BACK in the day when Brexit was going to be so easy, and the EU would cave in to all our demands, Ukippers would proudly sign their letters ‘UKIP’ and give grand selfappointed titles like ‘press secretary’ or ‘writer and broadcaster’.

But as the reality of Brexit has become apparent, they seem embarrassed to admit it.

To be fair to Ian Wilson, given the humiliation of just 69 votes at the Penketh by-election, who could blame him?

The giveaway was his use of a UKIP template letter rather than original thought (Warrington Guardian, November 1).

Clearly UKIP were watching a different budget to the rest of us, it was a political giveaway of a short term tax windfall.

But the 20 per cent drop in investment into the UK, Jaguar and Mini building car plants on the continent rather than the Midlands, and the £4.5 billion now committed to extra civil servants just to facilitate Brexit is not scaremongering, just the harbinger of greater costs to come.

For the truth, listen to heads of industry and their increasing disquiet, not the angry old men of UKIP.

The Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) described the budget as a ‘bit of a gamble’ and Hammond himself admitted a new one would be needed depending on which notional Brexit actually occurred.

With the UK now having the slowest growth in the G7, the only way forward will be yet more austerity, but what does UKIP care?

Leader and climate change denier Gerrard Batten wants to resurrect coal mining so your grandchildren can work underground again, back to the future indeed.

As 700,000 remain marchers showed, it’s time for a people’s vote not this Eton Mess.

ALLAN RALSTON Callands