ONCE again Alex Salmond tells independence supporters that things have "never looked better" for the cause, this time speaking at the Scottish Independence Convention ("Salmond says timing never better for cause", The Herald, November 6). He says another independence referendum could come as early as 2019, or otherwise during the Brexit transition period.
It was only in June that Mr Salmond and 20 other SNP MPs lost their seats at Westminster as the people of Scotland tried to deliver a message about the idea of a referendum rerun. Mr Salmond was clearly not listening.
Keith Howell,
White Moss, West Linton, Peeblesshire.
I WAS disappointed but not surprised at the article by Kevin McKenna ("By convention, the SNP's push for independence has stalled", The Herald, November 4). He infers that the SNP has just sat on its hands for the last three years, whereas the SNP has fought two Westminster elections, the Scottish Parliament election, the local government election and a referendum on the EU. SNP activists are understandingly a bit wearied but Mr McKenna thinks we should all be running about, waving Saltires. He also was severely critical of the White Paper at the time of the referendum; I read it, all 600 pages (took me 4 months), and his rather cavalier judgement is misguided. Our attempt to keep the pound was dished by the UK Cabinet, ably assisted by the now-Lord Darling; the oil estimates were slightly below the Oil and Gas Authority ones, and the whole EU issue was a farce.
Most of the workforce for these contests came from SNP members, so perhaps a little slack should be expected. We also have the small matter of running the Scottish Government in which many of our brightest and best are involved. The Unionists will allow no quarter in that respect.
Like him, I am very pleased that the Scottish Independence Convention met in Saturday; this is now about planning to rejuvenate the Yes Campaign, and Nicola Sturgeon and Elaine C Smith are working together. While the SNP gained thousands of extra members after the referendum it has struggled to manage them, and not all new members pulled their weight, always the case. I speak from bitter experience, having joined the SNP in 1966.
What I hope is for this winter to be focused on planning, and the spring to be the beginning of activism.
Jim Lynch,
42 Corstorphine Hill Crescent, Edinburgh.
DR Gerald Edwards (Letters, November 4) may be correct that providing baby boxes and bus passes together cost us £700 million, but he is way off beam in stating the cost of free prescription charges as being "in excess of £1.25 billion).
Prescription charges in Scotland were reduced gradually from 2008 and abolished in 2011. Annual income from charges fell from £48.7m to £26.5m during that period.
Current averaged prescription ingredient cost (the cost of the medicine) per patient in Scotland is now around £160 per year. Multiplying that up (population = 5.4m) puts the annual medicines cost at £864m. Dispensing fees and administration add to that.
The current prescription charge per item in England is £8.60 and of course the majority – children, older adults and those with certain chronic conditions – do not pay.
Philip Gaskell,
General practitioner,
Woodlands Lodge, Buchanan Castle Estate, Drymen.
ASKING a friend today why his very long-awaited knee surgery had not yet taken place he told me that the hospital had apologised. They then told him that his operation would be further delayed for some time as they had "run out of surgeons". The surgeon appointed to his case had returned to Poland. Apparently he and others are leaving, or had left the NHS as a result of Brexit. He has still not been given no date for surgery.
Together with the reports of financial, banks and other firms leaving for the Continent this, presumably, is all part of the golden future we're being promised.
Nigel Dewar Gibb,
15 Kirklee Road, Glasgow.
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