• IT is galling to hear the bleating of Lib Dems over Brexit (Platitudes, February 15).

This is the party that entered government with the Tories. Remember beaming David Cameron and Nick Clegg sealing their coalition in the garden of 10 Downing Street?

This was the same coalition that attacked the NHS and introduced university tuition fees, despite Lib Dem manifesto promises. It was the Tory-Lib Dem coalition that brought us the flawed EU referendum that resulted in Brexit.

Lib Dem fingerprints are all over this mess. To hang onto their ministerial cars, they went along with David Cameron’s support for the referendum – a measure he only introduced to try to resolve internal rifts inside the Tory party.

We now know what the result was: a narrow victory for Brexit. It has been a disaster for our country. But we cannot simply pretend that the vote did not take place. Keir Starmer can speak for himself, but he is right to insist that we cannot wish the referendum away.

We cannot pretend that although there is a majority of Remainers in London (in which I include myself) the rest of the country is still deeply divided on the issue. We have to respect their views, just as they have to respect ours. But that does not mean that the campaign is over.

The government’s own analysis shows that leaving the EU will hit the most disadvantages parts of our country hardest. These are mostly represented by the Labour Party. Labour must, of course, spell out the consequences in no uncertain terms.

Those of us who are passionate Europeans (and the UK is, of course, a European state) must work together to win round the public. Here the news is more optimistic: there is now a narrow majority for Remain.

The question before us is how we get the chance to express our views. This will, inevitably, require another vote.

Whether the chance will come at a general election or a referendum is unimportant. But once the final deal is clear the British public must have another opportunity to express their views. This is an issue too important to be left to MPs.

MARTIN PLAUT
Ryland Road, NW5