IT is interesting that Angus Robertson's new wheeze has an objective of "in depth polling" ("Robertson heads new polling group in bud for Indyref2", The Herald, February 4). In a spirit of helpfulness, I would like to suggest a few in-depth questions he might like to ask the Scottish public, namely:
If leaving one union (the EU) is a Bad Thing, do you think leaving a longer-established and more economically valuable union (the UK) is a Good Thing?
Are you happy to have your salary, benefits and pensions to be paid in a different (as yet unknown but probably less valuable) currency if Scotland leaves the UK?
Do you support giving up our nuclear deterrent at a time when our enemies are developing new nuclear weapons?
And of course:
If politicians define that a referendum as Once In A Generation, should they honour that promise? And how long is a generation?
You're welcome, Angus.
Peter A Russell,
87 Munro Road, Jordanhill, Glasgow.
MICHAEL Settle reports on comments made by Professor John McLaren (The Herald, February 2) and I suggest Project Fear is alive and well. The headline is the best place to start – “Expert warns of £10bn loss if Scotland leaves UK”. Devoting almost half the article to this loss and to emphasise the point in case the reader does not quite get it, it is restated a further three times, also affording Willie Rennie two paragraphs of complete waffle to concur. Prof McLaren said it was “widely accepted that Scotland would be deprived of a net transfer in the region of £10 billion, from the rest of the UK” but omitted to say it was also widely disputed by other experts who do not agree with him. This was an opportunity missed to discuss the reasons why we have got into this situation over many decades under the control of Westminster while they reaped huge revenues from North Sea oil. The article goes on to say, somewhat confusingly, that this is in contrast to the UK leaving the EU “where the impact was likely to be small but positive” but slips in that the longer term would be negative.
Prof McLaren went on to say if Scotland voted to be independent there could be a “plethora of options” which I believe is an interesting topic and is seldom discussed. One option suggested by him was a “British Union”, worth consideration but the wrong name, and I think this has some merit as it might allow for a degree of continuity with the rest of the UK where we have common endeavour and mutual interest and it would remove many of the barriers that caused voters to vote No in 2014 – indeed it could be just the safety net they seek. It is a stage on from devo max which was never on the table but did seem popular. For this to work, Scotland would firstly have to vote for complete independence as a sovereign state with no strings attached and then choose from previously discussed options laid out on the table. At a stroke we would be an equal partner with the rest of the UK, something the Union of the Parliaments failed to secure in 1707 and has remained a running sore ever since.
Alan M Morris,
20 Kirkhouse Road, Blanefield.
WHEN Donald Trump came to Scotland, without a mention of politics, there was a huge campaign against him, prominently led by Ross Greer of the Greens. It cost Scottish taxpayers in excess of £3 million to protect the President. By contrast, Nicola Sturgeon has had no one demanding she should not be allowed into the United States nor has there been huge popular discontent despite her giving a highly political speech. The policing bill for Ms Sturgeon will be negligible.
The SNP/Green alliance want to project an image of Scotland being a welcoming country. The Americans are showing us how to do it. Courtesy.
Dr Gerald Edwards, Broom Road, Glasgow.
THE Labour Party has long championed progressive policies and democratic improvements, leading the way on issues including Lords reform and devolution. But when it comes to the foundation of our democracy – the UK’s voting system – the party has been slow to act. What is democratic and progressive about an unrepresentative voting system that stifles minority voices and amplifies the support of the largest political parties?
For Scottish Labour, without proportional representation the party would have almost no representation in the Scottish Parliament. In 2016, the party won just three first past-the-post seats, receiving its other 21 seats via the regional lists. Scottish Labour benefits directly from proportional representation. Surely now is the time for the party to support electoral reform at Westminster to make votes matter.
Richard Wood,
Cammo Grove, Edinburgh.
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