I REALLY do wish our elected members both at Holyrood and Westminster would point out to Boris and his sycophantic sidekicks that the people of Scotland are paying for their vaccines, their PPE, the presence of the armed forces et al through the vast amount of money garnered through all the overt and hidden taxes that are imposed on us as members of their precious Union!
We aren’t beholden to them, in fact we pay more than our way as the McCrone and subsequent reports on Scotland’s revenue reveal.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford warns Tories are making the same mistakes with Covid as in autumn
I’m fed up listening to sneering politicians and reporters inferring that we couldn’t have managed this pandemic without their help! Nicola has to face repeated insinuations – even from MSPs of differing hues – that we are being saved by the fact that we are in this Union, when in fact if we were independent we would have dealt with the pandemic demands much more quickly and effectively rather having to wait on joint-nation palavers whose decisions are changed the day after Scotland shows the way!!!
Come on Nicola, Ian and all our elected members. Fight back with the facts.
E Ahern
East Kilbride
WE are constantly being reminded of the generosity of the UK Government as they give us our own money. They successfully make it sound as if we are the recipients of their largesse. To counter this we should find a way of referring to these payments as what they are.
“Allocations from our share of taxes collected by the Treasury” is too long-winded. Perhaps the clever use of the words “shared” or “allocated” is needed. In the war of words we must choose our weapons carefully.
Colin Harvey
via email
HOW tiring and trying it must be to have to stand up and continually defend yourself against accusations designed solely to score political points.
It is high time the other parties balanced “holding the government to account” with solidarity during a global health emergency. As MSPs, and as human beings, they also have a responsibility to support the efforts of the parliament they were elected to.
READ MORE: Alister Jack panned for ‘desperate politicking’ over Nicola Sturgeon's briefings
This is not a game of arithmetical gymnastics and the vaccine response is not a talent show between Scotland and England. It is about protecting the people against a life-threatening virus.
The other party leaders’ number obsession is undermining those efforts, sapping energy and wasting parliamentary time. Sadly that appears to be the plan. They should be ashamed of themselves and we, the, voters are sick of it.
Noirin Blackie
Haddington
SEEMS to me Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s out-of-kilter visit to Scotland was nothing more than an opportunity/excuse for a day, perhaps more, of endless media and press coverage of the alleged benefits of the Union he seeks to preserve while all the time looking like, well ... take your pick, if not a fish out of water.
He does of course omit the facts that Scots, whether they like the alleged benefits or not, more than pay their share while subsidising the remainder of the union for these benefits and whatever else they commit us to effectively without our say in the matter.
Tom Gray
Braco
I FOLLOWED the Prime Minister’s totally unnecessary and irresponsible visit on Thursday and didn’t see much of the visibility or accessibility which we were supposed to get.
Just a few photo opportunities and a platform to tell us that the Scots are not really wanting independence, despite the last 20 polls showing a majority for this.
Apparently we’ve had our “once in a generation” vote on this in 2014 and we will have to wait 40 years till the next time!
READ MORE: Trade unions unite in condemnation of Boris Johnson's 'essential' Scotland trip
The Brexit vote was won in 2016 with a very slim majority, based on false promises. Now that we have left the EU after four years of negotiation with a deal that is worse than the deal we had, and are now seeing the disastrous results, it is quite possible that our friends in England and Wales could change their mind. Indeed I understand that recent polls now indicate s significant swing to Remain. Is Boris going to tell them they can’t have another vote on this – no matter how bad things get regarding the economy, unemployment, travel restrictions etc – until 2056! Don’t think this would be well received.
It’s certainly not going down well here in Scotland. We will have our vote, and we will have independence if that is the will of the Scottish people.
Angus BM Ferguson
Glasgow
UNLIKE others, I would like to thank Boris De Pfeffel Johnson for taking time out of his very busy schedule to visit Glasgow. I offer a warm Scottish welcome to Boris. Our door is always open to the likes of him. Maybe next time Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg could join him. It was a pity, we didn’t know where he was actually going or we would have lined the streets to show our appreciation. His lab coat performance was so like an episode from The Thick Of It it made me think of the chaotic dialogue and actions of his advisors behind the scenes.
And on cue the words we were all waiting for: “People don’t want another referendum.” It was music to my ears. Yes, approval for independence went up a further two points. Roll on poll 21. If only he could visit every week. May I suggest Fraserburgh and Peterhead next time. The fishermen would love to see him!
Robin MacLean
Fort Augustus
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