The Tory Parliamentary Candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale James Airey wrote that he was struck during the 2017 general election by how many voters wanted the Government to deliver the will of the people and leave the European Movement (Letters, December 21, 'Great news for the country').

He quoted the December 12 YouGov poll in support of his argument. What he did not say is that the same poll stated that 45 per cent of those polled stated that we were wrong to leave the EU and only 42 per cent thought we were right.

The poll also stated that 64 per cent of those polled thought the UK was doing badly in negotiating our exit from the EU and only 21 per cent thought we were doing well. It is apparent that as negotiations proceed and the consequences of the referendum decision become clear then more people will have doubts about leaving.

It is certainly possible that when MPs have their vote on whether they wish to leave on the terms that have been negotiated they will vote not to accept the terms.

What happens then is uncertain. The Government could try to negotiate better terms but it is unlikely they would succeed. They could decide to remain and withdraw Article 50 but that would be politically impossible without either another general election or a referendum. The general public would welcome neither but there may be no alternative.

Mr Quirk stated that the Government should have triggered Article 50 the day after the referendum (Letters December 21m 'Let's dodge the EU bullet'). The British constitution does not allow this as the Supreme Court decided in the Gina Miller case. Article 50 can only be triggered by an Act of Parliament which was obtained in October, allowing negotiations to start in March.

As a member of the European Movement, a pro remain, independent, cross-party organisation founded in 1948, I am convinced the UK's future will be better if we stay in the EU. Each month members of the EM carry that message out on to the streets. I concentrate on towns in Cumbria.

The response is very mixed. We are still polarised, many people are tired of the debate, others are resigned to us leaving. Many are depressed by the position we now find ourselves in.

Based on the conversations I have had recently on the streets of Kendal, Lancaster and Carlisle I believe that if we had the referendum again, given the information we now have, we would vote by a small margin to remain.

John Studholme

North West Representative

European Movement

New Hutton