MANY wish that the Gazette’s weekly correspondent Mr Molland (‘‘Former chairman Devizes UKIP’’) would now put down his pen and fade from view. His party is redundant. He and his colleagues, assisted by a handful of opportunistic right-wingers from other parties, have successfully completed their dirty work and we are to leave the EU. He may not crow about the result. Half of the country (less 1.9 per cent) feels very differently about what has happened.

Almost as soon as the result was announced the chickens were coming home to roost. Financial organisations across the globe had predicted that leaving would be very bad for the UK economy but the ‘leavers’ didn’t listen. The current picture is bleak, the pound is very weak and we are almost certainly heading for another recession. The leavers’ appalling lies about immigrants and claims that freedom of movement could be stopped or reversed, a barely credible cry before the vote, is now confirmed to be very unlikely if we are to retain trade with our former colleagues in Europe.

As for that laughable claim that £350m per week would suddenly be available to spend on the NHS if we left the EU is now admitted, even by the leavers, to have been another foolish lie. Sadly, many were misled by the lies and voted to leave.

Many people have been left feeling cheated, angry and even ashamed of what this country voted to do. We have had a long and profitable relationship with Europe and many UK residents feel ‘European’ in a very real sense. An enormous number of benefits have arisen from that relationship and much of it will be lost over the next few years.

Apart from the economic, security and defence benefits that came from being part of a larger group, less well-known advantages have been enjoyed too through the sharing of resources, funding and collaboration in scientific research, education and the arts. Many professionals who work in these sectors are reeling at the prospect of trying to continue their work in the UK after being cut off from these shared benefits.

Not least among the long list of disadvantages that may now follow our exit from Europe is the possible break-up of the United Kingdom itself. David Cameron leaves us a terrible legacy. What a can of worms he opened when he agreed to call a referendum to save the Tories a few votes at the General Election.

DAVE BUXTON, Morris Lane, Devizes