AS Westminster politicians cross the Border to tell us how to vote, we must remind ourselves that they are not here seeking to advance but instead to contain or diminish Scotland’s interests. They come to promote their own interests.

They know that an independent Scotland means their losing the profits and benefits that come with owning a colony. They fear a reduction in their power, their territory, and their resources. They want us to do what we’re told and to act against our own interests.

Their nervousness helps explain the new wave of asset-stripping of our oil whose profits go as before to themselves and the wealthy – not Scotland.

We have a strong democratic mandate to remain in the EU. But these politicians wrenched us out of that precious union, scolding us for not supporting them. Labour deals with it all with its dishonest promise that Brexit will work for us. They promise to deliver the impossible.

The falseness towards Scotland of the big Westminster parties became blatant in 2014 when they took it in turns to lie to us, telling us the oil resource was almost gone. They made our media a highly-resourced anti-independence campaigning coalition. TV pretended the referendum’s binary choice was a four-way party-political and therefore broadcast three-on-one pile-ons in support of Westminster’s instructions and wishes.

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Meanwhile, social media has superseded the state broadcaster for news and shown how distantly the London-based parties will stray from the truth. And concerning Scotland, they care only that we remain part of their little internal empire and that they do not (their word) “lose” Scotland.

Victory in 2014 went to propaganda, and democracy was the loser. Conservative, Labour, and the other Anglo-British nationalists remain hostile to democracy for Scotland by pretending they see no mandate for an independence referendum. Yet they come and ask us to vote for them.

So, while we welcome our visitors as guests to our country, we know they don’t regard Scotland respectfully but instead as a property, an unloved “Scotshire” which they own and can abuse as they like. They’ll be off home soon. Back to telling us haughtily what we can and cannot do, insulting Scotland and stifling our interests. It’s up to us to challenge them.

Professor Aonghus MacKechnie

Edinburgh

JAMES Duncan’s letter in todays paper (20 Sept) is spot on regarding the wasted time since 2014. James also mentions the lies of the Unionists that lost us the vote. All true, however there was one more factor.

If you accept that Scotland is a sovereign country with its own culture, history and territory then why was the voting franchise used here unique in the world in that it allowed everyone living here a vote. This did not happen with the Brexit referendum, only UK citizens could vote. This was sold to us as civic nationalism.

It is normal in every country to allow foreigners to vote in local elections but not in country general elections or referendums. When asked at an event in New York why Scotland did not follow these norms our then Deputy First Minister stated that the civil service said it would be too difficult to administer. Then you think who pays and recruits senior civil servants.

English, Welsh and NI residents along with other countries should not have been allowed a vote. They all have non-Scottish cultural traditions so are less likely to vote for independence.

Had Scotland followed international norms in the 2014 referendum we would be an independent country now.

Robert Anderson

Dunning

WHEN are you going to realise that your support for Catalunya does not do Scottish independence any good? Indeed, your support for Catalan independence in effect debases the case for Scottish independence by making it seem as if there is a parallel.

Now it is language in the EU (today’s paper). So why not Gaelic in the EU Parliament? What about some stirring on our behalf?

You have been had by the Catalan propaganda machine.

Catalunya was never an independent nation. It was apart of the Kingdom of Aragon. Large parts of the Grand Catalunya, including Mallorca, were also part of France.

Next thing is the case for Shetland, or Palestine (much stronger case), Faroes, Flanders.... and so on.

Tioraidh an drasta,

Sam Laird

Jesús Pobre, Spain

WHAT a guddle of a letter from Iain Wilson in Wednesday’s National, the ultimate point of which was not clear to me. He mentions a number of topics which I suppose are loosely connected, but he fails to say why. He then writes “The Green/SNP gender recognition legislation has now begun the first stage of its lengthy journey through the courts” which sums up the confusion at the heart of his letter.

Does Mr Wilson mean the judicial review against a decision of the Scottish ministers brought by For Women Scotland or the judicial review of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill brought by the Scottish Ministers?

The latter case has just been heard in the Court of Session and is concerned with the imposition of a Section 35 Order by the Westminster government to block legislation already passed (last December by 86 to 39) in the Scottish Parliament on a devolved matter.

Whatever Mr Wilson was meaning, the issue before the Court of Session this week, and which he does not address, is the undermining of devolution by a UK Government seemingly determined to do away with what powers we have, and surely it is this that should be shouted from every rooftop?

Iain Black

Edinburgh