Fight back against Brexit self-harm has begun - your views

Intro

Fight back against Brexit self-harm

As the curtain comes down on the UK’s long engagement with Europe’s noblest and greatest effort at collaboration and liberty, the European Union, our freedoms are to be slashed and an immense bureaucracy imposed on us as we enter these supposed new “sunlit uplands”.

For the UK and the EU, the near 50-year relationship has been good for both of us, despite the rancorous ending which has now been encapsulated in a 1246-page UK-EU free trade and cooperation agreement.

Trade barriers will be erected, not eliminated as they were under the single market which allowed for the free movement of good, capital, services and people. Let us not forget, it was a Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was a key proponent of the single market, which ranks as one of the EU’s greatest achievements.

The economic costs will be huge. It will put a ball and chain around an economy already deeply damaged due to Covid-19 and slow down economic recovery. The Scottish government has estimated that Scotland’s economy is facing a £9 billion hit by 2030, compared with EU membership.

The EU, however, was much more than an economic project, measured in pounds and pence. It was an institution, which as highlighted before was forged out of an idealistic objective to end the succession of wars that had wracked the continent.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen was right when she said, quoting TS Eliot, that in every end there is a beginning. The campaign for us to re-join the EU, to regain our lost rights and freedoms has already begun and it will only end when we have reversed this needless act of self-harm.

Alex Orr, Marchmont Road, Edinburgh.

Covid stats show new approach needed

Normally few lay people read Scottish NHS statistical data. However, in the case of Covid-19 this is a great pity, as the cumulative statistics for Covid-19 deaths in Scotland are very revealing.

Nobody under 20 has died in Scotland from Covid-19. Only two otherwise healthy people under 45 years old and a further 29 from 45 to 64 years old have died from Covid-19 in Scotland. Only nine per cent of Scottish Covid-19 deaths were under 65, and only eight per cent of those were otherwise healthy. Those who were both under 65 and healthy represent less than one per cent of Covid-19 deaths.

These figures make a strong case that we should now take a very different approach to tackling this disease.

Children and students should be allowed to continue their education face to face. Healthy working age adults should be allowed to work and socialise as normal. The elderly and those with serious health issues should be given advice and all reasonable support to shield.

Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife.

Get healthy this new year – go vegan!

As the new year dawns, for healthier, happier living,swap the meat, eggs, and dairy for vegan fare. A record number of people are choosing plant-based foods to benefit their health, the planet and animals – and January is the perfect month to give it a go.

While most of us will face strict local restrictions for the foreseeable future, home-cooked meals that rely on vegetables and vegan pantry staples like beans, lentils, and grains are not only good for us but also inexpensive and satisfying

To help people get started, PETA is offering free vegan starter kits containing delicious recipes.

Jennifer White, PETA, All Saints Street, London N1.