ALEX Salmond is right. Independence for Scotland is urgent. The Green party has, I think, spoken of of a five-year time frame for a referendum. That should be the maximum period until full independence.
If the time left to us to alter an entire planetary civilisation to prevent climate catastrophe is counted in decades, and in the belief that an independent and internationally recognised leader in the fight against that chaos would be a free Scotland, even five years is too long to wait.
READ MORE: Tory MSP says Scotland should be legally forced to stay in the Union
This procrastination is a big mistake by the Greens, of which I am a member. Alba has opened up new dynamic possibilities and leaves me with a difficult decision about what to do with my votes.
This is made more troubling by the BBC’s continued attacks on Salmond and Sturgeon on matters from which they have been exonerated, while the broadcaster ignores Westminster’s corruption and Boris’s damaging personal relationships. To be free of this brainwashing is also a matter of urgency to me.
The National on Wednesday notes that the Brexit referendum was advisory. We have had several chances to refer to the people of Scotland since 2014 on that basis, for good or ill. At least we would have known where we stood.
Iain WD Forde
Scotlandwell
THE latest election predictions clearly makes grim reading for the Unionist parties. Isn’t it astounding how far the mighty have fallen? The Labour and Tories pitch for the imminent Holyrood election isn’t to be the party of government, their aspirations are merely to compete for the runners-up position!
And as for the Liberals, they’ll be lucky to save their deposits! Wouldn’t it be great if the Greens, Alba and other pro-independence parties provided the opposition. If they would achieve the runners-up spot! This might not be so far-fetched as you may imagine. It would also give us an insight to how a Holyrood parliament post-independence, would function. Just imagine – the opposition’s rhetoric wouldn’t be about remaining in the Union, or reflecting head office’s view, it would be about the speed and nature of achieving a functioning independent country. Roll on May 6.
Robin Maclean
Fort Augustus
I HAVE to take issue with Stan Grodynski and his letter “SNP have boosted Yes support by governing well and building trust” (April 21).
The truth of the matter is that from 2014 to 2021 support for Scottish independence has grown from 45% to around perhaps, maybe, possibly 52% on a good day.
That is an average growth rate of 1% a year. Even assuming this rate of growth can be maintained in a post-Covid political environment – and there is most certainly no guarantee of that – to reach say a comfortable polling figure of around 60% will take us until 2029.
READ MORE: SNP have boosted Yes support by governing well and building trust
That both the SNP and the current First Minister of Scotland remain popular after 14 years in government is to be commended, however the political competition from both the Labour and Tory parties in Edinburgh and London has hardly been outstanding.
To persuade and inspire around another 10% of the voters of Scotland that their future is in an independent Scotland, sometime in the next year or so, will take a lot more than what is currently on offer. Free bikes for some of our poorest weans will not persuade those of our folk with a 25-year mortgage, a half-decent job and a wee private pension to join our cause.
The broad-based Yes campaign from 2014 needs to be revived, have life and money breathed back into it, and some real leadership provided by the First Minister – regardless of the outcome of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election.
Glenda Burns
Glasgow
HAVING listened to BBC coverage of the FM’s briefing on Tuesday I was disgusted! We get to questions and coverage switches to the opposition MSPs to listen to them “critiquing” her statement. What a farce – her statement is not political, so why are they there?
We hear nothing from the medical/science experts – instead we leave to listen to a diatribe from non experts whose claim to fame is they are “the opposition”. It’s a fiasco – please stop this nonsense and let us hear what the experts are saying. We will understand and learn more from them rather than the Douglas Rosses or Cole-Hamiltons of this world. It’s a disgrace.
Jan Ferrie
via email
IT comes as no surprise that a former Labour government wanted to deny Scotland access to its own oil fields – after all, one of the first actions of the Blair government was to change the sea boundaries in the North Sea (Labour plotted to take Scotland’s oil in bid to stop indy, April 21).
Yet again this highlights that UK-based parties only exist to promote London. That is why we cannot have any trust in any political party which does not stand up for the people of Scotland.
READ MORE: Labour plotted to steal Scottish oil and change marine borders to stop indy
We see this in the current election campaign where Tory and Labour are fighting for second place but have no ideas how to improve life in Scotland – simply because that is never their priority, they always have and always will put London first. The same is true of the minor UK parties from the LibDems to the Reform Party and all the rest of them. Their priority will always be London. If we want a fairer, stronger and even greener Scotland it will only come from the people of Scotland and political parties that put Scotland first.
Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley
PERFIDIOUS Labour! Lord Reid did redraw boundaries! Then the plans to partition Scotland! No doubt, the then Secretary of State for Scotland was in agreement? Or was he sidelined as usual? These revelations simply indicate there was and is no Union (of equals).
John Edgar
via thenational.scot
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