THE wonderful Ruth Wishart hits the nail on the head again (Collective act of self-harm must end or Scotland will suffer forever, March 21)! With an English nationalist government in Westminster, a Scotland which puts the spotlight on a private war between our two flawed Titans – weeks before an election that was supposed to lead to independenceis in a fight for the country’s very existence.

Not only has the British system robbed us of our European nationality against our will, but its masters have introduced an Internal Market Bill which will be able to veto legislation from all the devolved governments and wrap diktats in the Union flag.

What England wants, Scotland will get – again!

READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: Wake up. Scotland is in an existential fight for her life

The sending of English civil servants en masse to Edinburgh and Glasgow may produce a few cleaning jobs for the natives but it is above all an addition to the colonisation of Scotland by a rampant Brexit England. During the Empire, the English preferred not to rule the colony directly like the French but to rule it indirectly through proxies such as local sultans and chieftains.

The part-time MP Douglas Ross comes to mind as well as the Baroness, who may become Secretary of State for Scotland so that she can complete the colonisation job. Forget the scrap – it pales to insignificance given the scandals surrounding Johnson, Hancock, Patel and cronies – and get the vote out for self-determination on May 6.

Dr Duncan MacLaren
Glasgow

THE hypocrisy of the Tories in Scotland, and to a lesser extent Labour, is startling. The law was broken by Mr Cummings, and rather than condemn him, Mr Gove tried to excuse him by confirming he was guilty of similar conduct during his six or seven attempts to pass his driving test.

Mr Johnson was held to have been acting unlawfully in attempting to prorogue the Westminster parliament. No calls from the Scottish Tories for his resignation. Ms Patel was found to have broken the ministerial code by an independent assessor. Rather than sack her, Mr Johnson condoned her behaviour. Mr Hancock was held by a court to have acted illegally. I eagerly await for the Scottish Tories to call for a vote of no confidence in him. Not holding my breath.

Branislav Sudjic
Pitlochry

VOTE out the SNP? Assuming this is the stated aim of Labour, Tory, and LibDems, can they tell the electorate WHO they’re going to replace it with. Anyone with a reasonably functioning brain must surely look at what they’re going to get as an alternative, and, in spite of any and all of the flaws and foibles currently in the SNP, still vote for them. I strongly suggest to our fellow citizens that they will absolutely NOT be better off with any of the above, as they are ALL happy to bow the knee to Boris and his band of rogues and charlatans in the name of a “United?” kingdom.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon facing no confidence vote tomorrow in Holyrood

As we don’t have a king, and we’re certainly not united, can we not take action under the Trades Descriptions Act against Westminster under misleading advertising?

Barry Stewart
Blantyre

THANK you George Kerevan! His piece urging us to stop rewarding the BBC for lying to us hits the nail on the head (Why it really is time for Scots to make a serious stand against the BBC, March 15).

I refused to continue paying the licence fee in September 2014 and have never regretted it. The internet has entertained, educated and connected me most evenings; I can’t believe the stupid pap I used to watch on TV!

READ MORE: George Kerevan: Why it really is time for Scots to make a serious stand against the BBC

If we want an honest media we will only get one if we refuse to pay for a pack of lies and distortions.

Stop paying the licence fee now – our children and grandchildren’s futures are worth it.

M Mackenzie
Glasgow

WITH all the shenanigans within the SNP, of which I have been a member for some time, I think that an SNP majority is not an issue. In fact I believe that a pro-independence majority is. The Greens have proved over the years that they are the “grown-up” party in Holyrood and actually provide genuine opposition to the government. Their agenda is for the betterment of Scotland, not party politics. I firmly believe that an SNP government backed up, but not in coalition with, the Greens is a desirable outcome. The events of the past few weeks have proved it. Unionists are desperate to bring down the government, aided by the mainstream media. The most important thing is to keep the eyes on the prize. Without independence, Scotland will never move forward. First vote: SNP, second vote: Green.

Colin Counter
via email

“TORIES push motion of no confidence for Nicola Sturgeon over Salmond inquiry” (March 20). A last, desperate attempt by the Tories to salvage something from the committee that was set up to investigate a process that failed because it was tainted by apparent bias and has itself failed because it was tainted by apparent bias.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry

IT appears that they have spent £2.6m to provide an American-style briefing room. Why don’t we save lots of money and cut out the middle man by just becoming the 53rd state of America?

William Pirrie
via email

SORRY, Mr Ball (Letters, March 20), but I suspect four Union Jacks in the Briefing Room is a deliberately calculated number. One for Wales, one for Northern Ireland, one for Scotland and one for England to show supremacy over the other three. I assume they couldn’t find a bigger one for that last! Or would that have gone over budget?

P Davidson
Falkirk