IT’S hard not to read James Ashington’s letter of May 17 claiming there can be no increase in NHS spending unless there’s a hard Brexit without smiling.

The figure was always a myth as the head of the Office of National Statistics pointed out.

Anyway there is no causal link between the two, the money can be raised by cancelling Trident’s replacement, or having a windfall tax on the dollar savings of the likes of Aaron Banks and Jacob Rees- Mogg, where the collapse of the pound following the referendum massively increased their wealth.

There are lots of ways, but of course that was not the purpose of his letter.

As a hard Brexit and UKIP collapse around his ears, James is looking for people to blame, can’t do immigrants on this one so the forthcoming car crash will be the fault of the non-believers.

Yes we could get cheaper food elsewhere, from US agri-business say, but only if you’re happy to accept appalling animal husbandry standards that leave animals so vulnerable to infection that they are pumped with antibiotics.

Such cheap imports will displace British production subsidised by EU funds, just look how worried the NFU are now the details are emerging.

In trans-Atlantic trade negotiations the real prize for Trump is the NHS.

He tweeted last week how annoyed he was that it got its drugs far more cheaply than possible in the US.

American big pharma and health insurance companies are desperate to get their hands on the NHS, what do we get in return?

We will be able to export huge amounts of speciality jam, Andrea Leadsom assures us, and pig’s ears according to Gove.

So if you’re worried about the future of the NHS, don’t blame others, look to yourself and remember what Boris Johnson said prior to his pro Brexit opportunist conversion about the true causes of Britain’s problems.

And James, as one old man to another, it’s time to hang up your boots. Let the young whose future will be blighted by Brexit decide.

Given your recent personal humiliation at the polls that’s clearly the will of the people.

ALLAN RALSTON Marcross close