Trade is not everything.

Sir, A great deal of heat and very little light has been generated over the past two years about trade, business and the Irish Backstop. However I suspect that the majority of people who voted, no matter on which side, did not vote solely or even mainly on economic issues.
Our membership of the EU has allowed my generation to work, study and fall in love freely throughout Europe both on the continent and in the UK. This has enriched many of us spiritually, culturally and financially and has helped many Europeans to see each other as a part of a great common culture - while helping us to better appreciate our own country too. It is a tragedy that the majority of older people are denying those benefits and joys to our children and grand children - who will be deprived for many years after those voters are no longer with us.
I greatly fear that the UK crashing out of the EU may damage both us and Europe in many ways and may even result in the demise of the EU and the breakup of our United Kingdom. Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will all be delighted and will lose no time in picking us all off one by one.
I understand that many ordinary fishermen in our region have been very badly treated. This sad situation has been largely caused by neglect and ignorance on the part of our own government who encouraged owners to sell their quota to foreigners. I doubt that Brexit will have a positive effect as the Government will trade off the interests of our local fishermen for what they will see as more important trade issues. Remember BSE? Once British beef was safe, the French refused to accept it for many months (their farmers were delighted to have less competition). It was only our membership of the EU that forced them to see reason. If we had not been members, we would have had no way of pushing our logical and reasonable case. The same will be true of Fishing - we will have far more clout by reforming the Common Fisheries Policy from inside than we will as outsiders.
Finally, our leading roles in Science, Medicine and Engineering are already being starved of the money and staff they need, Our great Universities are starved of students and our political and moral influence in the world is diminishing. All of these are caused by Brexit and are likely to get much worse over the next few years.
Many nations in the EU agree with us that reform is urgently needed. We should stay in and push at that open door.
David Kitson, St Peters Street, Lowestoft