Madam,

It was disappointing but not entirely unexpected to read in Patrick O’Brien’s column of 26 September that Brexit is “all about” the needs and greed of hedge funds and trust funds.

That is a conspiracy theory of a type and scale and sheer offensiveness that we are not usually allowed to entertain. Someone somewhere must be getting really desperate to be rolling this one out, as hopefully one of the final chapters of the Project Fear routine.

As a Labour Leaver, both now and back in 1975, I have to say that for me when you get to the bottom line Brexit is “all about” democracy.

The 2016 referendum was one of the biggest ever democratic exercises in the UK – 33.6m voters decided to leave, with 17.4m (52 per cent) actually voting Out. It was the UK parliament that had provided the referendum and decreed that the outcome would be decided on a simple majority. It was the government of the time that promised that the decision would be implemented. And after the result the major political parties hastened to assure us that the decision would be honoured or “accepted”.

And now we have this – an EU that is opposed to us leaving for its own budgetary and political reasons, and a Remain parliament straining every sinew and brain cell to cooperate with that. Just as with Ireland and Denmark, we are told in the name of “choice” that we have taken the wrong decision and so we must do it again, and again, until we get it right.

Sure there are profiteers and financial sharks circling Brexit, just as they circle every major change on this planet in search of their next feast. But an independent UK armed with its imperfect yet still pretty impressive democracy should be able to take care of itself.

The question asked in the referendum did not specify how we would leave, much less whether we would be richer or poorer for going, so deal and no-deal exits both meet the democratic requirement. If the EU won’t offer us a reasonable deal, or if it does so and parliament yet again won’t ratify it, then the remaining democratic option is no-deal.

Whereas if we do what Patrick seems to want, the final vestiges of public confidence in our democracy will be washed into the gutter and down the drain. Then we will really be in trouble.

Yours etc, Dave Bradney, Joppa, Llanrhystud.

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