I WAS sorry to see that Stuart Campbell of Wings over Scotland had decided to call things a day and wind up his website after almost 10 years of campaigning for independence. The work he did in the run-up to the 2014 referendum was utterly immense, his forensic dissection of the Unionists’ arguments was above and beyond anything that the official Yes campaign were capable of.

I recall seeing SNP MSPs handing out copies of the Wee Blue Book and singing its praises, and I am certain that many of those elected in the wake of the 2014 defeat were put there in part through the good work done by Mr Campbell, which makes it all the more galling to see them turn on him in recent years.

There will be many in the SNP who will be glad to see the back of him, in the main because he has felt the need to turn his critical eye over the SNP themselves. Their attempt to shoot the messenger, a common trait I am seeing more of, has done nothing to disprove the message he has been delivering, namely that the SNP have grown comfortable, that they have failed to push forward on independence and have misappropriated the ring-fenced money raised specifically for a future independence campaign.

I can fully understand that he is unwilling to go on repeating the last five years and at least is honest when he says that he does not want to go on taking money from the independence movement when there is clearly no chance of there being any movement in the right direction. I do hope that he is wrong as regards progress towards independence, but my feeling is that his assessment is honest and accurate and that we are in for another five years of dangled carrots and miniscule progress towards independence, while at the same time watching as Westminster holds the levers of control and slowly bolts the door against us.

Like Stuart, I am getting tired of repeating myself. The SNP and their supporters need to remember who is on the side of independence and who is against it, and in future turn their attention to them, rather than against their own lines. Otherwise, we will ensure this cycle of behaviour for years to come.

James Cassidy

Airdrie

AS frequently happens, I agree with most of the letter from Charlie Kerr (13 May) and would like to help him with one point. He believes that a written constitution has already been drawn up and calls for that to be made public.

My colleagues and I agree, which is why we established the non-partisan charity Constitution for Scotland, to allow public consultation and engagement. We were aware that there have been earlier, more academic, attempts and we also knew that parties like the SNP had drafted theirs but as Charlie Kerr notes, they are not visible. There is a fundamental question here though – should national constitutions be offered by political parties or be prepared and driven by the people?

The best national constitutions that we have seen are in lay terms, with the basic principles subsequently enshrined in law. We have taken that approach too and the draft can be seen at www.constitutionforscotland.scot which is a fully interactive site where individuals can comment, give a ‘thumbs-up’ or make alternative proposals.

All is based on well-established consultation software that has a United Nations Public Service Award. We encourage all readers to become involved in the process.

Thanks to The National, we have been publishing a monthly column and one is due in the next few days. We have also been giving virtual presentations to groups which can be arranged by contacting us direct.

Through a draft constitution we can shape how an independent Scotland could be run and start to answer the doorstep questions.

John C Hutchison

Secretary, Constitution for Scotland

THERE’S growing alarm within the intelligence community who are puzzled and astonished at the success and popularity of the Tory Government in England. After intensive intelligence gathering aided by foreign security experts, the raw data undergoing analysis is indicating that there are hidden abilities at work that we can barely comprehend. They’ve coined the phrase dark super powers.

The PM of course has the most power with the ability to induce in real time, temporary amnesia while he is talking, thereby rendering the listener unable to tell not only what was being said but whether it was a lie or not. Another dark art is mass hypnosis, bending the will of reasonable people to act out of character and vote for the Tory party. Fortunately Celtic nations are mostly immune and as puzzled as each other, wondering what the heck is going on in England.

How on earth could this shower of numpties be voted in, defeats logic. Holding the Anglo Saxon populace, political hostage is bad enough but while they exert their powers, even when decisions are made to make life worse, the voters don’t seem to care. There is a hypothesis that argues if there are dark powers, then perversely there must be good powers, I wonder who might have them?

Mike Herd

Highland