THE headline and article in The National explaining that even a lost court case on the right of Scotland to hold a second referendum on independence would be helpful to the self-determination movement is invaluable (‘How losing indyref2 court battle could help Scotland win independence’, September 23).

The argument was that to win the case the UK would have to aver that Scotland was not a nation. Surely that part of this ancient country which accepts with equanimity the parasitism of Westminster would baulk at that. Even the latter part of the piece which discusses the malign effect on devolution in Scotland that the Internal Market Act has had, stating it “neuters the devolved nations”, creates an opening for the Scottish Government. Unfortunately, they do not know the value of the feint, the jab, nifty footwork and simple aggression.

The argument for the court case, also applies to referendums. If there was a vote on such a matter as the drug problem, which asked “Should Scotland be free to treat drug addiction as a health issue on the grounds that prohibition does not work?” this would give Westminster pain in defending the indefensible. It would make Scotland look and be more democratic remembering that Westminster’s only democratic institution is the parliament voted for by a crude electoral system buttressed by an unelected second house and hereditary crown.

READ MORE: How losing indyref2 court battle could help Scotland win independence

If we lost that we could vote on Trident which would make clear that the UK stood for a weapon which could not only poison foreign cities, but by inadvertence their own.

Regarding the referendum for independence, the SNP should ally this firmly to green policies so that the UK is fighting against national freedom but also against the global environmental battle for survival of the planet. This could be the knock-out blow the SNP seems to favour, being averse to regular sparring practice, ring craft and the occasional black eye.

Iain WD Forde
Scotlandwell

SCOTLAND, an oil producing nation now has to suffer the ignominy of fuel shortages. All because the colonial neighbour down South voted for a Brexit deal Scotland didn’t and a clown imbecile Prime Minister again which Scotland did not vote for. These are Unionist shortages. They can be added to the energy price hike, food shortages, the export crisis, the collapse in farming and fishing, the dumping of raw sewage, benefit cuts and tax hike.

A Union flag with Boris Johnson’s should be slapped on every Unionist Party’s leaflet. Johnson is the most embarrassing world leader. His visit to the White House was horrendous. He went like a loyal dog begging for a bone. In his case it was a post-Brexit trade deal. He was given a short-shift by Biden. This is despite swearing fealty to Washington’s war build up against China. Humiliated Johnson then went to the UN to insult the French, tell a “joke” nobody found funny and lecture other nations about the need to cut fossil fuels despite him authorising new oil exploration in UK waters.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson's hopes of post-Brexit deal with US shot down by Joe Biden

The mortification was completed when Johnson had to beg the fascist leader of Brazil for an “emergency” food deal. Now there are reports that Johnson wants to bring in EU workers to solve the supply chain crisis. This would be a complete volt-face on his Brexit “promises”of leveling up, which of course was a rhetorical lie thought up by second rate advertising men. The level of incompetence that the Tories display is almost incomprehensible. There needs to be accountability; this means long prison sentences for Johnson and his Henchmen.

Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee

WE are slipping into a desperate crisis which has been inflicted by this blinkered government. There is a massive shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers that is having a knock on effect. Drivers of local authority recycling vehicles are now being poached by desperate haulage companies.

One HGV driver has been offered an increase of £7 an hour to stay with his present employer! The cost of these cash bonuses will, of course, be passed onto the consumer.

Why has this happened? The Government has made European HGV drivers feel unwelcome and they went home when the pandemic hit, and have not come back. The Government’s solution to this crisis – bonuses for HGV apprentices – but the National Haulage Association states it takes 18 months to train an HGV driver. Moving to smaller vehicles will simply increase the problem – more pressure on drivers, more lorries on the road, less freight being moved. The shortage of drivers is already having a knock on effect, petrol stations are shutting, supermarkets are having problems filling shelves, pubs are running short of certain beers, popular take aways are reducing menus.

Finding 100,000 new HGV drivers will not be easy. Flooding busy roads with inexperienced drivers will be potentially dangerous. The average age of HGV drivers is 55. So the problem is not going to go away. Britain, like other countries like Japan and China, has an ageing population, it does not have enough younger workers to do the necessary jobs, and pay tax, to support the older population. Immigrant workers are a necessity. China has relaxed its one child policy, even Japan is beginning to let in migrant workers.

The dogmatic government is increasingly locking us into an unsustainable situation. Trying to blame the pandemic for the problems caused by cutting us off from a large, flexible work force after forty years of being reliant on that work force.

Declarations by Grant Shapps that we must “stand on our own two feet”, are not helpful when we are short of at least 100,000 HGV drivers. Facing reality, and not acting like ostriches is what a responsible government should be doing.

Granting temporary visas for 5000 foreign drivers won’t solve the problem Johnson has caused. What about the other 95% of the driver shortage?

Pete Milory
Trowbridge, Wiltshire