Brexit, ‘spineless’ Labour and a grannies’ revolt | Letters

John Marzeillier, David Goudge and Ted Pawley respond to Caroline Flint's Guardian article where she said she must honour her constituents' decision to leave the EU. Plus letters from Tommy Gee, Roger Woodhouse, Julian Le Vay, Trevor Dean, Alice Appleton, Alison Harris, and Pauline Shelley

Yet again we have a politician citing "the will of the people" as a justification for pursuing a Brexit deal however unsatisfactory it might be (Labour made a promise on Brexit, so let's get a deal done, 6 February). Only this is not a Tory Brexiter but a Labour MP, Caroline Flint. She says: "I promised my voters that I would accept the referendum; I promised to work for the best deal for jobs for Doncaster, and pledged to oppose a second referendum."

We have a representative democracy; MPs are not mandated by their constituents to pursue a particular course, but to consider what is in their best interests. What if the best deal for jobs in Doncaster is achieved by remaining in the EU? What if, as is becoming clear, the 2016 referendum was corrupted, not just by the deliberate deceptions told by the leave campaign but by millions of pounds from shady sources? What if a second referendum asked voters specifically to choose between the deal Mrs May eventually comes up with, and remaining in the EU, a different question to the in/out choice of 2016?

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