Does anyone fall for the SNP's pie in the sky indy papers?

Mr Robertson seems unaware of two things. Yes, there are Nato members who do not have and do not host nuclear weapons. But these same members have not at any time had nuclear weapons on their territory that they have chosen to relinquish. Second, Nato, and especially its General Secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, has spoken very soberly and even sternly of the need for Nato members to increase their defence spending, to prepare for any future Russian aggression.

Mr Robertson confirmed that Scotland would not have its own submarines but would concentrate on maritime patrol aircraft. Beyond that, it is not clear what Scotland would have to offer Nato. On April 29, 2022, the SNP’s defence spokesman, Stewart McDonald explained that Scotland should develop a "capability in military medicine that we can readily offer partners in time of need", conjuring up images of uniformed personnel carrying first aid boxes around a battlefield.

At least the SNP is consistent, getting civil servants once more to labour long and hard to produce yet another vanity exercise in separatist pie in the sky aspiration.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

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The strength of the UK

IT is of course in the interests of every Scottish nationalist to denigrate their own country - the UK - in order to advance their case, but it is also worth answering the contentions of the likes of Alan Carmichael (Letters, March 5).

The facts are that through its historic mixed economy, the UK even today enjoys a standard of living and social conditions which are the envy of most of the world, as is demonstrated by the many tens of thousands of people who come to live here as immigrants and refugees: obviously they think the UK is a much better country than those through which they have previously passed. At each end of the spectrum of immigrants I would recommend reading the accounts of the US writer Armistead Maupin (he says "look at your country - it's amazing!") and the Afghani refugee Hamed Amiri, in his book The Boy With Two Hearts ("it felt odd that a country would give its money to people who weren't even from the UK").

Which is not say that the UK is perfect - for a start, no country is, and in addition the UK has been badly run for the last 14 years (with Scotland being no exception). As a result, the pragmatic symbiosis best summed up by the historian Robert Tombs - in his example that the NHS, the most socialist institution in Europe exists alongside and is funded by Europe's most capitalist institution in the form of the City of London - has been weakened and damaged. A healthy public sector needs a thriving private sector, and vice versa, or both will suffer, as will the public in the long term, as we can see in the inequality and failings around us. However, the social democratic institutions and systems which created modern Britain (the NHS, the Welfare State, devolution, the Barnett Formula and so on) are mainly intact, although they are in need of substantial repair and renewal.

I am sure that none of your readers would expect any incoming government to be able to wave a magic wand and put right the failures of Scotland's governments overnight. For that reason, it is understandable that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are not making extravagant pledges to do so. The damage of a decade and a half of austerity, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Nicola Sturgeon, will take at least as long to put right, and that hard grind will require priorities to be set and stuck to, even when it is unpopular to do so. However, the greater size and diversity of the UK economy gives much greater opportunities for that renewal than that of Scotland alone - unless Hamza Yousaf or (God help us) Shona Robison in his absence has their own magic wand.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow.

PM needs a history lesson

FURTHER to the letter (April 5) from Doug Maughan regarding the “threat” from the PM that the SNP would take "Scotland back literally 300 years", leaving aside the campervan with built-in time travel facility, that would be circa1724. At that time Scotland enjoyed a greater numbers of universities (five) to England’s two. Scotland’s medical schools associated with the universities, especially Edinburgh, were renowned.

The university system was lecture-based and embraced science and other topics offering a broad-based education to the then movers and shakers. This was the Age of Enlightenment and throughout Continental Europe and the North American colonies Scotland was well recognised and respected in that regard.

Perhaps the PM meant his remarks to be seen as denigrating Scotland at the time as backward whereas they, as much of his utterances, reflect his ill-informed research into the matter. Literacy was more widespread here than in England Perhaps he relied on the information on Scottish history from Michael Gove, who appears to be an up to date political Vicar of Bray figure. At the risk of plugging a good reference may I recommend the PM refers to The Scottish Enlightenment by Arthur Herman before bumping his gums.

Ronald Oliver, Elie.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Image: Getty)

Housing cut is indefensible

I AM really glad Neil Mackay has focused on the shameful cut to the budget for affordable house building ("Add SNP to housing crisis? Result? Failure", The Herald, March 5). The decision has no logic, morality or humanity and should be reversed immediately. Shelter deserves huge praise for declaring it is not just unacceptable but contradicts so many of the statements Scottish Government ministers make about how they focus on the most vulnerable in our society.

Hamza Yousaf and Shona Robison need to be big enough to admit they got this massively wrong and correct it. Yes, they have difficult choices to make, but the SNP stands for a fairer, more equal society does it not? That's why I vote SNP but I despair at the stupidity and cruelty of this decision. It is a kick in the teeth for families desperate to live in an affordable, warm, secure home.

And, as Mr Mackay also says, reverse that mad freeze on council tax.

Sandy Slater, Stirling.

Wait for the Red Book

READERS should be warned that when they hear the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget speech today it is not the Budget, just what he wants you believe. The actual Budget is set out in the Red Book and other official papers which do not become available until he has sat down.

These documents, which are a mass of detail, take independent economists and the newspapers they write for, some days to fully analyse and explain what they contain. That is why “Budgets” presented on Budget Day are not the Budget that is revealed by the following weekend. I will be surprised if it is any different this year.

Jim Sillars, Edinburgh.

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NI cut a hollow gesture

WITH the possibility of another penny off National Insurance “to help the poorest workers”, one has to ask what use that will be. The majority of poorest workers earn less than the threshold to begin even paying income tax, so this will make only a tiny difference to that pittance, while the highest earners will benefit hugely.

It is a typical Tory ploy to make their rich friends and voters that bit richer and confuse the gullible into believing they care about poverty.

P Davidson, Falkirk.