Chris Bray, of Chichester Close, Teignmouth, writes:

I am grateful to J McDonald for his letter in last week’s paper regarding the Brexitometer, for being a Leave advocate who finally admits that remaining in the EU would be ‘some economic advantage’.

This statement is irrefutable, given that the Governor of the Bank of England told the Treasury Select Committee recently that households, two years on from the vote, were £900 worse off, the head of HM Revenue and Customs has said that the customs arrangement preferred by Theresa May would cost £20 billion a year and Government impact assessments, tabulated by Global Future, indicate a cost to the UK from a ‘no deal’ of £81 billion to a relatively modest cost of £17 billion extra per year if we go for a ‘Norway option’.

Of course we mustn’t forget the costs of the Government-published plans to turn a 13-mile section of the M20 into a giant car park for thousands of lorries to cope with the severe tailbacks after Brexit and the costs of an unresolved Northern Irish border. So, where is the extra £350 million per week for the NHS coming from?

Your previous correspondent waxes lyrical about ‘sovereignty?’?, but neglects to mention that the issues on which Brex?i?te?e?rs seem most passionate, immigration and the blue/black passport are ones where we made sovereign decisions.

All along we could have retained the blue/black colour of our passport, but Margaret Thatcher’s Government chose not to do so.

Also, remember it was the Labour Government under Tony Blair who decided no?t? to waive the seven-year halt to Eastern European migrants ?when they first joined the EU. Most other countries took a different view.

Now I suspect that J McDonald and I have a different attitude to migrants.? I see the invaluable help they have been in health, care, hospitality and agriculture?. ?The point is, sovereignty was exercised by British governments.

As regards the ‘superstate’ ?concern, this is so risible that it hardly merits comment, except to say, 1) we are not in the Euro, 2) we are not in Schengen and 3) any move to a ‘superstate’ would be open to veto by ourselves!