IT seems that David Miller (Letters, January 7) has not read Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission report as it clearly states on page 43 that "Scotland should explicitly reject the austerity model pursued by the UK in recent years. Scotland needs to focus on both the real economy, and putting finances on a sustainable footing, as dual fiscal goals. There will be much work to be done to bridge the gap between Scotland’s performance and potential.”

The two-year-old Growth report also ignored oil and gas revenues in its calculations and since then the estimated GERS notional deficit has been reduced. In 2018 the amount of oil and gas extracted in Scotland’s waters was 85 per cent of the Norwegian level but the UK Government only attributed £1.2 billion in taxes to Scotland whereas Norway raised almost £11bn that year.

UK economic policies currently benefit England not Scotland, as illustrated by Boris Johnson’s decision to delay his budget until March 11 which leaves the Scottish Government little or no time to formulate its 2020 budget as the majority of taxes still remain under Westminster control.

Mr Miller repeats common misunderstandings on the EU, as there is no queue to join the EU and no country is forced to use the euro, while Malta, Luxembourg and Ireland have more say and influence over the EU/UK trade negotiations than Scotland as part of the UK. By voting No in 2014, Scotland is losing out on huge inward investment opportunities and on thousands of jobs that are leaving the UK as a result of Brexit.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh EH11.

IS Scotland the world’s most forgiving political environment? I only ask having noticed Richard Leonard still leads Scottish Labour, and Jackson Carlaw has put his name forward to officially lead the Scottish Conservative Party, after the disasters for their respective parties, of the EU and General Elections, with both these people in charge ("Carlaw hires PR firm in race to become leader of Scottish Tories", The Herald, January 17).

Either politics for these parties is not a results-led activity, or in the words of Maggie Thatcher, “There is No Alternative”. Whatever it is, it is not good for Scottish democracy for the supposed opposition to be so deferential to London and poorly led by people obviously not up to the job.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

DOUGLAS Cowe and Alex Gallagher have responded (January 3) to my letter of January 1 on the topic of Britishness. Both have demonstrated allegiance to the popular myth that Scottish independence is an idea dreamt up by the SNP at the instigation of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon in particular. At the risk of being boringly repetitive I would repeat my assertion, previously stressed in these pages, that independence is a choice available to the Scottish nation and would not lead to a one-party state. The Scottish people would be perfectly free to elect the Monster Raving Loony Party after independence.

My letter discussed the matter without reference to any political party or individual. Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon, like me, are mere messengers. Mr Salmond has already left the stage, Ms Sturgeon may follow before she is much older, and I have no ambition to appear on it. If all three of us were to come to grief tomorrow, together with the SNP, the independence issue would still be there the next day.

Willie Maclean, Milngavie.

Read more: Brexit poses further difficulties for those arguing for independence