The Reader: Someone needs to save us from Brexit

If the European parliamentary elections, due take place in May, actually go ahead, then surely this is the chance for Remainers, and those who want a People’s Vote, to demonstrate to the European Union, that the people of the UK would like to stay in the EU? Meanwhile, where are the Liberal Democrats? Are they going to try and save us from Brexit, or not?
Patrick Lee

As a Brexit supporter, I welcome the prospect of the Euro elections.
Mark Cooper

Dear Patrick and Mark

Yes, the European elections will be a single-issue contest. On one side will be Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party — it’s had an effective launch and I predict it will crush the old Ukip and scoop the anti-EU vote.

On the other side, new parties such as Change UK and Renew are vying with the Lib-Dems for the pro-EU vote but none have yet established a clear lead. That leaves the door open to Labour being the surprise winner. It can attract Remain voters by using Tory intransigence as an excuse to stop Brexit talks, then nod towards a People’s Vote in the manifesto.

We know who will lose the election: the Tories. Remainers won’t back them as the wider party becomes the champions of hard Brexit. Leavers won’t support them because they can’t deliver it. A heavy defeat could provide the prompt for Mrs May’s exit, which is why ERG-types will block any deal before then. When my successor as Chancellor, Philip Hammond, said this weekend “nobody wants to fight the European elections”, he was only speaking for the occupants of Downing Street.

George Osborne, Editor

Julian Assange is no hero — he is a self-obsessed narcissist who suffers from delusions of grandeur. I haven’t a shred of sympathy for him.
Robert Readman

It was the case initially that Julian Assange was wanted for alleged sex crimes in Sweden. The charges seemed suspiciously well timed but it was denied that the real purpose was extradition to the US. Now that he has been detained, miraculously an extradition request by the US has appeared. This is a glaringly political piece of pseudo-legality.
Roger Schafir

It’s great news that Hammersmith Bridge is to be pedestrian- and cyclist- only [“Our bridge of sighs: fury as Hammersmith is shut suddenly ... and fixing it could take years,” April 11].

Let’s hope it’s a permanent move, as it will cut pollution and discourage unnecessary car and motorbike journeys. Perhaps people such as the driver you reported (who had to go back home and get her bicycle when she found out about the closure) will discover that cycling is a great way to get around London, and they should leave the car at home more often.
Steve Marstrand

What is the point of buccaneering risk takers such as Sir Richard Branson if they don’t take risks [“Virgin Trains ‘could disappear’ from the UK as soon as November, says a ‘devastated’ Richard Branson,” April 10]?

If he thinks it is the state that should guarantee train workers a pension after a lifetime’s service while he just takes the profits then the state should own the rail operators, as is common elsewhere in the EU.
Nik Wood