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Desire for independence has not subsided

A woman gestures as Saturday’s March for Independence is met by counter demonstrators in Glasgow.
A woman gestures as Saturday’s March for Independence is met by counter demonstrators in Glasgow.

Sir, – On Saturday in one of the UK’s biggest cities, many thousands of people marched across it and brought the centre of the city to a standstill.

The march was more than three miles long and took more than an hour to pass any one point.

It was the second-biggest march Scotland has ever seen, smaller only than the march across that same city against the invasion of Iraq.

As the marchers made their way from Kelvingrove Park in the west end of Glasgow to Glasgow Green in the east, they chanted: “You won’t see this on the BBC”.

The march was in favour of Scottish independence and the marchers were entirely correct.

In the city which hosts the huge headquarters of BBC Scotland, the BBC managed to entirely ignore any broadcast coverage of this huge event which had been publicised for months.

This may be because despite continuous assertion by much of the media that the desire for Scottish independence is collapsing, the evidence suggests something entirely different.

But of rather more consequence is that about half of the population of Scotland no longer has faith that the BBC’s political coverage is honest and unbiased.

Dave McEwan Hill.
1 Tom Nan Ragh,
Dalinlongart,
Sandbank,
Argyll.

 

Pointless march in Glasgow

Sir, – On Saturday, a few thousand people went on a march for independence in Glasgow. Why?

There isn’t a referendum on the agenda.

They carried Saltires disfigured with Yes and felt self-important.

They seem unaware that, in any future referendum, there would be no Yes-No question, and they would not have the undoubted advantage that a Yes answer brings.

The EU referendum has shown that the appropriate formula is Remain-Leave.

Such a pity that all that Yes merchandise will be redundant. It is a free country and people can march if they want to.

But no one should be under any illusions.

Saturday’s exercise was completely pointless and has made no difference to anything that matters.

Jill Stephenson.
Glenlockhart Valley,
Edinburgh.

 

Invest in our economic future

Sir, – The thousands who joined the independence march in Glasgow showed laudable ambition, however, there are in Scotland greater battles to be won first.

The reality today is more Scots emigrated last year than took part in that march and they are mainly young and well educated.

This is not new. Scots have been leaving in the thousands each year for centuries, predominately for economic reasons.

The current SNP administration is advocating increased immigration to try to make up for this continuing reduction of Scotland’s indigenous population.

If lack of opportunity at home is driving Scots to leave for other parts of Britain and the world, what calibre of immigrant are we likely to attract and from where?

Independence ambitions can wait until we have an economic transformation to curb this exodus. It’s time the SNP concentrated on using its enhanced devolved fiscal powers to halt the gradual decline of the Scottish economy and stop blaming Westminster.

We need to see some positive action not nationalistic sound bites.

Scotland should be investing heavily in start-up high-tech industries, research companies and encourage enterprise to create the employment and prosperity for our children and grandchildren. Only after striving to achieved this will we be able to attract migrants who will complement and enhance our economy.

Joseph A Peterson.
Windsor Gardens,
St Andrews.

 

Lib Dems are challengers

Sir, – Rev Dr John Cameron (June 5) is being economical with the truth.

He uses the website Electoral Calculus to claim the Conservatives are in second position to the SNP in north-east Fife. Dr Cameron will also no doubt know full well that bookmakers are very accurate at predicting outcomes.

I suggest, therefore, that he consider checking the bookies odds for north-east Fife.

These have the Liberal Democrats as odds-on favourites to win with the Conservatives lagging far behind at 16-1 outsiders.

It would seem in continuing with the spurious claims that the Conservatives are the challengers to the SNP in north-east Fife that the Conservatives are far more keen to see the SNP winning by splitting the anti- SNP vote.

It would seem their message is “vote tactically as long as it’s for us”.

It puts to bed the myth that the Conservatives are serious about being strong against independence.

J Macpherson.
2a Argyle Street,
Dundee.

 

Free us from London debt

Sir, – Your correspondent Allan Sutherland just loves to bring his country down.

He also likes statistics that have no bearing on reality, measuring council elections with general elections, for example.

The correct way of measuring is like for like. In the 2015 general election, the SNP took 56 from 59 seats. At the Scottish elections compared to the previous, the SNP vote increased by 209,000 votes.

At the recent council elections compared to the previous, there was a vote increase of 105,000.

He also ignores the record of the complete economic basket case of the Westminster regime he supports.

We have had debt and deficit for the last 40-odd years with a £1.7 trillion debt today that costs us one billion a week in interest.

Rod Selbie.
45 Silver Birch Drive,
Dundee.

 

Expel people on watch lists

Sir, – Another atrocity in London with seven people killed in a barbaric, monstrous attack and what does the Government do?

Suspend election campaigning for a day. There should have been more campaigning, with someone telling us what the solution to this evil is.

Terrorists hate democracy, so the Government was playing into their hands.

I do not believe there is any leader up to the job of being Prime Minister. It needs someone with backbone. The solution is simple. Expel or jail the 3,000 people on watch lists, and put a ban on Muslim immigration.

It seems the Government is taking the Metropolitan Police advice to anyone caught up in a terrorist attack: run and hide.

Gordon Kennedy.
117 Simpson Square,
Perth.