From: John Hutchinson, Addingham

SOME Remoaners seem unable to accept that Brexit has happened, and that the UK has left the EU as the result of a democratic referendum. A “softer” Brexit, as referred to in one of your letters last week, would have left us having to adhere to EU diktats, without any say in their formation.

If our HGV shortage is due to Brexit, why, according to Transport Intelligence, does the driver shortfall across Europe now surpass 400,000. According to many who work -- or worked -- in the industry, bad working conditions, long distances, and long stretches of time away from home are some of the reasons why people have left in droves. A contributory factor to the problem is the additional bureaucratic restrictions on testing and working restrictions which the EU introduced and which the UK government is now reversing.

The desire to end European Union freedom of movement was driven by a range of concerns, such as the perceived impact of low-cost unregulated migration on domestic wages and how an over-reliance on foreign labour had reduced incentives for both the state and private sector to invest in our domestic workforce. Surely it is better to improve pay and conditions for UK workers, including HGV drivers, to encourage our own workers to fill such shortfalls.