ANYONE with an iota of common sense between their ears must surely have realised by now that the power grab is a power grab and those powers taken back by Westminster will never be returned to Scotland or to Wales.

Just think about it for one moment. The reason they want to take back these powers (before returning them to the devolved administrations, HA-HA-HA!) is because they “wish to establish uniform policy strategies across the whole country before returning them to the respective devolved governments.”

But the truth is that if they wish to establish these uniform policies, the strategies would undoubtedly be designed to cater for the majority of voters – and that’s England. Scotland and Wales have different needs and different outlooks to those of England. So, Westminster could never ever afford to return those powers to the devolved parliaments – because if they did, those devolved parliaments would then have the ability to alter those policies to suit their own countries, and there would no longer be any uniform policy.

It is nothing more than a smokescreen to take away powers from Scotland and Wales without actually admitting that they are doing it. With this finally coming out into the open, together with the “harder line” that was announced by the EU 27 yesterday but which has actually existed since day one and which they (the EU 27) have repeated time and time again, there is likely to be a “hard Border” in Ireland.

Therefore, I would seriously suggest that within the next five years we will see a re-united Ireland, an independent Scotland and even Wales making moves for separation. Thereafter “Little England” will have to try to get by on its own. That will not be a pretty sight!

In anticipation of this, we need to start getting leaflets out round the doors now to educate people so that when the next referendum comes – soon, I hope – then we will be ready to win it. Wings over Scotland has already made a move with a brilliant funding response. Could we not now have a similar venture by a centralised independence group for the purpose of getting this information distributed to every home in Scotland now?

Plus, we really need to have the Scottish Government saying who will vote in what will be a Scottish referendum and not an English referendum. Thus, Holyrood and not Westminster should decide if foreign nationals who have settled here will qualify to vote.

For this next referendum, we need every possible Yes vote that we can muster.

Charlie Kerr
Glenrothes

PS I voted Remain but I would not be averse to a situation similar to the Norwegian one relevant to the EU. That way we could re-nationalise our railways etc without EU interference regarding competition. After all, Norway has established and kept a “Nationalised” Oil Company, so why not us?

AT last!!! a headline worthy of the name in The National (UK Government admits: The IS a power grab, The National, March 9). This is the sort of front page to catch the eyes of the masses.

Sadly the majority of newspaper buyers are NOT politically aware or well-educated (these are nearly all reading The National/Sunday Herald) and this is the only format that will encourage them to stop and look, possibly even reading more.

I’m aware of the viewpoint that a picture’s worth a thousand words, but in my opinion a banner headline like yesterday’s is worth any amount of pictures.

Barry Stewart
Blantyre

THE admission by the Westminster Tory government that it intends to keep 25 powers over devolved issues post-Brexit shows the bankruptcy of the devolution “settlement”. Of course they say this will only be “temporary”. Westminster assurances are as worth as much as a degree from Trump “university”.

The “Vow” written in 2014 by the then three main Westminster party leaders was not worth the paper it was written on. All the fulminations by Gordon Brown and the rest of the ermine-clad Labour party hacks about “federalism” and devo-max were a pack of lies.

Those who believed the Labour lies were equivalent to those who give their bank details to the Nigerian prince expecting a fortune in return.

Tories will now legislate to bring all the powers back to Westminster. Labour will call foul but their opposition is hollow. At heart they are Unionists. This means they will stand with the Tories in order to protect the Westminster gravy train.

The price for Labour’s betrayal will be paid by the Scottish public. The Tories want a trade deal with Donald Trump. What this entails is selling off the NHS, allowing the sale of chlorinated chicken to be sold and allowing fracking.

Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee

I SO admire the hard work that Paul Kavanagh does for the cause. I always enjoys his articles in The National and also would recommend his books to anyone who hasn’t read them.

I am amazed that Paul has appeared to politicise The Dug, as there it was in all its Ginger glory in a picture in yesterday’s National with its tongue stuck out at the British Nationalists.

Gon Yersel Paul.

Anne Smart
Glasgow