REGARDING the correspondence about the EU from Derrick Holt, I concur that this will be a long, drawn-out process with many hurdles to surmount.

This referendum has opened up a seething vipers’ nest.

Many political careers have been ruined.

Endless bickering and character assassinations have occurred in the press and on TV.

And why has this maelstrom of malice enveloped us?

The Conservative Party wished to see off a political threat from UKIP and so recklessly decided to offer the public a referendum.

The Tories hoped to win back the UKIP voters and so they inadvertently opened this can of worms.

Whatever the final outcome, and let us hope that it will be a positive one, the bottom line is that this endless bickering about Brexit is the result of pure political vanity.

SUSAN THOMAS 
Magdalen Road, Oxford