Letter: Five Points for Mr Holliday

Published on: 13 Nov, 2019
Updated on: 15 Nov, 2019

Angela Richardson

From John Schluter

In response to: Most Importantly For Me, Angela Richardson Supports Leave

Where to begin with Christian Holliday’s letter?

First, as a passionate British European who wishes our country to remain a member of the European Union, I am grateful I am no longer liable to be charged with treason, as Mr Holliday once proposed that I and my like should be.

Second, for him to state his primary reason in voting for the Conservative candidate, Angela Richardson, is that she supports a controversial policy which the majority of her constituents did not needs a little bit more expansion. That isn’t exactly representative democracy, is it?

Third, his statement, “Democracy cannot be conditional on giving the answer expected by elites”, supposes no one has better qualifications to challenge the “stick it to the elite” message better than those champions of the proletariat, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and the down-to-earth Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Fourth, I would be delighted to see a comprehensive list of the myriad benefits which would be coming our way after we have left the EU, properly costed, please. This time, lies on a bus won’t count.

Finally, call me Mr Picky but I’d be a wee bit interested to hear what Ms Richardson has to offer on local matters should she be elected.

Responses to Letter: Five Points for Mr Holliday

Susan Hibbert Reply

November 13, 2019 at 1:48 pm

Well said, John Schluter. I too would dearly love to see an honest, and costed, lists of the supposed benefits of leaving the EU.
John Perkins Reply

November 14, 2019 at 12:32 pm

Politicians should be judged by their actions and not their names or any definition of class.

The referendum was UK-wide, not a local vote for local people, and no MP who promised to abide by it when standing for election in 2017 can be said to represent their constituents if they subsequently resiled. Estimates initially provided by Dr. Chris Hanretty, updated by the BBC and published by the House of Commons Library show that 409 parliamentary constituencies probably voted Leave. Had their MPs been representative then the Commons would have had a large majority in favour of Leave rather than the opposite.

It might be acceptable to describe the statements on the campaign bus as exaggeration, but to call them “lies” requires a definition of the word not found in any normal dictionary. The money, less any rebate, is paid to the EU and, if it were not, it could be spent on the NHS. That does make it easy to properly cost one benefit of leaving the EU: last year it was about £9 billion, or £13 billion if the portion which the EU chooses to spend in the UK is included.

Mr Picky should be aware that, until her nomination forms have been accepted, Angela Richardson’s opinion on local matters is no more relevant than that of anyone else.