Sir, – Well done to The Irish Times on publishing a wide range of views on Brexit in recent days (Letters, December 29th, 30th). As an avid British reader of the paper and a committed Leaver, it is good to hear a range of different perspectives from other readers. The mixed response to Fintan O'Toole's most recent article on the subject is understandable ("It's the first birthday of the Brexit hole and they have to keep digging", Opinion & Analysis, December 28th), but the moderation of some of the views is particularly welcome.
I can see that when writing an opinion piece it is fair enough for O’Toole to take a strident position, but even setting aside his firm approach, some of the language he uses is a little over the top. Just to pluck out a few phrases, “the hole that is Brexit”, an “obsession of cranks and loons”, the country’s “weakness and desperation” and “slither away from blame” is hardly a tone designed to encourage thoughtful debate. I daresay he doesn’t want to be moderate, and he has that right, but would it not be possible for Brexiteers and Remainers, particularly outside the UK, to try to disagree a little better? For example, it is reasonable for Leavers to argue that the consequences of leaving have not been as disastrous as Remainers predicted: no stock market or banking collapse, no 500,000 jobs lost (actually, the reverse), no £4,300 fall in average family income.
Equally, Leavers should admit that arrangements for Northern Ireland are at least problematic and potentially disastrous, and that the UK fishing industry is not happy (so far) with the way things have turned out. We are definitely not in the sunny uplands, but we are not drowning in our own stupidity either.
Truth can sometimes be dull and it appears to be so with Brexit. It is neither the disaster Remainers feared nor yet the paradise for which some Leavers might have hoped. – Yours,etc,
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DAVID HARRIS,
Poole,
Dorset, UK.