As I sit here this afternoon I am aware that the second hand on the clock is ticking away to what, in my mind and that of many others, is the depressingly gloomy hour when Great Britain will leave its 47 year membership of the European Union.

I become aware that our current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has during his short tenure of office, attempted to prorogue Parliament illegally and in so doing not only lied to the British electorate but also misled Her Majesty the Queen.

I also become aware that due to the Prime Minister's ineptitude at negotiating, the British people and Members of Parliament have been stripped of their democracy by the fact that an 'agreement' to leave the EU was reached at the late hour of Christmas Eve when Parliament was in recess.

Members of Parliament had to be recalled on Wednesday  to debate a Withdrawal Agreement taking the UK out of the European Union and were given the ridiculous amount of five hours to debate the abolition of over 45 years of law that Britain has been operating under.

This strikes me of a totally inadequate amount of time to discuss 1,246 pages of proposed legislation and gave no time whatsoever for MPs to contemplate and facilitate reasoned argument and debate.

It strikes me that many top Tory MPs have preached to us on countless occasions over the years about their wish to reduce 'red tape' and yet in one fell swoop, by passing into law the withdrawal act, they have committed thousands of businesses and self employed people to taking part in completing an estimated 200 million extra export forms every year.

I rage at the fact that a Prime Minister appears to not want to allow proper debate and to be held accountable to Parliament, as opposed to the Executive, and also to the British people on matters of such monumental impact.

The clock is still ticking as I complete this letter and we are nearer the bewitching hour when GB will leave the EU and all I can say is God bless GB in 2021 and God bless all her citizens as the good ship GB is heading perilously close to a submerged iceberg.

Happy New Year everyone.

Howard Perry, St James Place, Dringhouses York

British democracy is the big winner here

As the dust settles on Brexit, the main winner is British democracy. Despite not accepting the democratic referendum result, Remainers could, and did, use any legal means to try to thwart our country’s decision.

Although morally wrong, their use of Parliament and the law courts was constitutionally permissible. It’s no wonder that the rest of the world looks towards and respects how our democratic system works.

Geoff Robb, Hunters Close, Dunnington