RARELY have I been so incandescent with rage at an article in The National. When the paper first appeared, I was delighted. Here at last was a vehicle to which those of us who longed for an independent Scotland could turn to and see our beliefs and emotions put into words. A vehicle to counter all the lies and insults which for years had been forced down our throats.

Since its inception, I have religiously pursued my daily purchase, enabling me to hear my ideas and beliefs put into print by individuals better able than myself to express our fears, hopes, frustrations and ultimate dream of independence.

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Just as well Kevin is there, to highlight my foolish fancies (Shouldn’t we chill out a bit about harmless shows of Unionist imagery?, Nov 3). Let me tell you Kevin, there has never been any shortage of people willing to tell me how foolish I am to be emotional about Unionist imagery which rubbishes my aspirations for an independent Scotland.

“Harmless shows of Unionist imagery”? You may consider them harmless Kevin, but by god, I’ll bet they provide a warm glow and bolster the beliefs of all our Unionist antagonists. I am looking for my newspaper to provide and bolster my beliefs and provide me with a warm glow. Many evils have been foisted on us by the Tory party: Brexit, Covid chaos, rape clause, bedroom tax, rampant corruption etc, etc etc, but hey, let’s forget all that, “they’re brilliant company and are rarely slow to buy a drink.”

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Is this a wind-up, I keep asking myself. It has to be!! Then Kevin admits “that if Scotland doesn’t gain its independence, I won’t have any trouble sleeping. I’ll get over it”. NEWSFLASH FOR KEVIN: many of us won’t get over it, and having carpetbaggers like himself insult those of us who hold sincere values is too much to take.

As far as I am concerned, he has just stuck up two fingers to me and told me I am a mug. Well, this mug has had enough, Kevin can stick his poisonous verbiage right up his proverbial. I probably won’t even know if this letter is published as today’s is the last National I will purchase.

PS I will happily provide my contact details if Kevin wishes to insult me to my face next time.

John Murphy
Wishaw

I CAN truly empathise with the general thrust of Kevin McKenna’s feature on why nationalists should try and open dialogue with Unionist Scots on what makes them feel primarily British, and to try and reassure them that cultural expressions of Britishness, in the sense that the British Isles will always be a cultural as well as geographical concept will continue after independence. This will not preclude the vigorous promotion of Scottish culture, but the fundamental point is that Scottish society will be a diverse place.

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Yet, I do not in all candour see the mass marketing of Union Jacks on foodstuffs as an entirely innocent development as Mr McKenna does. Most Unionist Scots of my acquaintance have an atavistic attachment to the Union Jack borne through family attachment to the British Army, the Crown, and the Church, and to a great extent these institutions are all creatures of the 1707 Unionist settlement. So the relentless promotion of the Union Jack has political connotations which tap into the psyche of Unionist voters, and whilst Tesco executives may be unaware of this, Tory financiers that bankroll such campaigns undoubtedly are.

Just as stressing the diversity of an post-independence Scotland will reassure Unionist Scots, the key to winning over the crucial 10-15% of those voters pre-independence lies in showing that the independence movement is diverse and that whilst the SNP is the leading force, they will not necessarily dictate the shape of the independence settlement nor even necessarily govern in an independent Scotland as established parties dissolve and new parties coalesce.

Cllr Andy Doig
Scotia Future

JACOB Rees-Mogg’s chilly insouciance which Kevin McKenna loves is, of course, inculcated in well-to-do young gentlemen/women at public school and is seen as an essential part of their education and breeding. In later life it can manifest itself as a type of sophisticated worldliness and these people can often come across as charming and genial. I believe this type of deceptive “bonhomie” is conning many voters south of the Border and keeping Boris Johnson and his parcel of rogues ahead in the polls. Too many of our English friends are judging the Tories by the image they present instead of what they actually do.

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Like Kevin, I am not enraged by Union Jacks sprouting on supermarket goods and it is probably fair to say I am happy to be Scottish rather than proud. However, I am 72, this is the most extreme-right UK Government I can remember and the prospect of Johnson winning the next General Election DOES give me sleepless nights. For me independence is not just desirable, it is imperative, because it will guarantee Scotland (and my grandchildren) never having to suffer another Tory government!!

Alan Woodcock
Dundee

STRANGE column from Kevin McKenna this week. Union Jackery present, pro-England and monarchy views expressed and a statement that “he is not even proud to be Scottish”. Was this a plea for a job with the Daily Mail? Or Sarah Smith’s job at the BBC?

David Coll
Rothesay, Isle of Bute

THE Mother of Parliaments hit a new low on Wednesday when a government without principles or a conscience obtained a majority in a parliament that now has so little respect for the rule of law that it has become easier to change its own rules than obey them.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry