Scotland Matters Letters

Ms Sturgeon tells us that independence is essential to resolving the cost-of-living crisis. No surprise there. We are all by now used to her saying: “The answer is independence. Now, what was the question?” Ms Sturgeon demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of past and current economic circumstances. The problems, she says, are due to “Tory austerity” and Brexit. Where has she been these last few years? Has amnesia set in? I distinctly remember her invading our television sets day after day to give gloom and doom reports about, er, now what was it? Oh, yes, Covid. A pandemic that affected pretty much all the countries of the world, leaving massive economic damage in its wake. We in the UK were fortunate in having the means to provide furloughing and business support, as well as the commissioning, payment and distribution of a series of life-saving vaccines. We had the means because HM Government had the ability and credit worthiness to borrow substantially. A separate Scotland would have sunk in the attempt to do these things. Now we have Russian aggression in Europe and a worldwide energy crisis. Yes, it is worldwide, not the invention of Tories or Westminster. Our inflation rate may be slightly higher than some others, but in both the US (8.6%) and the EU (8.3%), the rate is not far behind. The cost-of-living crisis is a world problem, not one to be solved by Scexit. Jill Stephenson. Corstorphine, Edinburgh.

It’s beginning to look like the go-to guys to get naughty politicians off the front pages and put a stop to any public scrutiny are the police. The SNP £600k missing funds, Keir Starmer’s Covid beers, Margaret Ferrier MP’s Covid train ride, and now Patrick Grady are all examples of scandals that can’t be reported on while the police are investigating and then seem to take ages to come to a resolution. The biggest example of the tactic backfiring has been partygate, where the police investigation was initiated, completed and fines imposed in a matter of months. If these people were honest and upfront the police would be able to get on with their real job. Allan Sutherland, Willow Row, Stonehaven.

Of the 4.3million registered voters in the last Holyrood election, only 30 per cent voted for the SNP – which is very definitely NOT an overwhelming mandate for another wasteful referendum. John McGill, Dumfries.

Instead of tackling Scotland’s many problems, Nicola Sturgeon is trying to take a wrecking ball to the Union by setting Scot against Scot and the Scots against the English. When she said ‘Scottish democracy is a prisoner of Boris Johnson’ she omits to mention that Boris’s jaiket is on a shoogly peg -and that the referendum of 2014 was a once-in-a-generation event. Scots are getting scunnered with her ‘here’s tae us, who’s like us’ comparison and her girning about how Scotland is so badly done by when the reality is that standards of living have increased exponentially under the Union. We should be strengthening the bonds between Scotland and England, not undermining them. The UK is the fifth-largest economy in the world, with unmatched soft power and a people blessed with outstanding skill, inventiveness, creativity and resolve. Why would Scotland wish to leave it? Let’s now drop this divisive ideology and move forward together. William Loneskie, Lauder, Berwickshire.

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