THE triggering of Article 50 is an act of vandalism which affects us all. The refusal to acknowledge the Scottish vote is particularly unpalatable and stems from a Westminster establishment blindness which cannot see Scotland as a country.

Regrettably this blindness is shared by an under-informed section of those who live and work north of the Border. I am amazed to discover that some Scots don’t know their legal system is not the same as the rest of the UK. Without a strong sense of place and difference how can we expect others to acknowledge us as a separate country?

I know there are passionate tellers of Scottish history and more power to them I say but there is also a blandness, a why-bother-ness in the land which may keep us tied.

I was born in England and am living in Scotland with my wife and her Scottish relatives, who are furious at this grotesque disregard for our democratic vote to stay in the EU. Article 50 has been triggered to the detriment of us all. Sadly, yet another referendum, at a time not of our choosing, is all we can hope for.
Michael J Moore

I FEEL a great deal of anger and sadness over the triggering of Article 50. Scotland did not vote for this madness. A Tory Party with Ukip snapping at its heels has gambled our future, and that of coming generations, just to silence what John Major called the Eurosceptic “b****rds”.

Now Scotland finds itself stuck between a resurgent right-wing Tory Government, with a hard-Brexit agenda and a two-fingers-to-Scotland attitude, and a feckless Labour opposition, permanently sitting on its hands. For the sake of our children, I dearly hope Scotland will learn the lesson of all that has happened since September 2014 and make the right choice next time by voting Yes.
R Knight
Balfron, Stirlingshire

I FIND it staggering that the Conservative Government has thrown itself so wholeheartedly, and with scant regard for the consequences, into such a narrow vision of where the UK should be on the world stage. They have convinced themselves and many voters that the only way to both open up and control trade throughout the world is out with the biggest single market, and this will somehow help them recapture former glories.

That is clearly not true, which makes it obvious that there is something deeper at work here, especially given the predicted effects of Brexit on wages, jobs, free movement of people and our human rights. This is nationalism and isolationism at its very worst and is in stark contrast to the inclusive and positive self-determination many of us in Scotland are seeking.

To suffer Scotland being dragged along with Brexit against the will of the majority is bad enough, but to see it being done with the complicit assistance of the supposedly socialist Labour Party makes it the saddest day for UK politics in my lifetime.

I am deeply concerned for the future of all in Scotland if we don’t succeed in extricating ourselves from this disastrous move.
David Wilson

THIS is the price we have to pay for the Tories staying in power in England. The Scottish people need to be freed from this. We must insist upon the sovereignty of the Scottish people and the sovereignty of our Parliament in Edinburgh. Devolution was always a dead end. The only way to proceed is with an independent Scotland, so that we can democratically determine our own future.
George Gunn

WE are being stripped of our European citizenship by a woman who was never elected Prime Minister. Where did all those promises of consultation go? To the same place as the vows of 2014? I hope people will waken up to what is happening to our country without our approval. The time is now. Saor Alba.
George Bowie

MY parents remember the end of the last war in Germany. For them, and me, the EU in all its forms (and for all its faults) has been a beacon of hope that these things will never happen in Europe again. It’s not all about the economy or immigration, or “a good deal”.

When I express my personal fears about having to leave this country where I have lived, worked, contributed, paid taxes, since 1987, people say things like “but surely you have been here so long” or “but your husband is Scottish, you’ll be OK”.

They need to understand this means nothing to the Westminster Government. My only beacon of hope now is that Nicola Sturgeon can bring the country along on her promise that EU citizens are welcome and valued in Scotland.
Dagmar Werner
Glasgow

LIKE many people who understand the social and economic implications of leaving the EU, I’m saddened and frightened by the triggering of Article 50. I’m disappointed but unsurprised at the UK Government’s unwillingness to take on board the views of the people of Scotland. I remain hopeful that a second Scottish independence referendum will give residents of Scotland the voice they deserve.
Tracy Lazenby-Paterson

I THINK the way Scottish people have been completely ignored during this process is disgusting. It’s also a huge indication of how we would be treated in a post-Brexit UK. The only way for Scots to have a say in their future is through independence. Of course they will offer all sorts of lies about how wonderful the future would be together but we’ve heard it all before. It’s time to decide for ourselves, here, in Scotland!
Ruiseart Alcorn

THE UK has pressed the button and let’s hope it is a smooth process. My fears are about trust. May speaks double talk by saying nice things without saying anything. I fear for my future in her hands. Independence cannot come quickly enough and I am English.
Mike Blackshaw

YESTERDAY will forever mark the day the UK ceased to exist as a family of four equal nations. RIP.
Les Swanson
Aberdeen

IT is now quite apparent that Scotland and Scots are no longer either valued or respected by Westminster. Anyone who thinks differently is naïve in the extreme or completely brainwashed. The only solution that can secure Scotland’s future as an outward and integrated modern democracy is independence.
Bryan Auchterlonie
Perthshire

I AM one of those people you hear about but never meet – I am pro-Brexit and pro-Yes. While I think Scotland should sit separate from all world partnerships and institutions, my principles do not prevent my hoping my support for Brexit ultimately results in independence.

The course upon which our unelected Prime Minister has set herself will surely convince the crucial six per cent of Scots who voted badly in 2014 to see sense, and toss the English and Welsh into the river of history currently lapping over Donald Tusk’s feet.
Tony Process

The National:

THANK you to The National for providing this platform. I voted Remain because I want to be a citizen of Europe, because the EU, for all its faults, is a civilising and progressive force for good, because I don’t fall for the trash press’s portrayal of immigrants as responsible for the consequences of bad governance, and because Brexit will be economically disastrous.

What angers me is that the purveyors of the disjointed, misleading Brexit message are not the people who are now prosecuting the outcome of the vote. Those leading the charge are people who warned against doing what they are doing now. What happened to integrity and principle? We live in the darkest times in Britain’s political history in my long lifetime.
I Brown

A NIGHTMARE for the UK but a golden opportunity for Scotland to break away from Westminster and English rule.
David Neilson

I VOTED for Brexit because I thought it would cause a constitutional debate that would lead towards an independent Scotland and a united Ireland. Both of these are closer than ever and I feel vindicated in my choice.
John Rowe

AS a British PhD researcher currently based in Italy, I feel angry and appalled at the triggering of Article 50 – but I am also quietly excited to see how the next two years will play out.

After reluctantly voting Remain, I have hardened my stance against Brexit, especially since seeing how emboldened the British right has become following the vote and the way in which the result has been used to threaten the rights of all EU citizens. However, it is said that takes a crisis to bring about change, and radical change is needed in a Britain facing increasingly inequality and the normalisation of xenophobia.

Brexit has opened up the exciting possibility of an independent Scotland, a reunified Ireland, and constitutional change throughout the UK – things that will benefit us all.
Richard McNeil-Willson
Pisa

THE triggering of Article 50 without any discussion with all the countries in the UK does not surprise me. Westminster has ignored Scotland since the Treaty of Union. This further slap in the face is surely a wake-up call to all in Scotland that it will never have independence by waiting for Westminster to give it to us. However, to hold a referendum without Westminster’s agreement is, in my view a non-starter. It would play into Unionist hands and put independence back for many years.
Michael Mcdermott
Old Kilpatrick

AS an expat living in Bergen, Norway the feeling I have today is of sadness. Losing my EU citizenship feels like a right has been torn away from me. I am unsure of my future here, one of the pawns in this absurd political game.

My hope is that Scotland gets indyref2 within two years and that I can get a Scottish passport and stay at least in the open market.

Living here you can really see the potential that Scotland has. We need to educate the doubters not just argue with them, we need facts and figures and answers to their questions. Less flag waving is also a good idea, nobody likes it.
Calum McCann

I AM absolutely disgusted with Westminster for totally ignoring the Scottish Government with no true negotiations before the triggering of Article 50. I’m sick of watching the MSM twist things and give one-sided coverage. I have voted SNP since I was 18 and I am now 63.

I want Scotland to declare UDI.

I am tired of all the years of continually fighting for our voices to be heard and being treated as a colony, not a sovereign nation.
Frances Marshall

THERESA May paints a picture of a bright future for the UK after Brexit, not for Scotland. Yesterday, we saw a return of the times of Edward I in England, with May exercising sovereignty over Scotland.
Maggie Jamieson
South Queensferry

I HOPE yesterday is remembered by the people of Scotland when we return to the polls to vote on independence. Better Together shouted from the rooftops that only remaining part of the UK could guarantee our European future,when the opposite turned out to be true. Scotland will disappear into obscurity if we don’t take control of our own destiny.
Michael Coyle

SO Theresa May his wint an declarit thit the Unitit Kindom o England, Wales, and Alba is leavin the EU. Ahm puir scunnert an nae mistak. Ahve no been this annoyed since yon daftie Craig Levein pickt a team wi no strikers tae face thae Czech boys. Enuff is enuff: nae more kiddin oan that we’re wan big happy country. It’s time for oor Nicola tae declare independence unilaterally, and git Scotland where it belangs: at the hert o Europe, makin deals on behalf of aw us Jock Tamson’s bairns.
Brendan Archer

I AM an EU citizen who has made this great country of Scotland a home for his family and a base for his business for 13 years. It has been a sobering experience to watch some in the UK hark for an Empire v2.0 – when v1.0 was a disgusting chapter of racism, slavery, exploitation and apartheid.

Politicians who lack fundamental human traits – such as empathy, compassion, honesty and integrity – have come to exert power on us, due to people being progressively disenfranchised and alienated. However, it’s not too late. Scotland is awake and on her feet, Northern Ireland is on its way, and there’s a glimpse of hope for Wales. Theresa May has shot the UK through the heart by pulling the trigger on Article 50. But there’s no need to mourn: we are killing a prehistoric monster that has outlived its useful life. Saor Alba!
Corrado Mella

IF the Government in London is convinced it can negotiate Brexit terms that leave everyone, including Scots, at least as well off (as Boris Johnson alleged immediately after the EU vote), why does Theresa May not want another indyref?

No doubt the terms will be so good that most Scots will vote to be part of the Union’s dazzling future. The Prime Minister would be vindicated. The total collapse of the SNP would follow. The Conservatives would rule Scotland for decades to come. Can it be possible that the outcome of Brexit may be less attractive than has been suggested? Surely not!
Mike Greenan

I AM disgusted by the UK Government’s total disregard of the Scottish Parliament’s attempts to compromise in regard to Scotland’s concerns about EU membership and the single market, etc. I hope Nicola Sturgeon is successful in her attempt to have another referendum on Scottish independence and wish her lots of luck.
Ian Delissen

I AM a child of the Second World War. Twice during the last century we had war in Europe. The main success of the European Union is that we have had no further wars in Europe. How do you quantify that achievement in financial terms?
David Burgess

IT’S a very sad day, saying goodbye to good friends. Au Revoir, adiós, adieu, auf wiedersehen, addio. With a heavy heart, I say bye for now. But we will see you soon. We, the Scottish people will become a partner with you all once more. Free to roam, live, work, play. Free to enjoy all your cultures as one, not as an outsider looking in.
Alexandra Bryden

A BREXIT footnote. I appears that even the Tories don’t trust former public services that have been privatised. Hence Theresa May’s decision to send her Article 50 letter by hand rather than trust the recently privatised Royal Mail. Or perhaps the finances of a post-Brexit UK are so fragile that she couldn’t afford a first-class stamp?
James Mills
Johnstone