Sir, John McNab (Letters, June 4), cannot fathom “why it is imperative that we here in Scotland, who are safe, comfortable and generally well off; who are not poor, dependent, oppressed or deprived” should still vote for independence.
While Mr McNab may personally be “safe, comfortable and generally well off” this is far from the case for all of Scotland. According to Save the Children, one in six of our children one in three in Glasgow go to bed hungry every night. The Child Poverty Action Group reports that, despite what it calls “Scotland’s undoubted wealth”, one in five children nearly one in three in Dundee live in poverty. In energy-rich Scotland, more than 27% of households live in fuel poverty. The UK is the developed world’s fourth most unequal country.
Entire communities, from the east end of Glasgow to the east end of Dundee, have been left to rot; ignored and condemned, by a distant, heartless government at Westminster that always seems able to find enough money to fight wars and build nuclear weapons, but never enough to create jobs for the unemployed, protect the elderly or shelter the homeless. No wonder, then, that an overwhelming majority of working class Scots are voting “yes”.
I presume Mr McNab who appears to be voting “no” on the basis of “I’m alright, Jack” is satisfied with the miserable defeatism, complacency and ignorance of a No campaign whose slogan is the depressing and unambitious “UK OK”.
For me, and innumerable other “yes” voters, the status quo a politics of division, self-interest and greed, devoid of community, altruism and hope is not acceptable. We refuse to pass by on the other side.
David Kelly. 17 Highfields, Dunblane.
Arrogance over set-up costs of independence
Sir, As a Scots voter I feel insulted by the arrogant patronisation by the First Minister when he assumed I would believe his protestations about the cost of a Scottish Government after he picked a spontaneous number assumed by someone else as the possible price, without even attempting to do the research himself, or at least publishing the work done by John Swinney.
I believe it shows incompetence for a parliament to embark upon such an important and life-changing decision, without properly assessing the probable cost to the people, who have indeed been down this road before with the continued expense of the parliament building at Holyrood.
Having been through one economic disaster with the Scottish Government it is with some sense of relief that I appreciate a simple vote to remain within the United Kingdom will remove any responsibility for at least one of the enormous debts which are inevitable.
When do we get answers instead of continued memorised and rehearsed rhetoric.
Alan Bell. Roods, Kirriemuir.
Not thinking it through…
Sir, It now seems plain that the costs the SNP have been quoting for the setting up of an independent Scottish state were numbers magicked out of the air with no basis in mathematics.
I note, too, that there are schools of thought in the SNP that would like cigarettes to be banned in an independent Scotland. Can I suggest this would not be a smart move as, in the event of a “yes” for independence, the Scottish Chancellor and the Treasury would then have no access to fag packets on the back of which to plan the Scottish economy.
(Captain) Ian McRae. 17 Broomwell Gardens, Monikie.
Expensive and now outdated?
Sir, Sitting in my garden in Balmullo I watch these expensive big boys’ toys landing at Leuchars after flights to goodness knows where (just more frequent flights, perhaps, to drain the fuel store before the move north?) and wonder what purpose they can really serve?
Recent civilian prosecutions have revealed that pilots are terrified of cheap laser pens being shone into the cockpit from various ground locations so I wonder just how vulnerable these expensive clay pigeons are to the ever more sophisticated weaponry of the terrorist?
Is it not time to phase out these outdated flying weapons, perhaps in favour of remote-controlled drones and robots, launched and controlled from advanced helicopter or satellite aircraft?
If the developing threat to security is boots on the ground terrorism surely the need will be for troops to seek them out and deal with them?
D McMillan. 5 Milton Farm Cottages, Balmullo.
Hardly cost effective
Sir, At a time when the BBC is supposedly cutting back, why did they need to send a reporter from Salford to do interviews at Peterhead fish market for the BBC Breakfast Show on Wednesday?
Could this live broadcast not have been done by a reporter from BBC Scotland, at much less cost?
John McDonald. 14 Rosebery Court, Kirkcaldy.