JOANNA Cherry QC’s opinion about a consultative referendum generated some “what ifs” in my thinking.
Ms Cherry has a finer brain than I could ever have hoped for and her legal and MP’s abilities and qualities are unquestionable. In contrast, I am just an ordinary citizen who does not want our self-determination aims to suffer in any way.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon urged to consider Scottish independence 'plan B'
I also desire a multi-faceted ingredient in our movement to move us from the present impasse (in Ms Cherry’s proposal, a Supreme Court ruling). Below I state some “what ifs”: What if Johnson challenges our court effort and wins?
What if our Holyrood government wins and embarks on a consultative referendum, diverting them from winning a majority in 2021? Or should the judgment, if won, be held in abeyance until after that election?
What if we lose that referendum and give a campaigning advantage to the forces of Unionism?
What if the forces of Unionism boycott the referendum, then claim that the result is not representative of all Scotland’s people?
What if there is participatio of both Yes and No in which Yes wins, but Johnson ignores or rejects the result?
Those, and I suppose other, matters would be what Nicola Sturgeon and her government would have to consider and carefully assess.
Bobby Brennan
Glasgow
WITH the election behind him, Boris Johnson has been empowered to escalate his attacks on the democratic rights of immigrants as well as the entire population.
The secret deportations to Jamaica are merely a foretaste of what is to come. Johnson’s actions were a signal to his fascistic political base that the Tories are committed to aggressive scapegoating of minorities and foreigners.
While the population drowns in austerity; the Tories have given cronies in the Lords a tax-free pay rise of an inflation-busting 3.15% in April.
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Their Lordships will get £323 a day simply for signing a book. Peers could get £48,000 tax-free per year.
The bungling Boris decided to press ahead with HS2. £10 billion will be cost to Scotland with zero benefit. Add this to the £20bn Scotland will have to cough up for the illegal Trident renewal.
It’s highly likely that the vindictive Tories will move COP26 from Glasgow, such is their disdain and contempt for Holyrood.
Recently the Scottish Government sent down a detailed request for the devolution of immigration. This was rejected by the Tories without them even reading it. Same with the request for so-called shooting galleries to try to stem the flow of drug deaths. The Tories did not even bother to do any research before again saying no.
Any pretence that Scotland is anything more than a colony has been abandoned by the Tories. An independence referendum needs to be called this year.
Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee
THE Queensferry Crossing is, without doubt, an engineering marvel. The opening was delayed because of the extreme weather that howls up the Forth from time to time, but it eventually opened and until Monday has never had to close.
It was a “perfect storm” of weather that caused a build-up of ice on the supporting cables, similar to what happens to ships in extreme weather.
READ MORE: Old tweet exposes Jackson Carlaw's Queensferry Crossing hypocrisy
This rare phenomenon will, hopefully, be engineered out by the highly skilled and competent engineers that we have in this country, but if not it will still be a rare occurrence.
Our Tory “friends” moaned about the delay in the bridge opening and now, courtesy of the Holyrood clown Murdo Fraser, the Tories are now complaining about the Scottish Government being responsible “because it happened last year”. Well, actually, no it didn’t happen last year because the bridge did not close. What happened was an awareness of a potential problem if conditions had worsened. Aye it’s “SNP bad” again!
This is the Tory branch office that, had they been in power in Scotland (god forbid), would never have had the bridge built in the first place, so who are they to criticise ? I wonder if Fraser can even use a spade or pick, never mind understand the immense engineering skills involved in building the approach roads never mind the actual bridge!
Politicians (of any party) might be lawyers or businesspersons or the like, but what they are not are highly skilled civil engineers and mathematicians (with the odd exception)
This is, yet again, point-scoring by the low-life Tory party, and the sad thing is that some in this great SNP-led country will actually believe the drivel that emits from the mouth of a Tory.
Ian Heggie
Glenrothes
IN the wake of Trump’s so-called deal of the century I would like to appeal to Scotland supporters to boycott the game against Israel on March 26. I am a Scotland fan and a member of the Scotland Supporters’ Club so I am aware of how important this fixture is for Scotland. However, that does not mean that we have to support it.
Israel’s participation in this tournament legitimises what is now an apartheid state which continues to steal Palestinian homes and land and destroy Palestinian livelihoods, a situation Trump’s one-sided and vindictive plan seeks to make permanent.
In solidarity with Palestinians suffering from illegal occupation and the coercive control of the Israeli state, I will be boycotting the game. I call on Scotland supporters to join me.
SFA publicity for the game says “Nothing Matters More”. In this case, something else does.
Colin Dunning
Port Glasgow
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