Letters: UK's handling of Ukraine strengthens independence cause

Derrick McClure, Aberdeen.

* BRUCE Halliday tells us that "it is over for the SNP separation project". If he is right in his assertion then it is over for the continued existence and identity of our Scottish nation which will be doomed to remain a captive satellite of England.

Scottish independence is not an SNP project; it is a democratic choice for the people of Scotland and the SNP is the child rather than the parent of the independence movement. Where was the SNP at the time of Bannockburn?

It seems that Mr Halliday and his ilk will gleefully climb aboard every passing bandwagon, including the Ukraine situation, in the hope that it will be carrying some poison which might bring about the extinction of our Scottish national identity.

Willie Maclean, Milngavie.

SOONER WE LEAVE THE BETTER

I MUST respectfully point out to Mark Openshaw (Letters, March 11) that I did not say in my letter of March 9 that "now is not the time to go for a second independence referendum" (and I did not write the headline above that letter). I certainly agreed with Neil Mackay's article regarding the response to Ukraine; "we cannot stand by and watch as a country is murdered" and with Ian Blackford, who is committed to delivering a referendum, but who rightly said that just now, the focus must be on Ukraine, The world will have to put an end to Vladimir Putin, a war criminal who threatens us with annihilation.

However, the independence referendum is not taking place the day after tomorrow, it is scheduled for late 2023. And given President Putin's threat of nuclear attacks, and Scotland's present conspicuous position with Trident on the Clyde, the sooner we are independent the better.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

NO INDYREF NEXT YEAR

YOUR correspondents speculating on the possibility of Indyref2 in 2023 are wasting their time – it is not going to happen.

The reason we can know this is that the SNP sees referendums differently to the rest of the world, where governments use them to resolve an important issue by asking the people directly for their opinion. Then policy is made in the light of that verdict. In contrast, the Scottish nationalists see a referendum as a device to achieve independence on the basis of the lowest possible popular support. (Those who doubt this only need to go back over letters on these pages, where nationalists argue repeatedly that 50%+1 of any turnout is a sufficient mandate for secession, even if it represents a demonstrable minority of public opinion.)

The SNP is not interested in a referendum as a means of measuring Scottish opinion. So it will only hold one when it is certain it can win. As people who feel uncertain are less likely to a leap in the dark, that will require political stability both in the UK and in the rest of the world.

As they say, "good luck with that".

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.

IT IS TIME TO MAKE THE RICH PAY

I WOULD hope that we are all humbled as we witness the sacrifice of the people of Ukraine on behalf of their democratic and free lifestyle. I would also hope that the generations since the Second World War are humble, and honest enough, to recognise that the way by which we decide on what is important has been manifestly selfish.

I am not a regular churchgoer. But I do believe that the core teachings of all the major religions provide guidelines by which fair societies should operate. The vast split between the incomes at the top and bottom of society – and I mean incomes – result from a failure, by the state, to support the teaching of morality and the failure of the Christian churches to act politically.

If one is sufficiently lucky to own one’s own home, or rent with total security, it is perfectly possible to have an acceptably comfortable lifestyle, and much contentment on a quite modest income. One cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, have much contentment on the minimum wage; or if lacking accommodation.

Events in Ukraine now determine that our nation will have to pay a significant price to create the certainty that our democracy will survive. This price must not fall on those who daily worry about how to make ends meet.

Since the Second World War, policy on personal tax has pandered to the notion that raising higher taxes on high-end incomes will scare the taxpayer abroad. Now is the time to test this. Having survived on less than average income since the collapse in interest rates, and paying council tax out of capital because I have savings, I have no sympathy for that argument.

Most of the public services, which contribute to a society at peace with itself – care of the elderly, care of those who cannot work, the NHS and police – are understaffed. The result is NHS waiting lists, 999 calls unattended, and schools unable to deliver the best education, not to mention unreasonable stress for the employee and discontent among the public. Year after year the situation gets worse.

The uber wealthy, unless they created their wealth from scratch and use it to provide well-paid jobs, or put their excess incomes to cure the ills of the under-funded caring services, deserve little respect. It is now their turn to contribute in true proportion.

Ian HC Stein, Dunblane.

SHAME ON SNP FOR GLASGOW'S STATE

DAVID J Crawford (Letters, March 10) asks why Glasgow is so dirty compared to Perth. The other day I had the pleasure of being in my home city only to discover it's absolutely filthy. As I walked down Bothwell Street on dangerously cracked and uneven pavements I came to the junction of Hope Street to find an enormous pile of rubbish stacked on the pavement.

The streets have litter strewn everywhere, it’s an absolute disgrace.

On leaving to drive to East Kilbride the M8 embankments are also absolutely filthy and as for junctions or slip roads, wow. They haven’t been maintained for decades.

The road signs haven’t been washed for years and are actually illegible in some cases.

Meanwhile our beloved First Minister and her motley crew have funded various ridiculous projects and use our hard-earned cash to organise Indyref2. She should hang her head in shame along with sidekick Susan Aitken.

With all due to respect to the terrible injustices of 300 years ago….does anyone have actually have a great-great-great-great-granny who was convicted of witchcraft? Answers on a postcard please.

John Gilligan, Ayr.

* WELL done Glasgow City Council for introducing car parking charges in Pollok Park. Along with the pothole strategy this will further help reduce car use in the city. Particularly helpful is that the parking machines are cash only. No debit or credit cards can be used nor the Ringo parking app.

Cutting-edge strategy by the city fathers.

Rod Hunter, Glasgow.

WE MUST KEEP WEARING MASKS

AS an ancient Edinburgh general practitioner, I can’t help being interested in the numbers of Covid sufferers. Recently the numbers infected with Covid almost doubled overnight in Scotland, and numbers of Covid sufferers in Scottish hospitals also rose as well as deaths.

When you wear a mask you stop me from being infected by you. I still wear a mask in shops and crowded areas to protect you.. Very few other folk do. After all, Covid is just a mild sort of flu now, isn’t it? Boris Johnson has set us free.

Nicola Sturgeon has not. Not yet, and like every other Covid-related decision, she has been right and he has been wrong. Why should that change now? What should change is that Westminster continues to to pay for lateral flow testing equipment if Scotland decides to keep control of its Covid infection. Anything less shows an attitude of careless disrespect for Holyrood’s decisions. It will not be forgotten come the referendum and the next election.

Elizabeth Scott, Edinburgh.