HOW long are we going to have to go on suffering the false rhetoric and continuous utterings of a “British” Prime Minister who desperately would have us, the “electorate”, believe that to even suggest changing our minds, far less have a second referendum, would be in some way a betrayal of all of us who voted Remain or Leave more than two years ago, when she herself had already utilised the (lady’s) privilege of changing her mind without even a “by your leave”.
I would say that the “Honourable Lady” should at least try to redeem her honour by changing her adamant stance of refusing a second referendum by giving us all the opportunity to put things right by voting a resounding No to Brexit (And in Scotland a Yes to Sexit).
As George Bernard Shaw once said: “Those who cannot change their mind cannot change anything”.
Dave Beveridge
Scottish Borders
HAS anyone else noticed the change in Theresa May’s binary choice over the weekend as she becomes more desperate? No longer is it between “my deal or no deal”, but now is between “my deal or lose your grip on power” – the threat to end all threats, that Tories will almost certainly respond to as she wishes. Have Tories ever done otherwise?
L McGregor
Falkirk
IF there is a vote of confidence followed by a General Election, voters in England will have a very limited choice put in front of them regarding Brexit: choose Tory and stay in the frying pan or choose Labour and jump into the fire.
Scottish voters will have an alternative, but must first grasp the nettle and go for independence. It might sting briefly but is a much better future than remaining under Westminster. Without Scotland’s North Sea oil to fuel the furnace of the UK’s ambition to return to its rightful place on the world stage after Brexit, by expanding east of Suez and west in the Caribbean, Westminster will soon collapse into the dying embers of the Empire.
An independent Scotland could then make the best use of its many resources, a process that should have started with the discovery of North Sea oil.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
DEAR Solomon Steinberg (Letters, January 14). I like your argument about what can constitute a United Kingdom in part. However, I would strongly disagree with your view concerning Northern Ireland and Wales as not having any legal claim to nationhood.
Both countries existed long before England could be classed as a country. There were the Celtic Britons occupying the land before the Roman invasion with the Anglo Saxon appearing when they left.
In Ireland, before the partition, you had the protohistoric Gaelic Ireland again several centuries before the Anglo Saxon invasion of what is now England. Given the historical evidence, there is also the fact that both countries (note the word) have their own language as distinct from the cosmopolitan English language. There are also national cultures such as dress and music which England does not possess.
Both Wales and Northern Ireland have every right to regain independence if both countries so wished, with the latter reforming with its southern counterpart. Regional appendages? Don’t let the Welsh and Irish hear you call them by that name.
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
IT is widely assumed that if our First Minister called for a second independence referendum, Theresa May would say “no” (again).
However, we already have an independence majority among the Scottish MPs at Westminster and an independence majority among our MSPs in Holyrood.
I suggest that, on the basis of these majorities, the Scottish Government should initiate negotiations for independence ... in which circumstances the British Prime Minister, far from refusing a referendum, would insist on one.
Billy Scobie
Alexandria
MY thanks to Carolyn Leckie for her well-balanced comment on the present storm engulfing Nicola Sturgeon (Sturgeon does not deserve to receive insults, January 14). I am not privy to the “behind-the-scenes” situation. What I can say for sure is that we ought to be proud of the way our parliament has conducted itself under the leadership of the FM over the past years. It’s also the envy of other assemblies in the UK and abroad.
I hope that when the dust settles and lessons have been learnt, we will be able to turn our attention to Scotland’s future. I think that the Scottish electorate is mature enough to decide which politician has the best interests of our society at his/her heart. May unity in diversity continue to carry us through to independence and beyond.
Janet Cunningham
Stirling
IN his column, David Pratt refers to “remnants of the sectarian division” (Our walled world, January 13).
The peace process in Northern Ireland has called a halt to the worst atrocities of the sectarian division but the Brexit debacle has brought the spotlight back on to Northern Ireland.
After visiting NI last year, I began to get the feeling that the sectarian division was still there, not far beneath the surface.
When I heard one of the DUP’s politicians on Channel 4 News, when asked about the peace process, respond with “the peace process is only a piece of paper”, my fears were confirmed. And the fact that during this period of peace the walls in Belfast were being added to further confirmed my fears.
TP Mc Cluskey
via email
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