I WISH Kezia Dugdale all the best on a personal level following her resignation as Labour leader in Scotland. She always struck me as a nice enough lass but one who was well out of her depth.

If the scales of Unionist Britnattery have finally started to fall from her eyes, and she has been having a crisis of faith and conscience because of it, well – even better. If you’re a Scot on your own personal voyage toward self-realisation or whatever you call it, losing the cringe is a necessary step.

I have re-evaluated the piece she wrote describing the new Queensferry Crossing as a marvel of Scottish engineering, or words to that effect. It initially struck me as pretty rich coming from the leader of a party that had did its damnedest to put every spoke possible in amongst the bridge’s cable stays.

But from someone who was about to resign that leadership and may well be on a path towards a more rewarding personal (and possibly political) future, I’m prepared to accept it as genuine, and as a sign that the cringe is losing its grip on one more soul. It must be hard to have very little to say in Parliament other than ESSEMPEEBAD! ESSEMPEEBAD! If that changes, it will be good for all of us.
Edward Freeman
via thenational.scot

KEZIA Dugdale was a brave but foolhardy woman to take on the thankless task of being Labour’s leader in Scotland. In time, she will find her way out of that dark place and (with the help of loving friends) come into the light of hope and dignity by recognising and accepting that the only political solution for Scotland is Sovereignty.
Thom Cross
via thenational.scot

KEZIA Dugdale did not understand that Westminster Labour’s record of tacit support for the Tories did not extend to advocating support for the Tories at the General Election in constituencies where Scottish Labour had no hope of ousting the SNP.

Jeremy Corbyn’s visit to Scotland brought about Dugdale’s resignation as she cannot see any place for her policies in his plans for the Scottish region of England.

She has perhaps been too much in his face with her idea of a separate identity for the Scottish Labour Party, as the General Election boost in England did not happen north of the Border. Labour Party HQ has now decided that it is time to put Scotland back in its place. Dugdale’s successor will have to accept much greater control over policy from party HQ and toe the Unionist party line.
Maggie Jamieson
South Queensferry

IF ever Scotland needed historic symbols to awaken, now is the time. At the very time that the Clyde Weir breaks down, the new crossing over the Forth is opened, Kezia Dugdale resigns, and Jeremy Corbyn does not realise that Scotland has maintained her separate legal system since 1707. In the meantime, our Prime Minister is in Japan for trade talks with PM Shinzo Abe who, not unreasonably, is more concerned that a lunatic is firing missiles over his people, while her grinning Brexit Minister seems incapable of comprehending that he has brought the UK into European contempt. 

There are many among us who know that Scotland would be better served by our own governance: what greater evidence do the others need? The appalling WMDs at Faslane, the potential loss of our financial centre in Edinburgh, the prospect of Shetland bereft of working skills, the struggles of our health and social care services, our fishing industry, our engineering, our exports and our agriculture?

What greater evidence do they need than the destruction of this proud and strong heritage by people in Westminster who do not begin to understand the strengths we have and which their follies are undermining? I respect the adherence to the Union cause – too many of our kin have been buried under the Union Flag – but if we owe a debt to the past, it is surely to secure a better future for our descendants. That will never be achieved if we let the ill-informed dominance of Westminster continue.
KM Campbell
Doune

THANK you to Martin Hannan for again bringing to our attention the RSPB Scotland’s appeal to the Supreme Court against the proposed Neart na Gaoithe wind farm near the Firth of Forth (An £872m wind-fall, The National, August 29).

I am one of many who supports the RSPB’s action, and congratulate them on their courage in continuing to seek justice and protection for our ecology and environment. It is important to evaluate the consequences of any industrial project, as well as material benefits.

In our efforts to harness renewable energy, it is a cause for concern that the Scottish and UK governments seem to be attempting to use wind turbines to achieve speedy results, without taking pause fully to understand the destructive nature of wind turbines, which kill thousands of birds and bats each year. Many of the birds are protected species and all bats have special legal protection.

The Firth of Forth is an especially sensitive area for breeding puffins, gannets and kittiwakes, all magnificent and irreplaceable birds.

Wind turbines are only one way of harnessing renewable energy and we should support and continue to research the alternatives including tidal, wave, hydro and run of river, with every development having strict safety rules to minimise any harm to our environment.
Vi Shannon
Fife