Letters II: SNP leadership are promoting Project Deception on EU vote

The UK Government alone holds the legal power to grant or deny another independence referendum. With a majority and a referendum mandate in 2011, Alex Salmond had the moral authority to demand Westminster transfer the legal power to the Scottish Parliament, albeit only temporarily, at midnight on September 18 2014, the power returned to London, where it once again resides.

Today the SNP is a minority government, with Nicola Sturgeon, against the urging of many, deliberately choosing not to include a referendum mandate in last month’s SNP manifesto. The crucial combination of majority and mandate is not present.

Nicola says the Scottish Parliament should have the right to a second referendum. I agree, but it is a deception to claim that it can exercise that right without the electoral mandate that would have given it legitimacy. That political failure is an insurmountable obstacle to another referendum.

There are also legal problems. I suspect the Scottish Government has not consulted the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General; both would be bound to advise that without a mandate, forcing Westminster to transfer power, the Scottish Parliament lacks the legislative competence to hold a second referendum. Moreover, even if the SNP sought to table a second referendum Bill, the Presiding Officer under Section 31 (2) of the 1998 Scotland Act would be duty bound to reject it as outside the “legislative competence of the Parliament”.

These political and legal facts are known to SNP ministers. Yes, voters at which Project Deception is aimed, should be aware of them too and reject the claim that voting to remain is in Scotland’s interests.

It isn’t. Only leaving the EU will give Scotland a constitutional advantage.

Jim Sillars, ScotLeave.EU, Edinburgh

I AM a big supporter of Jim Sillars but his strategy of calling for a Leave vote to hasten indyref2 is the politics of desperation.

I do however, appreciate his impatience.

We have to build support in the polls by offering a convincing economic model but also most importantly celebrate the diversity of a rainbow alliance for Yes.This was only done by the unofficial Yes campaign.

Next time has to be different and not fought as a party political campaign but one that builds a movement.

First however, there must be an honest and open acceptance of the mistakes made and how we can address them.

With a different strategy learnt from last time and 100,000 “cadres” to take that new message out to build to 60 per cent in the polls, we cannot lose.

Making certain that we never have a Tory Government with an overall majority can be achieved but only by replacing first past the post with a single transferable vote system of PR in Westminster.

This is the most urgent of requirements and will transform British politics forever.

With only a small majority, the combined parties of opposition could achieve this for the next election if only the Labour Party would first embrace the idea of STV PR.

We must do all we can to make this happen as soon as possible if we never want to see another Tory Government.

It is the only certain way to achieve it. We can bring grown up politics to whole of Britain although we know it may involve a lot of kicking and screaming from those that have always held on to power.

Tony Martin, Gullane

THE SNP leadership asks you to vote Remain in a European Union in which our legislators have one percent of the Parliamentary members. The President of the Commission (Executive) was elected by a conservative party which most Scots have never even heard of. The Commissioners are selected by the President and can only be rejected by the Parliament as a block. All EU legislation must originate in the Commission. The EU is currently enacting 60 per cent of all our legislation. The EU is a supremely unionist organisation and its goal is to create a single European country. It has no respect for the will of Europe’s countries. It wants a Europe of regions. To argue that our participation in this big “pretendy” country represents a sharing of sovereignty among independent states is odd coming from a nationalist party. I’d call it a whopper! There is nothing to stop us enacting our own progressive legislation. Remain have no answer on uncontrollable immigration from the EU. This is not racist, but something we need to face up to.

My vision for Scotland is simple. I want a decent outward-looking independent country with its capital in Edinburgh. A normal sustainable country of this sort can play its part in the world, secure in its own identity. I urge you to look beyond the narrow confines of London and Brussels to the great world beyond.

The EU is a failing economic project which may well drag us down with it. Constitutionally, the EU is one of the most formidable obstacles to our achieving independence.We had no more determined enemy during the indyref. The victory of Leave will show that Project Fear need not always be victorious. End the dependency.

William Ross, SNP Vote Leave

UNTIL now, I have have been on the pendulum of indecision about which way to vote since my opinion of Brussels has sunk to a very low level as well as Westminster. But now my concern is that if we leave Europe we would be deserting it for the wrong reasons. This present referendum has exposed the extreme right, not only in the south of England but of the growing nationalism/fascism on the continent and worldwide. Scotland can help, together with our more rational British and European brethren, fight against all the injustices that are insidiously creeping into positions of power.

Janet Cunningham, Stirling

JUST sat through BBC2 Elizabeth, Queen of Scots (know your enemy!). Thank goodness I had a sick bag handy. What a load of royalist garbage and of course very well timed in view of Thursday’s vote. Aye she will be purring again if we vote to stay with her German relatives. This was a story about a poor wee wumman (and her hingers oan) that had to charter a boat cause her bigger boat wis too expensive to run. Also featured a lot of forelock-tugging Scots!

Why does BBC Scotland, in this instance, continue to rabbit on about an out-of-date, useless load of unimportant characters? Now let’s discuss one Alex Salmond! This is a guy that not too many years ago was a sensible anti-royalist. In the build up to the Scottish referendum I really thought he was being very shrewd in his “liking” of the royals as obviously there are quite a few Scots who, while they desire independence have, for some reason, a desire to have these royals hang about Scotland when it suits them, so nae lost votes there Eck, good move (I thought). But no, it looks like he really does think they serve a purpose in Scotland although he didn’t really explain what that was. I really don’t know why BBC Scotland put this programme on when they could have shown grass growing live.

Ian Heggie, Glenrothes

THE debate from Wembley Arena on Tuesday evening generated a lot more heat than light.

The BBC remains as biased as ever in its presentations, despite protestation to the contrary. According to my stopwatch Humza Yousef, was given exactly ten per cent of the time to speak allocated to Ruth Davidson the Scottish Tory leader. Her Rule Britannia pomposity was the very antitheses of reasoned argument. Whatever the outcome of this chauvinistic circus Scotland’s road back to independent nationhood must say on course as firmly as ever.

Alan Clayton, Westfield, Strachur