As the clamour for a second referendum grows, and hopes of it actually happening rise and fall (Gardiner offers hope to campaigners for second EU referendum, 7 January), there should be wider circulation of the view that it is no bad thing to change one’s mind in the light of new facts. Perhaps the polymer £10 note featuring Jane Austen could be issued in a new edition, containing her sage advice: “It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.” (Pride and Prejudice).
Miles Hewstone
Oxford
• We are increasingly hearing of the Labour leader’s insistence that he will follow “the will of the people” if elected in any upcoming general election and pursue his version of Brexit. We are also increasingly hearing from large numbers of Labour party members of their desire for a people’s vote on this subject. How many people does it take to achieve a lightbulb moment for Jeremy Corbyn?
Vee Singleton
Framlingham, Suffolk
• So “Germany and Ireland have been consulting closely on a plan …to include promises that the Irish backstop will never need to be used” (What happens next, 7 January). Pardon my bewilderment (ongoing for this subject), but can somebody tell me what on earth is the point of having a backstop at all if it is agreed that it will never be used?
Steve Mason
Hornchurch, Essex
• If Theresa May thinks it’s democratic for her to ask MPs to vote several times on her Brexit deal, why is it undemocratic for the people to have a second vote on Brexit?
Liz Thompson
Oxford
• Thank you for your series of reports (Divided generations: How Bolsover’s young people turned their backs on the EU, 8 January), which are helpful, timely and foster empathy for other people’s point of view.
Anthony O’Neill
Glasgow
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