Sir – What money would we use if we left the embrace of the United Kingdom? It’s a question that’s rather controversial.
When the former Russian-controlled countries were breaking free, it was obvious that they would want the help and support of the European Union.
To ensure that each new state would know they were being treated the same, the European Council made a decision about all future joiners.
Their 1991 agreement laid down those terms and they’ve applied ever since to all new joiners from Estonia to Bulgaria.
No new joiner has gained exemptions, even though they’re allowed to adopt the EU’s rules as soon as they can. Fortunately, Scotland already applies most of them, except for currency.
Here, the EU’s conditions are explicit: “…and adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union”.
Monetary union means us adopting the euro as our only money.
We’d need to agree to each of those conditions before we’d be allowed into the EU.
We couldn’t rely on the opt-outs that a different country – the United Kingdom – had agreed long before 1991.
Many Scottish families have handled euro notes and coins when on holidays, and many Scottish firms buy and sell in euros, so we’re used to it.
It would be goodbye to Scottish banknotes controlled by the Bank of England and hello euros controlled by the European Central Bank.
Andrew Dundas.
34 Ross Avenue,
Perth.
Life is hard out of government
Sir, – Was it not a bit unwise of the Government to have entrusted the management of the UK economy to a man who, only a few months later, is in such personal penury that he has to work five jobs to make ends meet?
Les Mackay.
5 Carmichael Gardens,
Dundee.
Fife wrong to fund festival
Sir, – I would like to raise a few questions about the Festival of Ideas which offered Gordon Brown a platform from which to relaunch himself and his Vow mark two. That he spoke in such a partisan way against independence and shamelessly promoted the Labour Party was all to be expected.
But Fife Council should have been smart enough to anticipate it when they were deliberating on whether to offer financial help to the festival organisers.
The authority just went ahead and funded the event to the tune of £4,995 from the public purse.
I’ve no objection to any political party getting together and debating/discussing the issues of the day but I draw the line at the people of Kirkcaldy forking out for it.
Forget Festival of Ideas: it was quite blatantly a Labour Party love fest. I would call on Fife Council to put the scrutiny of this funding decision at the top of the agenda for the next area committee.
Maureen Closs.
1 Barassie Drive,
Kirkcaldy.
Rewrite code for cyclists
Sir, – Former Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman delivered a 27,000-signature petition to the Department of Transport.
The petition demands a change to the Highway Code to compel motorists turning left to give way to cyclists coming up their inside.
Many cyclists do not know what the Highway Code is and those who do ignore it.
So why not re-write the whole Highway Code the way cyclists want it?
Cyclists must cycle on the pavement, ignore red lights, ignore pedestrians on a crossing, cycle the wrong way up a one-way street and travel at excessive speed on shared pedestrian/cyclists paths shouting for pedestrians to get out of the way.
Having a warning bell on a bike will incur a £100 penalty.
Then, of course, the code must absolve cyclists causing injuries to others since they are “saving the planet”.
Where there is an accident then the motorist is always guilty and being stationary at the time is not an acceptable excuse.
Cyclists need not use the expensive cycle tracks when they wish to cause annoyance by impeding traffic.
Cycling three or four abreast is to be encouraged.
Clark Cross.
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.
SNP making up vote rules
Sir, – SNP Brexit minister Mike Russell said that if the Scottish Parliament votes for another referendum, there must be a referendum, the implication being that the Scottish Government is duty-bound to act on the decisions and votes of parliament.
This is nonsense. A few weeks ago the SNP lost two votes on its proposals to abolish the boards of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council. They still intend abolishing them. They can do this because a Holyrood vote is not binding. They are making up the rules as they go along.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
Review system of list members
Sir, – Nicola Sturgeon continually reminds the Scottish Parliament that Theresa May is unelected.
This is not strictly true as she was elected by her constituents to serve at Westminster.
What Ms Sturgeon fails to mention is that without the unelected Greens, she would have a minority in the Scottish parliament and would not have had her budget approved and indeed her wish for a second referendum.
I think the system of appointing list MSPs needs to be reviewed. No unelected MSPs should hold the balance of power in Holyrood.
Mev Braid.
Kinkell Avenue,
Glenrothes.
Civil servants are soft target
Sir, – It looks as if Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission, which is considering an economic and financial case for Scottish secession, is going to deliver bad news to the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon, who appointed him.
Mr Wilson has already highlighted the SNP’s dependence on oil revenues in the 2013 White Paper.
He has also warned that there could be up to 10 years of real hardship in Scotland after secession. To deflect from this bad news, the full denial machine is in operation. Articles, blogs and letters in recent days have shown that the main SNP tactic will be the rubbishing of the GERS figures, figures that several senior SNP members, including Alex Salmond and Ms Sturgeon, have repeatedly acknowledged as authoritative.
In addition, the keyboard warriors deny the existence of the £15 billion deficit. On the wilder shores, some separatists have revived the myth of secret oilfields in the Clyde.
One of the worst aspects of this is that certain bloggers deny the GERS figures on the grounds that they draw on ONS figures.
What they are saying is that professional civil servants have falsified the figures to Scotland’s disadvantage.
Jill Stephenson.
Glenlockhart Valley,
Edinburgh.