DEAR Fellow Yes Voter,

For some time now the SNP have applied a “One Voice” principle where a small elite at the head of the party make generic, vote-winning policies before farming them out for branches to adopt in the minds of the incredibly loyal, disciplined and united membership.

It is at this point where members have to decide whether to accept the dogma or to question or even challenge it. However, before doing so they should be aware of the repercussions and the reactions that they are likely to receive from blinkered, conditioned colleagues who see any challenge to the Party Line as some form of treason.

The line of supporting “Independence Within the EU” is not only a contradiction in terms, because we cannot be independent whilst governed by an autocratic, unelected elite, but also that the party are cunning in placating the new and pushier post-indyref members by selling it as a possible trigger for indyref2.

The irony is that the veto from Spain remains as resolute today as it was when first delivered by Senor Barroso and Nicola’s understandable hesitation in holding another referendum, that we would lose, shows a very astute leader. That is precisely why she opted to omit it from our manifesto. Our time will come, but it’s with great sadness that I must concede that it’s not now, but it will happen and it will be under Nicola’s inspiring leadership.

So, for the decision that we take on Thursday, we must temporarily put aside our impatient push for independence from the UK and look carefully at the question in front of us. We are being asked if Scotland is too wee or too stupid to be a fully independent country or should we continue as a sub-state of the UK within the EU, ready to morph into the United States of Europe and trade off further sovereignty to faceless bureaucrats.

Should we succumb to the ongoing secret trade deal between Washington and Brussels (TTIP) and watch our NHS and our water be privatised by giant US corporations, or should we say that the NHS wasn’t for sale during indyref1 and it’s still not for sale now? TTIP cannot proceed if we vote to leave the EU, so by sending Obama homeward to think again we can not only save Scotland, but Europe, from this democratic atrocity.

Scotland had our chance on September 18, 2014 to grasp the nettle and we declined, but luckily we find ourselves with another chance to seize control of our destiny on the path to FULL independence. We can be pro-European without being members of an irretrievable EU. We can offer people from all over the world the opportunity to be part of Scotland’s exciting future without damaging our society with uncontrolled borders, by offering employment to people who match our needs rather than following the EU’s restrictive immigration policy. We can be world leaders in offering women and children seeking asylum a safe haven outside of the grossly mismanaged migrant crisis by the aforementioned EU elite.

If you have unwavering faith in Scotland, as I do, then I urge you to vote for the first step on the road to Scotland’s independence by the only vote to put us in the driving seat and in control of our destiny … a vote to leave the EU.

Gary Parker, Saltcoats


MORE: Everything you need to know about the EU Referendum in 60 Seconds


IF Leave win, they’ll very quickly disenfranchise EU voters in this country – some 200,000 people, I believe. Many of them voted No last time, scared by the Project Fear stance for Scotland out the EU, but might well switch to Yes next time round as that has been proved a lie.

Sandy Wito via thenational.scot

AS a Greek who has made my home in Edinburgh, I am praying for Brexit to fight austerity for both countries I love.

Greece has suffered seven years of brutal austerity. Since 2009, the economy has shrunk by a quarter. Official unemployment is over 25 per cent, but the real figures are much higher, because so many people are not eligible for benefits. Over 50 per cent of 18-25-year-olds are not working. Over 200,000 graduates have emigrated in a country of only 11 million people.

The statistics are bad enough, but the human picture is much worse. For example, our suicide rate has tripled – in a sunny country, where the Orthodox Church teaches so strongly against it.

The EU is a union for the big banks, not the people. The bailouts have been for the French and German banks, not the struggling Greek people. Goldman Sachs, the bank that helped create this catastrophe by advising the Greek government in joining the euro, is now funding the Remain campaign.

For both countries I love, Brexit is the first step to freedom and prosperity; please please vote Leave on Thursday.

Demetrios Zubulis, Edinburgh

TOM Walker’s assertion that “There will not be a 28-state endorsement or rejection of the TTIP final terms” is incorrect (Letters, June 20). If TTIP negotiations are ever even completed, which looks highly doubtful at present, it will almost certainly prove to be a “mixed agreement”, which touches on aspect of national competencies such as services and procurement. This means that all 28 national parliaments will have to vote on TTIP. He is also completely wrong in calling the European Parliament a “supine body of people”. The European Parliament killed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement due to concerns about excessive protection for intellectual property rights. This is hardly the work of a “supine” body. It can do the same on TTIP if it does not meet our expectations.

If the UK leaves the EU, you can be sure that Michael Gove and Boris Johnson will be signing us up to TTIP on steroids, with no concerns for public services, workers’ rights, or the environment.

Laura Rayner, Brussels

SO the Johnnies-come-lately to independence think those of us on the Leave side are swivel-eyed loons (Lesley Riddoch, The National, May 12) and racist (Carolyn Leckie, The National, May 30).

Well I played a leading part in the north east with the late Douglas Henderson MP in the EEC referendum. The SNP fronted that Out campaign, when the party was more questioning and less fawning about the plans for Europe, and had a better idea of what independence meant. All our questions about statements emanating from European sources – about rumours of a European state; about a European army (yes, being discussed in 1974!) – were pooh-poohed by the In groups. Of course we were lied to then as now.

What saddens me most is the unquestioning way the SNP leadership has adopted the “Better Together” scripts and “Project Fear” campaign and stands with Tories and Labour on platforms after having criticised Labour for doing that in the independence referendum.

In the event of a Leave vote, the scare machine claims agreements will take a lifetime to negotiate. Rubbish! Let me take two examples.

Fishing: when we leave, the British waters will revert again to being a British asset. The minister writes to all other countries in the EU that they have three months to apply for licences to fish in our waters (the same argument would apply to Scotland becoming independent!)

Agriculture: simply pay farmers at the present rates while the British industry sets its own rates and importantly cease all payments to Europe.

I believe we have the upper hand in all these negotiations because we are a major funder of the EU budget and an immediate stopping of that money will put a rocket below the officials in EU who will want their noses in the trough for as long as they can.

I believe the technique of immediate withdrawal of British funding will speed up negotiations in all other areas. Another trick I would employ is that all negotiations must take place in Britain!

Time for SNiPoot?

Sandy Stronach, Strichen

IN 2003, high-profile Brexit campaigner and billionaire James Dyson sent 800 high-skilled jobs to Malaysia. This decision allowed him to double his profits. In 2012 he called for employment protections to be “loosened” to make it easier to fire workers.

Another leading industrialist who supports Brexit is JCB boss Anthony Bamford. This billionaire has filed over £500 million through an obscure offshore company that isn’t required to file financial accounts. He also supports lower taxes for big business and a lowering of employment protections in the UK.

Wetherspoon’s owner Tim Marin opposes the living wage and wants to cut taxes for big business. Arron Banks, who bankrolls both the Tories and Ukip, wants to privatise the NHS and billionaire Peter Hargreaves thinks that the post-Brexit chaos will be “fantastic” and an opportunity to make money.

The Brexit campaign is ready to put these rich oligarchs’ agenda into practice. Boris Johnson has said he would like to have Nigel Farage in his post-Brexit Cabinet.

Alan Hinnrichs, Dundee

DOES history have to repeat itself verbatim for us to understand its lessons? On reading pages 22 and 23 of Saturday’s National it seems it does.

On the left an ex guard who served in Auschwitz is sentenced (Auschwitz guard guilty of accessory to murder, The National, June 20). He knew people were being killed and did nothing, which he regrets and apologises for.

Across the page, Medecins Sans Frontieres refuses EU cash because EU policies are exacerbating instead of helping the refugee crisis.

In the year when the Hillsborough enquiry is lauded for having finally uncovered the truth, we seem to have succeeded in recreating that stadium disaster on a massive international scale with the refugee crisis across Europe and Middle East – which, though partly of the UK’s making, we are aware of but so far have been unable to act effectively to help.

Can we expect in our last years to find ourselves in the dock of a courtroom of a very different world, with our only defence that we were aware and are sorry for allowing an oppressive regime to prevent us doing anything?

Alisdair McKay, Inverness


Letters II: Mrs MacDougall in Falkirk Tesco is far removed from the EU