WHEN the hurly-burly’s done and the SNP have won, what then? Will it be Covid as usual or the begging Section 30 letter to Boris, or will an indy majority put pressure on Westminster by passing the draft Referendum Bill, with a flexible date?

If the SNP go to sleep on the referendum, their membership will slip away like snow off a dyke. They cannot ignore the fact that their core support is for independence, not the myriad policies they’ve promised in the manifesto. The power grab and the Brexit disaster are here now, and the economic recovery will need rather more than the Tories’ Union Jacks and royal yachts.

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On the other hand, Johnson has an awful lot to lose from a referendum tug-of-war, especially in international prestige. Taking back control and then losing the UK will hardly make Britain look Great. He cannot rely on either Project Fear or the “broad shoulders” argument to win.

Some kind of compromise might be offered, as happened with the Vow. In that case, negotiations for full self-government within a notional UK should not be turned down and might even gain some cross-party support.

An agreement on fiscal autonomy and taxation, contributions to a common social security fund and defence, plus a single market border protocol and withdrawal from Westminster could then be put to a referendum. The No side would have to justify why endless Anglo-Brexit domination would be preferable to running our own affairs, especially when the detail had already been worked out (as in 1997).

Certainly this would not give us the instant statehood that the SNP has always craved, but it could allow us to re-fashion our economy, grow our institutions, and pave the way to full membership of the EU in due course. Indyref2 is risky for the independence side too. If we lose again, we will only have whatever scraps of devolution the Tories allow, if any. But if we sit back and wait for support to reach 60%, this may simply never happen.

Robert Fraser
Edinburgh

IN company with thousands of others I have tramped the streets with AUOB shouting “Whadda we want? Independence! When do we want it – NOW!” However, these were all people who were/are convinced that self-government is “a good thing”.

Unfortunately there aren’t enough of us to win a referendum. What is imperative is that we change the mind of some No voters and, more importantly, sway the “don’t knows” to Yes. Some of my fellow National readers seem to have lost sight of this fact. For reasons beyond my understanding, we get many poll results with the caveat “excluding don’t knows”.

I feel this is misleading, as these people can swing an indyref either way. Thus, demanding a referendum ASAP without these folk becoming Yes is risking a second loss. Can someone quote me an indyref poll, showing us well in front, INCLUDING the don’t knows?

Barry Stewart
Blantyre

I NOTE that the issue of a border between England and Scotland continues to be a concern should Scotland become independent.

Looking at examples from other countries, this need not be an issue. It is possible to have seamless trade between two countries. The Norway and Sweden border is an example of where there is no disruption on the border. In addition there are longstanding agreements with Ireland and the UK with regard to freedom of movement. With political will, trade would continue to flow between Scotland and England.

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Scotland is much more at risk from the Internal Market Act, which poses a serious threat to devolution. Scotland opposed this but was powerless to stop it. The Tory government has not ruled out the NHS being part of any trade deals. American companies have already taken over a number of GP practices in England. Being part of this Union could see the Scottish NHS being privatised and Scottish Water being sold off to the highest bidder. Scotland would be powerless to stop it. Is this what we want for Scotland?

Mary Ward
Forfar

YOUR cover depicting Boris Johnson as a chicken because of his non-appearance in Scotland during the run-up to the Holyrood elections was interesting. However, it made me realise that he doesn’t need to come here. He is busy plotting in London working on an a new Act of Union which will forbid future Scottish independence referendums. He can also demolish the Scottish Parliament on a whim without our consent. Did he listen to us during Brexit?

WJ Graham
East Kilbride

BORIS couldn’t leave the EU quick enough, now he wishes “EU” were there. It looks as if he will be relaxing the travel restrictions very soon. So chances are we will not be having a heatwave but another wave of the virus! The man is surely inept at learning from his mistakes!

Robin Maclean
Fort Augustus

BIG thank you to both Kevin McKenna and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh for their timely articles in Wednesday’s National.

I had been agonising for weeks over where to give my second vote. I was split three ways. After reading their depressing articles at least I was able to totally rule out one party – Alba. Interesting to read their thoughts, but I couldn’t agree. No party is perfect but I think that we have been better served as a country than our near neighbours.

Helen Knight
Glasgow

READ MORE: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh​: The pandemic has shown why Holyrood needs a wake-up or shake-up

“NO more prevarication, no more waiting for their say-so” – spot on Tasmina. The political debate will feel like a neverendum if we never-hold-one. (PS Here’s hoping you get elected).

Stephen Duncan
via thenational.scot