I READ the letters from Messrs Milne, Oram and Barrell (Letters passim).

Until recently I too would have said no to a further EU referendum.

Do we really want politicians to tell more lies particularly on the leave side and also create more bitterness and division that will already take years to heal – if ever? But now because of the Brexiters, look at the place where the UK finds itself.

Some of the lies that Leave said was that we had “all of the cards” and we could “have our cake and eat it” in the negotiations with the EU. This has turned out to be anything but the case. The EU is much stronger, and is made even stronger by the incompetence of the UK government’s negotiating strategy. Leave also lied when they said that the Irish border wasn’t going to be a huge issue, or did they forget that Ireland is a separate country?

Their beloved half-elected Westminster parliament is restricting the UK to two rotten choices. The first being we crash out of the EU with no deal and fall on WTO terms. We now know from the government’s own recent papers how disastrous this will be. From needing a visa and a driving permit to travel to Europe through to border chaos causing shortages in food, medicine, parts for industry etc.

I could understand if it was for a war or a natural disaster, but the fact that the government is stockpiling food and medicines for what I think is a criminal political act, is unbelievable. In normal times, this would be unthinkable and it also doesn’t solve the Irish border issue.

Mercifully there isn’t a majority in parliament for this option.

This leads us onto the second rotten option, that being Theresa’s Chequer’s plan to try and solve the Irish border issue by keeping the UK in the EU single market for goods. The UK would then obey all EU rules in this area, but would no longer have a say in them. For me, I’ve no problem, I would rather keep the higher standards guaranteed by the EU than entrust them to Westminster.

But the UK may as well stay in and keep a voice at the table. But this option also doesn’t have a majority in parliament, and the EU has objected to Theresa’s plan.

The EU had been telling her for weeks that it was unacceptable, but then in Salzburg they had to tell her again...a bit more firmly. Underneath the pleadings for respect, Theresa has only herself is to blame.

This is a disaster, parliament is jammed and I think the only way out is by another referendum, but this time it should be a list of options voted by preference and, yes, this time, 16 and 17-years-olds should get the vote. The fact that they and their future were excluded is a disgrace.

If it was good enough for Scotland in 2014, its surely good enough here.

Paul Goddard, St Anns Close, Andover