I HAVE to disagree with the Wee Ginger Dug’s views concerning Alyn Smith (It’s not the grassroots that need to ‘wheest for indy’, December 8). The only place Alyn Smith might put an oversize boot in is his own mouth. With every Facebook comment about his chip-on-the-shoulder NEC comments I read, I saw right through him as a self-indulgent politician who thought himself top of the tree.

Yes, he worked well for Scotland as an MEP, actually receiving a standing ovation for his famous speech about leaving a light on for Scotland after the UK Brexit vote. He then went on to win a seat as an SNP MP in Stirling.

His weekly column in The National, for quite a while, contained a lot of examples about his time as an MEP, and not so much of his actions in Westminster. But enough about Alyn Smith.

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I also disagree with the Wee Ginger Dug’s viewpoint about our government. The only reason for the SNP’s existence is for Scotland’s independence. But in the meantime, it does have a country to govern, and right now an epidemic to deal with. If that is not enough, the First Minister chose to give out a daily synopsis of the effect the coronavirus epidemic is having on the Scottish nation.

I have always suspected that somewhere, in the background of dealing with the daily politics of government, our elected SNP members have always held independence as the means to an end. Government has been the SNP way, with a few compromises made here and there.

But, in a wee room tucked away out of sight, there has been a small working committee trying hard to find a way to independence beyond the impossible request for another Section30 order. It appears that those secret discussions just might be beginning to take shape.

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Michael Russell has informed the nation that not only is there a way forward beyond the impossible Section 30 route, and not only is there not a need for a Plan B, but there is the possibility of several plans ranging from A to Z. This was broadcast to conference and subsequently published over social media but most of all, as front page news in last weekend’s Sunday’s National.

Discussions have been taking place in letters and on social media about alternative legal procedures to gain independence outwith the Section30 order. Even to the point of reinvigorating the 1707 Act of Union as a way of cutting the umbilical cord that attaches us to Westminster.

Similarly, so has our government been having these discussions, but obviously in secret. You don’t disclose your hand of cards when playing poker. Hopefully Mike Russell’s recent disclosure has been sufficient to placate the grassroots within the Yes community, enough to suggest to the other poker players that the SNP might just have a winning hand, and enough to wipe the table clear in the final game.

Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife

YESterday photo appeal

The National is running a new monthly feature focused on the independence movement of years gone by. We would love to see photos of pre-2014 marches, rallies and events – as well as pictures of old pro-independence or SNP badges, T-shirts, flyers, posters, or other merchandise. Help us tell the stories which are too often left out of the mainstream independence narrative!

We’ll be publishing the best submissions once a month online and in the newspaper. Contribute online here or by sending contributions to: YESterday appeal, The National, c/o The Print Centre, 125 Fullarton Drive, Cambuslang, Glasgow, G32 8FG.

Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like them returned.