Richard Drax's latest diatribe against the European Union ("EU's deal is no match for leaving" - Dorset Echo of 5 February) comes as no surprise.
It is clear that even if the Prime Minister were able to negotiate much more favourable concessions with the EU, these would never have been sufficient to satisfy the diehard Europhobes and Little Englanders.
Drax makes much in his article about loss of national sovereignty, but his interpretation is highly selective.
Does he have similar qualms about UK membership of NATO, with its Treaty article 5 commitment to mutual defence? - a ceding of sovereignty with literally life and death potential consequences.
Or again, is he concerned about our loss of sovereignty in the economic sphere, with US giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon able to avoid UK taxation, never mind US takeovers of established British firms such as Cadbury, or Chinese involvement in our nuclear power programme? All involve in their different ways some loss of UK sovereignty, yet Drax's focus is solely with the EU.
He concludes that "There is a life after the EU." It would be extremely helpful if he could elaborate. Is he confident that firms such as Nissan and Honda would maintain their investment in UK plants as a bridgehead for entering the EU market if we were to leave? And is he aware that Brexit would almost certainly lead to Scotland's departure from the UK? Such an outcome seems unlikely to enhance the national sovereignty with which he is so concerned.
Drax's short-sighted attitude towards the EU suggests that he would now feel much more at home in the UK Independence Party. At present a majority of Conservative Ministers seem to be falling in behind the Prime Minister in support of continued UK membership of the EU. If wiser counsels prevail and the UK votes to remain in the EU, I trust that as a man of principle and on such an important issue, Drax will consider his position.
Andrew Lance The Old Barn West Lulworth
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