Letters: Indy campaign will go on even if General Election plan fails

I am unaware of any polling which points to voters in Scotland leaving the SNP for Labour (a common boast among unionist commentators), and why would they? Perhaps we could now see the “private” polling the UK has done in Scotland, funded by our taxes?

Labour under Sir Keir Starmer appears anything but radical, and any hope that Gordon Brown can bring new “significantly enhanced” constitutional proposals to the table seems slim: press reports claim he has already had to water down his plans to assuage sentiment in England. A confederal solution, with shared sovereignty among equals could be a winner, but I fear that Anglo-British nationalists would never thole that.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

WE NEED MORE DEMOCRACY

ACCORDING to Nicola Sturgeon "our independence movement becomes Scotland's democracy movement" ("First Minister’s spin doctor condemned after ‘Unionist election deniers’ rant", The Herald, November 25). Was it democratic for Ms Sturgeon to say "I detest the Tories"?

Was it democratic for a woman to be ejected from Holyrood for wearing a scarf in Suffragette colours? Was it democratic for Ms Sturgeon to have misled the Scottish Parliament over the Scottish Government's handling of the Alex Salmond inquiry? Is it democratic for the SNP's rulebook to state: "No MP shall publicly criticise a group decision, policy or other member of the group"?

Scotland could do with more democracy, more transparency, less flag-waving and zero inflammatory rhetoric.

William Loneskie, Lauder.

• IT would appear that Nicola Sturgeon's official spokesman is struggling to come to terms with which Scottish politician is currently behaving most like Donald John Trump. For help with this he need look no further than Dr Johnson's dictionary of 1755 for the definitive definition of trumpery: "Something fallaciously splendid, something of less value than it seems, falsehood, empty talk, trifles." Sounds like a fair description of the official spokesman's boss to me.

Michael J Laggan, Newton of Balcanquhal.

BE AWARE OF WHAT VOTING SNP MEANS

AS a voter, the greatest challenge is what to believe in what politicians say, and to have faith that what is said is sincere and honest. The greatest despair is discovering that what you were told was a lie.

With the Supreme Court ruling against the Scottish Parliament holding a new independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon has declared that the next General Election would be a “de facto referendum” on independence. A vote for the SNP would be a vote for independence.

Previously Ms Sturgeon has insisted that a vote for the SNP does not amount to a vote for independence. Ms Sturgeon is on record as saying “A vote for the SNP is not a vote for another referendum. It is a vote to have Scotland’s voice heard at Westminster.”

So what does this mean? Are the electorate being manipulated by the SNP? Are the votes for the SNP being misinterpreted?

The electorate have been encouraged to vote for the SNP if they support independence. Also vote for the SNP if you support the party, but not independence.

To be clear – Ms Sturgeon will use the electorate's vote to say that the people of Scotland have spoken, and they want independence. And that Scotland is being denied its democratic right. So it is critical that the electorate are aware that despite being told otherwise, a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence.

Mark Gray, East Kilbride.

• SEVERAL pro-Scottish independence writers have written letters on the UK Supreme Court decision (November 24 & 25), and I respect their views. But can one of them please answer a question? Should Indyref2 happen and if the unionists were to prevail for a second time, how many years should lapse before Indyref3 happens?

Geoff Moore, Alness.

CHANGE LAW ON FOOTBALL ABUSE

ANYONE who has met me will know that my knowledge of football is considerably limited, but they will also be aware that, after more than 50 years in public life, I can offer considerable experience of employment tribunals and related matters.

I feel strongly that the findings on footballer Rico Quitongo ("‘Bitter blow’ as footballer loses race case against former club", The Herald, November 25) are disturbing.

Perhaps I should explain that some years ago I directed an award-winning amateur film based on the story of Queen of the South player Mike Jackson. My rather loose association with the club since then was renewed when I discovered that their players train in the same club in the gym which I use twice weekly. I should declare that I got to know Rico Quitongo quite well and I consider him to be a true professional. I find him highly intelligent, dedicated, and entirely trustworthy. It is not without significance that his claim – which I have never discussed with him – was supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Professional Footballers’ Association, which are both commendably active on issues on racial discrimination and harassment.

Several comments from the tribunal judge surely lead to some pertinent questions. Presumably following representations, we are told that “while the club carried out an investigation into the matter" it was later dropped due to “insufficient evidence”. Surely this is rather strange? Why would any club go to great lengths to find evidence which could reach the conclusion that they were themselves culpable if they were not discharging their responsibilities? Later we read that a club director “could not be held responsible for the alleged abuse as it was said by a supporter and not an employee or someone for whom either respondent was in law, responsible”. Mr Quitongo was an employee; isn't there a duty of care?

I very much welcome the chairwoman of EHRC’s comment that “we hope that this is an opportunity for football clubs across Britain to better understand their duty to protect their employees and handle allegations in line with the law”. However, if the tribunal headed by a judge clearly felt that there was no breach of the law I find that worrying. In my opinion if current law allows a player to be treated in the way I believe he was, manifestly current law is insufficient and doesn’t go far enough. I have huge respect for the EHRC and PFA and urge them to campaign, with the influence they have, for the law to be brought up to date. Equality and human rights in modern Britain surely demand no less.

Sir Tom Clarke, Former Labour MP for Coatbridge & District, Coatbridge.

Will the monarchy come under increasing threat as our living standards decline? Picture: PA

WILL AUSTERITY THREATEN MONARCHY?

I SHARE many of the sentiments concerning the monarchy expressed by Tommy Sheppard ("Scotland does not need King Charles", The Herald, November 23). He is aware, I am sure, that he is going down a well-trod road in stating his dissatisfaction with the existence of the monarchy. He will also be aware that there are three possible methods of dispensing with the monarchy: revolution, legislation and abdication. The majority of the British population have considered that the possibility of the adoption of the first or second of these methods in the foreseeable future as being remote, with the third, as matters currently stand, unlikely.

George VI remarked in 1948 to Vita Sackville-West, the novelist, journalist and poet, after he was informed that her substantial home was being handed over to the National Trust: "Everything is going now, before long I shall also have to go." He got that wrong so far as the monarchy is concerned, didn’t he ?

During the reign of the late Queen, the standard of living of the British population generally showed consistent and welcome improvement. Might it come to pass that during the demanding years, currently being widely predicted for the UK by so many, the need for and the costs of the monarchy will be subjected to increased questioning and debate?

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.

• HOW wonderful to see a well-argued republican opinion prominently published in The Herald. We have had weeks of wall-to-wall media covering a family that makes little or no difference to our daily lives. Thanks for publishing this. I hope readers who agree with Tommy Sheppard's opinions will consider joining Republic, of which I am a proud member.

Sue Lane, Edinburgh.

WHAT'S HAPPENED TO LANGUAGE TEACHING?

FURTHER to the letter regarding the Dutch education system (November 11), I wish to highlight my granddaughter’s experience of learning French in Scotland.

Despite doing well in the National 5 exam, she has decided not to continue with Higher French. She took French because she had a passion for the language and wanted to improve her skills.

More than 50 pupils at her school took National 5 French last year, clearly showing many pupils had an interest in and passion for the language as well. However, not one person decided to continue with Higher French this year, which shows how flawed Scotland’s method of teaching languages is. This involves memorising essays and passages to regurgitate in the exam and this could have been in any language.

This disappoints me greatly as, in 1970, I was in the fortunate position of sitting an Oral O Grade French. What has happened in the interim period?

Jacqui Mair, Irvine.

X-RAY VISION

I SUPPOSE it was inevitable that once the World Cup got under way the national news bulletins would open with a visit to the England team's hotel or training camp to get the latest news of the future winners of the tournament. On Wednesday I was interested to hear that star striker Harry Kane was going for an X-ray to reveal the seriousness of his ankle injury. The reporter advised us that in around two hours' time the England camp would have the result and therefore would know if Kane could take any further part in the tournament.

It occurred to me that it was good job that the World Cup was not taking place in Scotland, as poor Harry Kane would have had to wait six to eight weeks for an X-ray and a further two to three weeks to get the result. This would mean the tournament was over before the X-ray results were known

Ally Martin, Dundee.