DO I really need to point out the gaping chasm between Joe Biden’s successful bid for the US presidency and the SNP’s efforts to secure a second independence referendum (Russell says SNP should learn from Biden for indyref2, November 30)?

Joe Biden took part in an election mandated by the written constitution of the USA; the SNP is attempting to be granted a poll by a Prime Minister who wields the absolute power of the Crown granted to him by the UK’s unwritten constitution. Donald Trump could not stop the election from going ahead, whereas the SNP has conceded that the PM has the power to grant a referendum (and therefore, by definition, the power to refuse one).

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It is said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. The SNP keeps asking politely for a referendum and the UK PM keeps refusing. It is madness to expect a different outcome without changing our approach to the problem, but that appears to be the SNP’s only strategy. It is time we tried a different tack.

Neil Caple
Braemar