Project Fear has metamorphosed into Project Folly. Brexit is referred to as a cliff edge, a precipice or a divorce.

The intellectual capacity of 52 per cent of the UK electorate has been rudely questioned, the Russians bankrolled the Brexit campaign and we should all be embarrassed about the British Empire. Standing aside from a demonstrably failing political pipe dream is not an imperialist act.

Please contrast this fake news with the contemporary humiliation of the Greek nation tied into the Euro without the ability to remedy their economic plight through an exchange rate mechanism. Brexit is a turning point for Europe.

We are rejecting cumbersome bureaucracy, democratic and audit deficit, defective monetary system and opaque justice inherent in the EU regime.

The Government approached the Brexit process in an entirely logical and practical way, setting out the fundamental red line requirements and expressing our willingness to negotiate trade and co-operation agreements for the future.

We took the initiative in guaranteeing the status of EU nationals resident in the UK. Those who campaigned for Brexit know precisely what we want the outcome to look like. We have no interest in this being used as a talisman for aspiring EU politicians to score against.

Parliament now has a “meaningful vote” on whether to accept a deal or return to the negotiating table. Parliament would be exposed as cynical if it sought to use this to deny the electorate the sovereignty delegated to it by granting a referendum.

The amendment did weaken our negotiating position. We entered an economic community of nine nations in 1973 and it is not the UK that has attempted by stealth and subterfuge to create a United States of Europe.

I read that Winston Churchill saw the UK as a power outside this regime. The EU is credited by some as having secured peace in Europe since the Second World War, but the majority of this acclaim is due to Nato. In my opinion, the ambition of EU politicians to extend their power and importance is both naïve and potentially threatening to peace. Europe and the world needs Brexit as much as we do.

The cool generation will play on a world stage with the opportunity to lead and influence global economic, environmental and political direction.

We can strengthen links with the Commonwealth, our friends in Europe and throughout the world. Rejecting the current EU political regime does not mean rejecting our European neighbours and the co-operation, trade in goods and services and entente cordiale enjoyed long before we entered the EEC.

I have faith in the people of the UK and our Government to reverse the economic decline over which the EU has presided in the last 40 years.

This is necessary to provide the quality of life and standard of NHS, defence, food, housing, education and social services that we all wish for.

Together we can turn the cliff edge into a launch pad, the precipice into a friction free slope and divorce into an exciting new relationship.

Happy NoEU Year!

Richard Hosking

Ugborough, Ivybridge