Neil Mackay’s column last week on the nature of Scottish nationalism continues to provoke debate on our Letters Pages.

Read that column here 

Read some responses here 

Today a reader discusses what has happened since the 2014 referendum.

Stan Grodynski of Longniddry writes:

"Neil Mackay's article stimulated some further debate on Scotland's independence in these pages (Letters, September 4), with both A Blue and Victor Clements questioning the future of self-determination for Scotland. Perhaps those who consider that the independence debate should be shut down because a referendum was lost a decade ago should contemplate how many people would have voted differently had they known what the future actually held in store for them by sustaining the UK non-constitutional status quo?

"One suspects that given the overwhelmingly hostile UK mainstream media at the time, plus general fear of the unknown, that many were reluctant to vote for independence and therefore effectively abstained, or in some cases, deliberately spoiled their voting papers. This group represented around 15 per cent of the electorate and if not much more than half of this group had been persuaded to vote Yes then the referendum would have delivered a positive result.

"The fact that polls since have consistently shown support for independence at around 50% or greater indicates that many (perhaps even including some No voters) would indeed have voted differently if they had known Scotland would have been subjected to a hard Brexit (in spite of strongly voting to remain in the EU), that austerity would have continued for a decade (and now appears set to continue for another decade), that energy prices in energy-rich Scotland would continue to spiral (along with the prices of basic foods and house mortgages), all while genuine refugees arriving in the UK would be treated abominably by a UK government that not only would look away while tens of thousands of women and children were slaughtered but would militarily support the fanatical regime engaging in such a genocidal act.

"Wes Streeting was clear in stating that for Labour-run Wales 'all roads lead back to Westminster' (even in devolved matters such as the NHS) and in spite of the pathetically desperate attempts of Sir Keir’s puppet in Scotland (whenever he deigns to appear before selected reporters) to deceive the electorate otherwise, the people of Scotland know the truth of his assessment. It’s no wonder that the UK Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties are not only intent on preventing independence but are scurrilously intent on thwarting democracy itself as even their own polling indicates that self-determination is what the people of Scotland truly desire.

"Only Italy is deemed an older country to Scotland in Europe and the fire of independence in the people of Scotland will not be extinguished by political shysters or media distorters feeding from the trough of the wealthy British Establishment."

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