Letters I: A flesh wound, not a death blow

Unfortunately, I have some bad news for them: it’s not just a dream, it’s very real and very much still alive and kicking.

My reading of the switch of SNP votes to the Conservatives is that most of these people do not want to be in the EU and saw voting Tory as the best bet for a total exit. Whether they also still support independence remains to be seen, but let’s not discount them just yet.

In addition, a large number of probable independence supporters including 16- and 17-year-olds and EU nationals, none of whom could vote in this election, will add to the ranks come the next indyref.

I also have no doubt things will swing back to the SNP once the coalition of chaos that now resides in Westminster starts to unravel, as it surely will. I am not denying the overall result was disappointing for a number of reasons and we must take stock and identify how to better combat the negative campaigning so favoured by Tank Girl and her pals Wee Wullie and Dismal Dugdale.

However, let’s not allow the media to airbrush the SNP victory out of the picture and ensure we rebuild our energy and arguments for the fresh battles still to come – this was a flesh wound not a death blow.
John Murphy
West Lothian

WE won 59 per cent of the Scottish seats. For any party fighting all seats in the UK and Northern Ireland, this would mean 385 seats.

What we need to concentrate on is demonstrating the SNP’s competence and showing people how an independent Scotland will be financially secure and even wealthy.

This time round we got caught out by the UK Unionist parties who didn’t fight on the issues Westminster could influence, but rather on No to independence. They know Scotland contributes more financially to the Union than it gets from it and don’t want to lose it for that reason alone.

Nicola did a brilliant job, but maybe instead of playing a straight game she should have concentrated on why we’d be better off independent. Play them at their own games.
Catriona Grigg
Embo

THE result of the election was a heady concoction of multiple choices and tactical voting en masse. Being an unashamed SNP and independence supporter, my only disappointment was witnessing the demise of so many good SNP MPs who have fought tooth an nail for the people of Scotland in the face of continuous anti-Scottish media misrepresentation from all the British nationalist media.

The electorate in Scotland has to be the only electorate on the planet who would vote for parties whose primary purpose is for those self-same voters not to have a vote on the future of their country. It is quite humorous in a sort of black comedy kind of way.

Regardless of the election outcome, the Yes movement goes from strength to strength as the people of Scotland slowly come to realise that we are an expendable part of the great UK narrative and our votes count for nothing.

Only in an independent Scotland will the potential for our sovereign nation be released for the benefit of all who reside here.

Having 35 SNP MPs from a possible 59 changes little for those of us who wish to be free from a hostile and divisive UK dogma. The numbers represent a comfortable SNP win despite Unionist media vitriol. To coin a recently used phrase, this gives the Scottish electorate a “triple lock” on a democratically mandated independence referendum despite so many of our good citizens wishing to shoot themselves in the foot.
David Henderson
Ballater

FIRST things first, well done to all the hard-working SNP ground force. Leaflet givers, door chappers and late-night pole climbers. Next, before anyone slides into depression, WE STILL WON!

Yes, with fewer seats than expected, but the huge win last time was not sustainable and in reality had to go down considering the onslaught from biased TV stations, set-up audiences, and political discussions chaired by journalists who could barely stay sitting on their seats due to obvious personal feeling getting in the way of the truth.

All in all, a normal Scotland-phobic display from the media. This just proves to me, a common numpty, how scared they all are, of how strong the people of Scotland are when roused, and if they stay focused instead of believing what is said by hostile so-called information givers we can keep the faith, in our country and our people’s future.
Jane Thompson

LYING here in hospital and not even getting a chance to vote, I could not believe the election results. Without the opportunity to analyse fully the outcomes and their implications, I can at least make some preliminary observations. Ruth Davidson will be intolerable. Don’t know if I can bear it!

Why did 16 per cent desert the SNP? Was it because their antipathy to Europe outweighed their desire for self-determination? In which case they were Brexiteers and closet xenophobes all along and rUK is welcome to them.

Perhaps the Unionists will be emboldened to allow (I bitterly resent that we have to ask) ScotRef.

We have to continue the struggle, remember Robert the Bruce and his spider, and take comfort that likewise “the dream shall never die”. Take heart, all you true supporters of independence. Saor Alba!
JF Davidson
Bonnyrigg

LET us keep things firmly in context – 2015 was huge and will probably never be replicated. Compare it to previous elections and we get a true measure of where we stand. Westminster elections really have no influence on Scottish aspirations in any case. Keeping an SNP Government at Holyrood is crucial. Nothing startling will change south of the Border (with the possible exception of a Labour PM) to enhance Scotland’s future. Reality check time!
Michael Nelson
Edinburgh

I AM very disappointed both with the outcome of the General Election and the performance of the SNP.

In the first instance, a Tory government over the next five years will hurt Scotland and the UK in general. Austerity is a choice. Anyone who votes Tory is choosing to impact negatively the quality of life for their fellow citizens.

In Scotland, devolved matters and Westminster policies were interwoven by media and politicians, leading to poor understanding among the electorate.

To think that the DUP now play a critical role only further exacerbates this new reality. I can only hope and trust that this fragile arrangement falters and collapse.

With regards to the SNP campaign, it was woeful. “Stronger for Scotland” has lost all value and meaning. The SNP campaign team need to go.

The campaign lacked grit and failed to attack and land bruising punches on the opposition. It really needed to get “down and dirty”.

This was a failure of campaign strategy and a failure to understand the level and depth of preparation by the collective opposition.

We need a process which educates the electorate in all matters of government, devolved and Westminster alike. Finally, the ugly outcome draws a line in the sand between hard Unionist alignment and progressive socialist thinking. This is as polite a response as I can muster at this time.
Brian Kelly

AFTER my initial disappointment, I think it’s an excellent result. The Scottish contingenct at Westminster is more balanced. The electorate will get a chance to see how effective/ineffective the Scottish Unionists are.

And the media can stop whining on about a one-party state. England for once has a parliament that Scotland decided on (even though it’s Tory). The only very sad outcome is the loss of so many excellent SNP MPs. Angus Robertson will be sorely missed. Let’s hope Parliament’s loss is our gain behind the scenes.
Lorna Purcell
Edinburgh

WHEN the First Minister started talking about indyref 2 after the Brexit result, my gut reaction was it was too soon. As much as I want independence, I felt the mood around me (friends, colleagues etc) was subdued. Then I realised many Yes voters also voted for Brexit and were saying they would put Brexit ahead of independence. I knew that would split the vote for independence.

I don’t think the fact the EU is made up of independent countries coming together to trade was fought with the right rhetoric, and many couldn’t understand why you would want independence from Westminster and not from Brussels. There was hypocrisy seen in that by many. There’s also the elephant in the room with certain Unionists who are never going to change their views based on the colours in a flag.

There were too many variables to ensure a repeat of two years ago. It’s always going to be a difficult campaign up against the combined might of the Unionist papers and the Tory-backed media. I also felt that there was too much of Nicola. She had a strong team, a number of them gone now.

Why were her team not used? John Swinney, the Education Minister, where was he when so much was about the SNP’s education policy?

Hindsight is wonderful. I feel if Nicola had just let things play out until after Brexit and then take it from there, we might have been in a stronger position. Push for more devolved powers in meantime.

Focus on policies from roads, to lighting, to schools, to education and so on. Let the people of Scotland see that the SNP is the most credible party in Scotland. Get it right on the ground. Or the long-term objective could be lost for more than just a generation.
Stuart Galbraith
Elderslie

I LIVE in Switzerland, where the electorate is used to national referenda at least four times a year. The idea of foregoing the ability to make an important constitutional decision would be considered bizarre, indeed outright insane.

Nevertheless, many a proud Scot decided on Thursday to make such a sacrifice for little or nothing in return, opting instead to trust the “broad shoulders” of the UK, with its capricious and volatile political economy, to make the right decision for them as they lumber towards an unchoreographed Brexit. It is a curious understanding of nationhood.

Maybe the SNP have taken their eye off the ball, and have stopped pushing the message that Scotland can do better than this. Maybe they have been content to talk about independence rather than campaign for it. But what is certain is that without relentlessly promoting the vision of a Scotland being able to shape a better destiny with its own hands, the SNP have little to offer that is not already covered by the Unionist parties.

Again I cite Switzerland, hardly a faultless country, but would this successful Alpine nation be what it is had it chosen to send its representatives to Berlin, Paris or Rome instead of its own capital?
Bruce Campbell
Riggisberg, Switzerland

I DESPAIR of my fellow Scots, they have just handed the country to an extreme Brexit Tory government. No indyref2 for now.
P McWilliam