LAURA Kuenssberg, Naga Munchetty and others are signalling the UK Government’s anti-Scottish-independence agenda by promoting the idea that Scotland could not survive economically outside the UK. The BBC will continue to support this line because of the fear of privatisation by this far-right UK Government.
The Scottish independence movement must be prepared for this, and also for the Cummings social media machine to move into overdrive on the subject as we approach next year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections. Although no-one can provide proof either way, it is the Achilles’ heel of independence rhetoric.
READ MORE: SNP to debate three-year timetable to axe Trident after a Yes vote
If the independence movement can counter this line of attack, there remains one major issue in the way of a Section 30 order: Trident. David Cameron was chastised severely by his party for agreeing to the 2014 referendum, putting Trident at risk. Trident keeps the UK at the top table of the UN, which allows populists south of the Border to believe that England is still a world power.
Joanna Cherry is right to say there must be another way.
Mike Underwood
Linlithgow
I AM very pleased to see the motion for this year’s SNP conference concerning the nuclear weapons removal from Scotland.
Doing this complete removal would mean the complete removal of submarines carrying nuclear warhead missiles. And so eventually all submarines, nuclear weapon machine sheds and all marine employees.
It is the objective of the SNP government to transfer the then redundant Faslane naval base into a service base for Scotland’s eventual armed services. This would then deploy and retrain any previous staff available. It has always been a nonsensical decision by the government of the day to build the submarine base and to store armaments and nuclear weapons so close to as heavily populated city as Glasgow. The number of close shave accidents in the River Clyde is ridiculous, as was the recent close shave with a ferry full of passengers.
A nuclear submarine with live warheads, being steered by a trainee officer who cannot decide how far or near a surface vessel is, should not be in charge of any submarine in a sea area used by passenger vessels.
I hope the motion is passed 100%, to which I really have no doubt.
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
IAN Kennedy wrote in yesterday’s National about the possible demise of the Union caused by the high levels of Labour and Conservative voters there wishing just that, wanting English independence.
The information from two recent opinion polls does indeed give the hope that this could happen.
The damper on this hope is that no mainstream media outlet ran with the story and that there is no English Yes movement to push the information to the public. My view is that there need to be some events that would cause this interesting information to become self-fulfilling.
READ MORE: Pretending problems aren’t happening is counter-productive
The events could be these. Firstly, it is estimated that “UK” unemployment in Q1 2021 will be in the range 12% to 15% due to Covid-19. Secondly, add to that Brexit trade chaos if we get a No-Deal or a very poor deal, causing angst amongst us all as goods are in short supply in our shops, aligned to more poor job news because of Brexit. Thirdly, due to all of these UK events, support for Scotland’s independence keeps going up to say 58% by May 21. Even better if the May elections give the best indy party result ever.
The mainstream media would build this latter point up as a distortion to bad political and economic news just as they are doing to distort England’s very poor virus control. Then I believe many in England will want to rid themselves of those moaning Jocks whom they subsidise by England’s wealth (as many in England believe). Then the mainstream media will pick up on this and hopefully help our cause by collapse of the Union from within. A self-fulfilling prophecy caused by the Conservative party since 2010.
Robert Anderson
via email
REGARDING Robbie Mochrie’s Long Letter in yesterday’s paper, there is no doubt that Scotland fared badly during Margaret Thatcher’s years in government. However, on one point, she was absolutely clear. I quote from her autobiography: “The Tory party is not, of course, an English party but a Unionist one. If it sometimes seems English to Scots, that is because the Union is inevitably dominated by England by reason of its greater population. The Scots, being an historic nation with a proud past, will inevitably resent some expressions of this fact from time to time.
READ MORE: Take lessons learned from Margaret Thatcher on the path to indyref2
“As a nation, they have an undoubted right to national self-determination; thus far they have exercised that right by joining and remaining in the Union. Should they determine on independence, no English party or politician would stand in their way, however much we might regret their departure.”
And as an affirmation of what we already know, a quote from another giant of the Conservative party, Winston Churchill: “Of all the small nations on Earth, perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their contribution to mankind.”
Jennifer Rodger
West Kilbride
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