IT should not be consistently surprising to commentators like David Torrance (“Surgeon fires starting gun on another Yes campaign”, The Herald. September 14, that the SNP should wish to keep the possibility of a second independence referendum on the radar. What is more surprising is that commentators like him should be surprised.

And it is amusing to see them assume a mantle of moral indignation that Nicola Sturgeon should reappraise her “once in a generation” stance. Come on guys. In case you haven’t noticed, this is politics.

I voted Yes last year. During the campaign I attended some meetings in which I stated, often to a younger audience, that it was important that the Yes campaign prevailed as I would be unlikely to see another opportunity in my lifetime. I am not ancient; there is a decent amount of daylight between me and my three score and ten. But this was my fervent belief. I am not an SNP member. If I vote SNP it is as a means to an end. In an independent Scotland, my vote is likely to be placed elsewhere. So I was not influenced by Ms Sturgeon’s pronouncements. Although I have admiration for her as a politician, I do not swallow uncritically every pronouncement she makes.

However, Mr Torrance, who is keen to quote prominent politicians should understand why Ms Sturgeon and others float the idea of 2020/21 as being a possibility for a second referendum; “events, dear boy, events”.

The result of the referendum and the campaign itself have resulted in a sea change in the political climate in Scotland. The recent seismic shocks to the Labour Party will perhaps raise an opportunity for success for the Yes campaign that it would be foolish to ignore. Gordon Brown will not be able to reprise his barnstorming “Vow” performance with any credibility.

So, do not be surprised or outraged that a second referendum is being mooted. And don’t berate a politician for only wanting to fight a fight they are sure of winning. That actually shows respect for the will of the electorate.

Finally, there is a quotation that comes to mind that sums up why a second independence referendum could be successful. It comes from a less exalted political voice and one with whose politics I would not identify [The Who’s Pete Townshend] but one who also ironically penned a seminal piece about his (my) generation; “We won’t get fooled again.” Not next time.

William Thomson,

25 Lithgow Place, Denny.

DAVID Cameron's assertion that Scotland has lost interest in regaining its independence (“Cameron says Scots have put idea of breakaway behind them”, The Herald, September 14) does not stack up when viewed against the result of the General Election just four months ago, when the SNP won 56out of Scotland's quota of 59 seats and followed that remarkable result by winning numerous council by-elections throughout Scotland. Although independence was not on the agenda in May, voters know full well what they are voting for when they vote SNP, a party which has the solid commitment to independence running through it like a stick of rock.

The shocking reality without independence is that Scotland is undemocratically saddled with a Conservative Prime Minister and Government in spite of Scotland returning only one Conservative MP at the General Election. Furthermore, the respect Mr Cameron promised to show to Scotland and the Scottish Government has never materialised, with the latest snub the refusal to include Scottish Minister for Europe and International Development, Humza Yousaf, from joining the UK delegation to an international summit on poverty, inequality and climate change.

Scotland has indeed moved on since last September's referendum, but whether or not there will be a second referendum is not a matter for Mr Cameron. It is a choice which only, and alone, can be made by the people of Scotland. And that is exactly as it should be.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road, Stirling.

ONCE again Nicola Sturgeon is quoted as saying it is the Scottish people who will decide the timing of any further independence referendum, but contradicts herself by adding that she will not have it unless she is sure of winning.

Apart from the inconvenient fact that any future referendum is actually in the gift of Westminster rather than Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon or anyone else, the big question for her to explain is how are we all to know when the Sottish people have decided conclusively that they do want another referendum? Is that to be by favourable opinion polls, or by a referendum on when to hold an independence referendum, or by the SNP majority in Holyrood voting for it on the basis of some manifesto pledge? I think we should be told.

Alan Fitzpatrick,

10 Solomon’s View, Dunlop.

LABOUR, the UK’s largest political party, has elected a left-wing leader by a landslide (“Corbyn unveils his shaow team to take on the Tories”, The Herald, September 14). This is not a revolution, but a giant evolutionary step forward. Even those on the right recognise that Jeremy Corbyn has offered many hope where there was none, and that policies such as reducing student debt and nationalising the railways are hugely popular right across the UK’s political spectrum.

Kezia Dugdale, was one of the first people to meet Jeremy Corbyn after his election, and he has made it clear that he will support her in her efforts to rebuild Scottish Labour. When he visits Scotland in the coming days I fully expect that he will call on the SNP to work with him in Westminster to oppose the Tories by winning arguments, not playing games in parliament. However, I very much doubt he’ll have much time for the SNP’s woeful Holyrood record on education, policing and the NHS.

As positive as many people are about the impact on inequality Jeremy Corbyn can have has a conviction politician, the very last thing the SNP hierarchy want is for the news agenda to be dominated by jubilant left wingers supporting his agenda. This is because Jeremy Corbyn’s vision is not the regressive centrist platform cloaked in a tartan left wing veneer so loved by the SNP, but something which is genuinely focussed on delivering social justice in every corner of the UK. This is a real threat to the SNP’s dominance.

To distract the SNP’s core support from Jeremy Corbyn’s positive agenda, Nicola Sturgeon has been forced to play her referendum card early. By talking up the chances of a second referendum in the near future, she simultaneously reassures hard-core nationalists whilst keeping on side those on the left who reluctantly see the SNP as the necessary means to deliver a socialist Scotland once independence is gained.

Whilst the SNP may have been successful in moving the agenda back on to the ground they are comfortable with, I am hopeful that the rebalancing of politics across the UK will expose their record in government to forensic scrutiny by the Scottish public.

Dr Scott Arthur,

27 Buckstone Gardens, Edinburgh.

UP and down the country, many will share David Cameron’s horrified vision of a Jeremy Corbyn led Labour Government taking Britain back to 1980s and the dark days of the demon Scargill.

In the today’s era of thoughtless hiring and firing, zero hours contracts etc., many others might fancy a return to a climate of job security, reasonably good wages, workers treated with a degree of respect and, believe it or not, some companies making enrolment in final salary pension schemes, a condition of employment.

Thomas O’Neill,

4/1 Levengrove Court, Dumbarton.