Letters: United, we stand a far greater chance of winning independence

Former First Minister Alex Salmond consistently advocated for collaboration among Scottish independence parties, recognising that our current voting system demands strategic unity.

This data highlights two important points: 1. the strength of pro-independence sentiment in the constituency; 2. the potential impact of a united pro-independence strategy.

Had the SNP and ALBA coordinated their efforts or presented a united front, the outcome of the by-election might have been different. The combined pro-independence vote was clearly larger than Labour’s winning share, suggesting that vote splitting between these parties may have contributed to Labour’s narrow victory.

Consider the 2024 general election results: Labour secured 37 seats with just 35.3% of the vote, while the SNP, despite garnering 30% of votes, won only nine seats. This disparity underscores the urgent need for a united approach to maximise representation under the first-past-the-post system.

Given these realities, we must adapt our strategy accordingly. In first past the post (FPTP) elections, like the recent by-election, “unity” means standing aside for the strongest pro-independence candidate. However, for Holyrood elections, the most effective strategy is “SNP1/Alba2”. This approach maximises our representation under the proportional system and could potentially create a supermajority for independence in the Scottish Parliament.

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The SNP, ALBA, and the Greens must set aside their differences and focus on our shared common goal: Scottish independence.

By presenting a united front for Scottish independence, we could potentially create a supermajority for independence in the Scottish Parliament, providing a definitive mandate for constitutional change.

The data speaks for itself. In the 2024 election, pro-independence parties collectively secured over 39% of the vote. Imagine the impact if this support were strategically channelled through a co-ordinated campaign.

We cannot afford to let internal disagreements overshadow our ultimate objective. The people of Scotland deserve a strong, unified voice advocating for their right to self-determination. It’s time for our leaders to heed Alex Salmond’s call for unity and work together to achieve the Scotland we all envision.

The path to independence is clear, but it requires courage, co-operation, and clear strategic thinking. Alba Party Holyrood leader MSP Ash Regan has presented the Scottish Independence Strategy to the SNP.

Let’s learn from the Inverclyde by-election and the recent general election. United, we stand a far greater chance of success.
Dhruva Kumar, Media Co-ordinator, Alba Party Glasgow (Former Glasgow South MP Candidate; Head of Alba Friends of India).

Time to end the war in Ukraine
OLHA Redchuk, in her letter supporting Ukraine (‘Be under no illusion: Russia is out to expand its empire’, November 11), advises people to “seek information from various sources”. 

Well, that’s what I’ve been doing over the past two years and my take on the Ukraine-Russia conflict is different. Search YouTube for talks given by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Professor John Mearsheimer, Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Lieutenant Colonel David Davis, Dr Gilbert Doctorow, and Judge Andrew Napolitano.

All are agreed that Russia’s “special military operation” was a response to the coup which brought into power a regime which intended to join NATO and would therefore be likely to place nuclear missiles on the Ukraine-Russia border. It was a response in some ways similar to that of President Kennedy when Khrushchev tried to place missiles on Cuba in 1962. I remember as schoolboy looking at the clock on the wall of my classroom as it ticked towards 2pm, I think it was, fearing the end of the world if the Russians didn’t take their missiles back.

Missiles along Ukraine’s 1,200-mile-long border with Russia could decapitate the Russian high command within 20 minutes.

Russian leaders warned repeatedly that NATO expansion eastwards after the collapse of the Soviet Union would end in war. They were also incensed by the banning by the new regime in Kiev of Russian as an official language of the Russian-speaking eastern provinces.

A further reason for Russian intervention was the bombing and shelling of these provinces by the new government from 2014 onwards, causing death and destruction on a massive scale. Fourteen thousand people were killed there between 2014 and 2021. 

The German invasion during the Second World War has left an indelible fear in the minds of the Russian staff, little lessened by the passage of time. Millions of Russians were killed and the country devastated. The Germans blew up everything during their retreat. President Eisenhower wrote : “When we flew into Russia, in 1945, I did not see a house standing between the western borders of the country and the area around Moscow”.

Ukrainians have fought courageously and valiantly against hopeless odds, and done more than anyone thought possible to defend their country, but the result could only have had one outcome. The longer the conflict goes on the more the horrors will continue. It’s time to end it now, but only President-elect Trump seems the one western leader wanting this to happen.
William Loneskie, Lauder, Berwickshire.

Climate movement needs a leader
SIR Keir Starmer will be at CPP29 in Azerbaijan this week, hoping to secure the UK’s leadership on climate change, unlike the leaders of Russia, China, India, Brazil, Canada, the  EU and, crucially, the arch opponent of the “movement”, Donald Trump.

But as one of the few “big guns” there, I doubt he will be able to influence any progress, especially since the hosts rely on oil and gas for almost half its GDP.

There is, however, a huge vacancy for a leader, if the apocalyptic predictions of environmental disasters are true, in how to defend your country against the damage caused by the floods and winds.

There are many reports and articles about the Spanish floods, which could have been mitigated by better warning systems and damage limitation procedures, and possibly been prevented altogether if the Valencia area’s gorges that enable water run-off hadn’t been “rewilded” and choked with vegetation, and if Spain’s previous strategy of dam building to produce electricity and manage floodwater  hadn’t stopped.

Even if Spain’s 0.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions was zero, without investment in  “resilience”  measures such as dams, this disaster would still have happened.

The same is true of the UK. It produces only 1% of global warming but the estimated cost of global warming  to the economy is currently 1.1% of GDP (£33bn) per year. Yet only around £1bn is spent on, for example, flood and erosion defences. Time is not on Sir Keir’s side because Indonesia is spending $35bn on moving its capital city from Jakarta 1,000 kilometres inland due to subsidence caused by weather.
Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven.

* TRUMP’S emphatic victory has paved the way for the US to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement for a second time, undoing all the good work by Obama and Biden. What a pity that this appalling showman could help condemn our future generations.
S. Walsh, Glasgow.

The pensions conundrum
THE Government has publicised that it is aware of over £31 billion sitting with pension providers in unclaimed, lost or forgotten personal pension pots and has provided a so-called Pension Tracing Service to help anyone wishing to search to see if any of it is theirs.

Unfortunately, if you try to use this service it tells you baldly that 1) it will not (be able to?) tell you whether you have such a pension or its value, and 2) you need the name of your employer or your pension provider which you may well have forgotten or misplaced over time  – which is why you are using this service.

What I don’t understand is, if the government knows there is over £31 billion in unclaimed pension pots waiting with pension providers, does that not indicate it or they must have at least some detailed information on the individual pots which could assist those searching to find theirs? If so, why not make it available ?
Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop, Ayrshire.