Sir, – Do the rather vociferous SNP supporters understand exactly what Nicola Sturgeon actually means by an independent Scotland?
We all know how much she loves everything EU and all it stands for and, of course, how much she hates Brexit, the Westminster Government, Theresa May and the Tory party.
She is desperate to remain in the EU so this means she is happy to contribute billions of pounds of Scottish taxpayers’ money to Brussels. She is happy to accept all the policies and laws emanating from the EU parliament including those concerning agriculture and fisheries.
She is happy to allow every Tom, Dick and Harry and their families to come to Scotland from Europe and beyond which will put more pressure on our housing, education, NHS, schools and education, employment and welfare among other services.
These, of course, are only a few of the EU “benefits “ open to us.
What all this boils down to is that Ms Sturgeon only wants to transfer being governed by Westminster to being governed by Brussels and yet she calls this independence.
It is time for SNP supporters to start thinking for themselves about what an independent Scotland actually means under Ms Sturgeon.
One wonders why Ms Sturgeon is so keen to have another referendum before we know the terms of Brexit and I can only surmise she is frightened that the outcome will be totally different from the disaster she is predicting and that it will be for the benefit of the whole of the UK.
She needs to draw in her horns and listen for once to what other senior members of her party are saying or she might be on course for political suicide.
John M Page.
8 Panter Crescent,
Montrose.
Now is time for cool heads
Sir, – Had we voted Yes in the 2014 referendum we would have unequivocally voted ourselves out of Europe. Now, three years later, the First Minister wants us to have a referendum because the nation has done just that.
However, to select a date prior to knowing the terms of Brexit is tantamount to turning the polling station into a bookmaker.
If we leave Europe on good terms it will be bad for the First Minister’s cause but good for the country and conversely if we leave on bad terms it will be good for the First Minister but bad for the country.
Now is not the time for recklessness.
Graham Ellis.
Moredun,
The Brae,
Kirkton of Auchterhouse.
UK pensions will still be paid
Sir, – Jill Stephenson (March 16) says that large numbers of Yes supporters expect the UK Government to continue to pay pensions.
Well, yes. I earned both my service pension and my war disability pension in the service of the British Crown, and I fully expect the British Crown to continue to pay those pensions, just as they do for all the other nationalities with qualifying service and conditions.
Laurie Richards.
100 Crail Road,
Cellardyke.
Economy is the only story
Sir, – In your March 15 issue you quote an SNP organiser stating a basic SNP view: “The economic argument has always been a non-story”.
The truth, and it cannot be described in any other way, is that the economic argument is the story. Everything depends on a strong sustainable economy and the prospects are bad.
To deny this will prove calamitous.
Ranald Noel-Paton.
Pitcurran House,
Abernethy.
Be proud Scots within Britain
Sir, – Why must the SNP continually refer to “our North Sea assets, our foreign policy and our defence?”
These matters are not theirs, nor can they be unless Scotland was to become a sovereign country free of any reliance whatsoever on the Government in Westminster.
Should that happen they would be free to call everything “theirs” from the inherited mountain of debt to the ensuing isolation.
In the meantime, let us all continue to be proud of our Scottish heritage and the contribution that Scotland has played on the world stage as an equal partner in the United Kingdom.
Alasdair Charleson.
7 Fonab Crescent,
Pitlochry.
Let us vote on referendum
Sir, – There is a simple solution to the dispute about the date of a new referendum
Scots have the opportunity to go to an organised poll on May 4 and another ballot paper could be added asking if there should be another referendum before the UK-EU deal is fully ratified and fully understood.
The turnout for local elections would be greatly enhanced. The result would not be binding but it would be persuasive.
Such simple solutions are not for politicians. I know which side would be frightened of the result.
RJ Soutar.
Camperdown Street,
Dundee.
Break free from parochialism
Sir, – We have been told by a variety of politicians that Scotland does not want another referendum. I don’t want another referendum. Once again, it will inflame anti-English sentiment, clog up the media and insult our intelligence but I don’t see any way out of a re-run.
Last time I voted for the union because I believed that England and Scotland were a winning combination.
But now it seems that those south of the border have decided to settle for Little England rather than Great Britain.
Do we in Scotland want to be tied to the parochial, anti-immigrant and short-sighted community that England has become?
Jeremy Schmid.
218 Broughty Ferry Road,
Dundee.
Put vote plans to Scottish voters
Sir, – Vetoing a second independence referendum before Brexit is not a “democratic outrage” as Nicola Sturgeon claims.
What is a democratic outrage is First Minister Nicola Sturgeon double-crossing the Scottish electorate by going back on the pledge that the 2014 referendum was a “once in a generation” vote.
Most of the Scottish electorate are scunnered at the thought of another two years of the independence cult’s political bedlam, division and refusal to face facts.
Let the SNP put a referendum proposal in its manifesto for the 2021 Scottish election and see what happens then.
William Loneskie.
Amulree,
9 Justice Park,
Oxton,
Lauder.