IT IS seldom possible to agree with Tony Molland, but last week he managed to get one thing right: “Surprisingly, there still remains a British naivety about Brexit” (“UKIP still have role” Gazette, March 9, 2017). 
Mr Molland, well behind in his thinking, is still peddling the idea that Brexit is a good idea. It isn’t. 
Even Government ministers are now being told not to mention Brexit, as “it doesn’t poll well.” No arguments were won in the referendum. A barrage of lies and misinformation deluded the British voter. We now know that the Leave campaign’s PR advisers told them to fight on emotions, not facts, because the facts did not support their case. 
They couldn’t win the argument, so they shouted the other side down. The result: A deeply divided country facing the prospect of economic, political and social damage for many years as a result of the efforts of Mr Molland and his cronies.
Leaving the EU will put up the cost of living for everyone, but especially working people. It will make little change to immigration and will result in businesses moving part or all of their operations out of the United Kingdom. 
Wiltshire farmers will face bureaucratic obstacles and steep tariffs if they want to export meat or dairy products to the rest of the EU.
There are no great new markets to be won; the UK already exports to every country in the world, bar North Korea. Where new trade agreements (to replace the beneficial EU agreements currently used) have been discussed – Australia, China, India and the USA, for example – each country has asked the UK to allow a greater flow of its citizens to the UK as part of any future deal. Mr Molland might want to explain why it is better to have more Australians, Chinese, Indians and Americans here than French, Germans, Italians and Poles.
Let us generously suppose that beneficial new trade agreements could be negotiated. It will take many years, and meanwhile disadvantageous WTO tariffs will apply (much worse for the UK than EU tariffs). There is little hope that the pound will strengthen while the negotiations drag on. To offset the current 20 per cent depreciation of the pound against the dollar the UK will have to sell 20 per cent more just to stay in the same place. 
The houses Mr Molland wants won’t be built unless we keep freedom of movement with the rest of the EU. There are not enough British workers available, and there is no reservoir of untapped local talent. If Mr Molland could bother to brief himself on how social housing is allocated he would know that points are already awarded for local connection. 
SIMON EVANS
Devizes