THE time is now for us to “think outside the box”, for who, if anyone, expects Theresa May to still hold the Prime Minister’s position at Christmas?

The blades are already out, the steel is being honed, the only real questions are who will be the wielder (for few in that party seem to have any true grit), when they will make their move, and if she will survive?

Irrespective, when all the scenarios are viewed dispassionately, it seems that we should anticipate a General Election before the EU withdrawal date. With that in mind, it might appear that now is the ideal time for the bold to form an alliance, then mount a pre-emptive strike.

One must ask, isn’t it beyond time for Scotland and Wales to play in English politics?

Why should the peripheral nations always be on the defensive?

Considering this, might we not ask what could happen if Scotland, with our diminutive number of MPs, properly examines at any scenario which might offer our best advantage? Surely, until we reassert our statehood, we need to engineer becoming part of a situation where our voice truly counts.

If nothing else, it seems like a novel and entertaining idea to potentially draw from the ranks of English Scots for Yes and their compatriots still in their home nation, speak to the Welsh nationalists and see if we can assist in launching a new civic English National Party, to be allied with the Scots and Welsh, with the goal of doing more in England for the English. Perhaps candidates could be fielded for as many as two-thirds of England’s seats at the next General Election. These would be candidates who might stand behind reversing Brexit, protecting the NHS with a guarantee to adhere to Bevan’s principles.

These prospective MPs could point to the best policies which are currently practised in Scotland and Wales, from free prescriptions through tuition to elderly care. They could be either a loose grouping of independents, or an organised party along the lines of the SNP, carrying a name which identifies themselves as such. Perhaps they will even out-Ukip Ukip, yet without the racist elements and undertones.

One thing is certain: the British Establishment is well overdue for a shake-up, one almost amounting to a revolution. This would be a peaceful way to achieve that, especially if Scotland and Wales both approach the situation as interested cousins, ones simply wishing to help our neighbour and provide its citizens with the “Best of British” policies, all designed for their own benefit, all while promising to fight corruption and cronyism at Westminster, initially by abolishing the House of Lords, perhaps using those funds to provide a new children’s cancer hospital. Get the soundbites right, fund it, and get the votes.

If this is ever going to happen, the time is ripe, the instant is now, for never before have the major English parties – for that is what they truly are – been both at war with themselves, within themselves, and hell-bent and determined to pursue the policy which is guaranteed to be so damning to an entire island.

One thing we can guarantee: the London-centric media will howl and cry. It’s free publicity.

If the Scots and Welsh don’t align to do this, another will, and again it will simply be a story of Westminster’s wealthy elite perpetuating their privileged status.

Ashley McGregor
East Kilbride

I READ with great interest your article by Ken Ferguson about the importance of our working class in the struggle for independence (The SNP must appearl to the working classes to secure Scotland’s independence, September 6). While I am sure there are things Ken and I could disagree about, it does seem obvious to me that our working class has indeed a much stronger sense of national identity than our Anglicised middle class. This of course is not a purely Scottish phenomenon.

Another prime example was France in the 1940s, when the largely middle-class Vichy government preferred rule by their own class in another country rather than risk the democratic process at home. As a result, most of the opposition to German occupation came from the working class, including of course the highly dangerous work of the active maquis resistance movement.

I am aware that Vichy thinking in those dark days in France stemmed from a variety of motives, and this is probably true of the same kind of thinking in Scotland today. Still, as Ken Ferguson says, we forget at our peril how deep are the roots of our national identity in the Scottish working class.

Peter Craigie
Edinburgh

READ MORE: Working-classes voters will be crucial to securing Scotland’s independence​

GORDON MacIntyre-Kemp’s comments in yesterday’s National (Make Westminster say No and people will think Yes) will hopefully register strongly with all politicians who represent the people of Scotland.

It would be nice to think that this includes every MSP in Holyrood and every MP in Westminster representing a Scottish constituency but, of course, it doesn’t as too many of them owe their allegiance to a Westminster party, not to the people they represent.

The key tenet of the article is something that I believe holds the key to eventual Scottish independence. This is sending a clear, loud, credible message to Scotland’s voters that life will be better as an independent nation.

In particular, MacIntyre-Kemp’s comment about repatriating control over pensions to Scotland rang a very loud and urgent bell. I have heard from older voters (like me!) that the reason they preferred to remain in the UK is because pensions are paid by the UK, not by Scotland. The lies told in 2014 about pensions being in jeopardy, including calls to care homes the week before the referendum spreading this message, still rankle. Some of my friends served in the armed forces and they and their wives genuinely believe that, should Scotland become independent, their pensions would be in jeopardy because they come from a UK source.

Given that the only reason Scotland is not independent today is the votes of those over 65, this one issue in particular needs to be addressed aggressively with credible and clear messages to not only remove any fear but also to convince people that they would, in fact, be much better off in an independent country.

David Cairns
Finavon

READ MORE: Make Westminster say No and more people will think Yes