R QUIRK states that he “was not stupid enough to think protesting would change anything” (Letters, December 19, 'Let that be an end to protests').

I can only hope that he was just referring to Tony Blair’s then-new government and not to the principle of protest itself. I hate to think where we would now be without it.

Mr Quirk was urging us to accept that Brexit is a fait accompli and move on. He is right. It is going to happen. I will trust our politicians and leaders of industry to make the best of it.

But Brexit is only a temporary and small issue. I believe it is time, for those of us who care, to put our energy into addressing the big issue: climate change.

Now is the time when we must think, and must take determined action as a people, as a species, as custodians of the planet Earth. We are in a time of extreme urgency. What the planet’s governments do in the next five years will determine the future of mankind and our beautiful world.

It is here where I don’t trust our politicians and leaders of industry. They are too focused on winning the next election, or producing a healthy set of annual accounts. They are showing little interest and are not taking any decisive action to address the threat of climate change.

If every one of us protests energetically, and demands action by those who control our destiny, then perhaps we can show that protesting can really change things. And our children and grandchildren will thank us for it.

Roger Smith

Kendal