Kevin Hodkin (June 25) exposes his misinformed Brexit views. He claims he voted against EU entry in 1973.  There was no referendum for British entry to the Common Market. Edward Health’s Conservative government got the country in and, in 1975, Harold Wilson’s Labour government called a referendum (because his party was then split on Europe) to ask whether Britain should leave. I was among the two-thirds majority that voted to stay in.

Hodkin claims all dairy farms in the Peak District closed down because of French milk and butter.  This doesn’t seem to have happened to the Irish as we still buy Irish butter.

He claims all the northern English fishing industry has vanished due to the EU. Does he remember the embarrassing ‘cod war’, with Royal Navy warships harassing non-EU Icelandic fishermen?

Is this the industrial and diplomatic scenario that Brexit looks forward to?

Then we come to the favourite Brexit subject of Muslim immigrants and their mosques. He’s blaming continental Europe for the consequences of Empire and the Commonwealth.

Perhaps what’s happened in Britain can be exemplified by that British motoring icon, the Mini.  This was designed by a Turkish-Cypriot immigrant and is now German-made. One hopes that, with Brexit, Britain (or will it be England and Wales?) can do better than that.

It is a pity that a largely disgruntled and misinformed older generation has diminished the expectations of young Brits.  Referenda may be hailed as 100 per cent democracy but they are potentially dangerous political weapons that may backfire with disastrous results.