig economy” where if you lost your job you starved, and if a wife lost a husband she would swiftly find herself a “pauper”.

Healthcare was virtually non-existent and education beyond school-leaving age prohibitively expensive. Sound familiar? OK, we still have the NHS. But only just. And the welfare system that was the envy of the world is being wilfully and cynically “reimagined”.

The truth is that, for the likes of Rees-Mogg and Johnson, Brexit is not so much about sovereignty as about restoring a “natural order” lost in the aftermath of the First World War. If the Brexiteer militants succeed, this country will find itself in a very dark place indeed. The millions of voters – many of them working-class – who followed the pied piper’s tune back in June 2016 need to realise what is really happening, and what they were really voting for, and press for a second referendum now, before it’s too late.

Rob Prince
London

A late start could help our children

Would education minister Nick Gibb please consider the following: making children sit exams every year already happens in most schools and, far from relieving the pressure by “helping them get used to it”, this actually means they are under continual pressure.

Adolescent mental health could, however, be significantly helped if their school day started at 10 or 11am to fit in with their natural body rhythms, something that has been widely reported and advocated after many studies.

Helen Watson
Goring Heath

Remain MPs should join forces with the Lib Dems

Why on Earth don’t the Remain MPs of the Conservative and Labour parties walk across the House and set up stall with the Lib Dems?

With enough desertions (not that many), combined with the current lack of Tory majority, the Lib Dems could easily get into the position where they hold the balance of power.

In those circumstances, the Government would quickly find itself facing a difficult decision. Either call a general election and risk a Corbyn win, or agree to the Lib Dem demand for a second referendum.

Come on Soubry, Clarke, Starmer, Benn et al – put your money where your mouths are. Play the ace!

Richard Ferraro
London

Our European identity is not for sale

All Brits now are European citizens with enshrined rights in European law. For many, like me, that creates a more nuanced identity. In a landmark case brought by a group of Brexpats, the European Court of Justice will decide if anyone can remove those rights, once bestowed. My rights would necessarily be violated if a new legal agreement between the UK and EU subsumed my European identity and the rights that come with it. That identity is not for sale in trade talks.

Stefan Wickham
Oxted

Schools don’t support children with special needs

I write in reference to the story about schools “lying about being full” to parents of vulnerable children.

This happened to me and my son after he started year 7 at one of the best, if not the best, boys’ school in central London. My son became very ill just before the first term finished – his health was just not improving. Eventually in December 2013 he was diagnosed with a genetic illness – he was born with it, but often the complications arise during puberty.

I thought the school would help us: how wrong I was. Their help came in the form of putting him in the downstairs in what they called the “protective learning room”, which in simple words means “room for trouble makers that disrupt lessons”. My son is the gentlest quiet person, never got in trouble ever, overachieved in every single subject – he was in fact being punished for being ill.

They had no arrangement even for those who were temporarily unable to go up the stairs due to a broken leg. As an example, they would have to stay at home until healed. I requested many times to speak to those in charge. Normally, apart for a couple of times, no one would appear, leaving us waiting for hours in the reception, we would give up and go home.

I was worried that he was missing so many lessons and his mental health was also declining. I decided to start home schooling, I have a suspicion they were very relieved and happy that they got rid of a burden. This school has no disabled access at all not even for the reception.

Soon after I asked another school nearby, one that is fully disabled-friendly, if they could accommodate my son. By then he needed a wheelchair to be out and about. I got a straight no, no space. So he’s been home schooled for the past four years, starting his GCSEs this summer.

Name and address supplied

No conspiracy theories here

I am not quite sure which event surrounding political guru, Nick Timothy, is the more worrying? Firstly he appears to be fuelling conspiracy theories concerning George Soros, who, as most sane people realise, is a benevolent individual and should not be subjected to the vile accusations emanating from some East European states. Next, it is reported, that Theresa May is still in contact with said adviser, and presumably taking note of his ideas.

When will the Prime Minister learn?

Robert Boston
Kingshill