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Brexit? Your heroes are laughing at you

Bill Williams missed every point I made in response to his letter.

I’ll try to focus in on what I see as the key to our disagreement.

Bill criticises the EU for its democracy deficit. I agree.

The EU’s competition rules favour business interests over states restricting big corporations.

We could look at the way the EU forced austerity policies on various EU countries in their insistence that workers pay for the profitability crisis of the fat cats.

But the problem is Bill believes in a fantasy alternative.

Most obvious is the repeated claim that the UK had a thriving economy before EU membership. It didn’t.

Bill (and others) also ludicrously say we will “gain back our country’s freedom again …”.

The truth is working people had little say before and will have little say afterwards.

This is well exemplified for me by Harold Wilson’s account of how the governor of the Bank of England told him he would not be able to make the mild reforms the electorate had just voted for because rich capitalists would use their economic power to stop him.

What little democracy we have had to be won against the rich who Bill waves his flag for.

The layer of rich Tory Brexiters, who Bill imagines we are in it together with under his flag, are as fervent in supporting cuts, privatisation, growing poverty etc as any EU bureaucrat.

Bill imagines he has more in common with the banker Farage, and millionaires like Rees Mogg and Boris Johnson than he does with a retired building worker in Germany or Paris. He is wrong and his heroes are laughing at him.

Peter Smith, Woodside Avenue, Swindon

Not so ‘English’

I know it’s a sporting issue and not really that appropriate for the Adver but I can’t help being amused by the statements being made by the football pundits about, ‘the four English teams being in European finals, the first since the dinosaurs ruled the earth’.

When you look at the amount of English/British players in those teams one must think, ‘English teams!’ How do they make that out?

It’s the same as the term, ‘English Football League’!

Just look at the amount of actual ‘English players’ involved and you will see what a joke it all is!

Oh Dear! I’m yawning again, so time for a quick nap.

Chris Gleed, Proud Close, Purton

Brexiteers are for the working classes

Martin Webb (May 13) is very keen to use the word Fascist about Brexiteers who want Britain to regain its independence from the EU.

Historically the word Fascist referred people who persecuted Jews but the Brexiteers have never made any criticism of Jews or the state of Israel.

The main problems that Brexiteers are fighting is the domination of Britain by the EU and the way that the housing shortage affects young people.

The young generation have been betrayed by high house prices and rents.

All working class people are steadily being made poorer by the housing crisis which is pushing up the cost of living.

The word Fascist should not be used to describe Brexiteers and people campaigning for better housing for the poor working class people of Britain.

Steve Halden, Beaufort Green, Swindon