Readers' Letters: Just imagine Scotland under Independence

A Scotland that harnesses its vast resources, talent and innovation to build a brighter future as an independent nation. Scotland would have control over its taxes, economy and destiny, just like other successful small countries.

Scotland would keep its oil and gas revenues, worth billions, to invest in its people, infrastructure and industries. Scotland would maximizse its renewable energy potential, creating jobs and reducing energy costs.

Scotland would set its own tax rates, allowing it to attract businesses and talent and fund public services that benefit its people.

Scotland would create an immigration system tailored to its needs, welcoming skilled workers and students.

As an independent country, Scotland could rejoin the EU, boosting trade, research and cultural exchange. Scotland would prioritise social justice, tackling poverty, inequality and climate change.

Countries like Denmark, Ireland and Norway, with similar populations, have achieved remarkable success as independent nations, with high living standards, innovation and social cohesion.

Scotland's whisky industry, a global brand, would thrive with independence, creating jobs and generating revenue.

With independence, Scotland would have the freedom to make decisions that benefit its people, environment and economy. We could invest in education, healthcare and infrastructure, creating a prosperous and sustainable nation.

Let's seize this opportunity to build a brighter future for Scotland!

Herbert Petrie, Aberdeen

Deluded

When historians come to write about the 2020s they could justifiably call them “The Age of Delusion”. John Swinney is campaigning with the aim of holding a Scexit referendum in 2028, winning it and standing in 2031 for the post of first PM of a new Scottish state (your report, 20 April).

As if that were not sufficiently delusional, in a recent interview Gillian Mackay, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, has been described by – surprisingly enough – her co-leader Ross Greer as the “kind of politician” people would want to see as first minister of Scotland. Ms Mackay graciously responded that she would “absolutely” be prepared to serve as first minister. Returning the compliment, she said Mr Greer could make a “difference” in the post of finance secretary. He certainly could, but not in a good way.

One of these days, Scottish voters who favour the SNP or Greens will have a rude awakening and discover that money does not grow on trees and that the parties whose election manifestos suggest that it does are delusional.

Not so much standing up for Scotland as trying to lead Scots to disaster.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Labour moves

The SNP have been in power so long it is hard to remember any other party in government at Holyrood.

That is possibly why John McLellan (Perspective, 18 April) has forgotten that free eye and dental checks were introduced by the Labour-LibDem coalition, which also abolished university tuition fees and introduced free personal care for the elderly.

Jane Ann Liston, St Andrews, Fife

Lame duck

Several weeks ago, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar begged Keir Starmer to resign. Little did he know this issue would rear its ugly head so soon (your report, 20 April).

A definite red line has been crossed with the sacking of Olly Robbins last Thursday. Understandably aggrieved, he feels, in the cliché, that “he has been thrown under a bus”.

As with the Epstein files, the Peter Mandelson fiasco will simply not go away. Keir Starmer claims to be “furious” both with Mandelson's duplicity and his advisors’ reticence in keeping him in the picture. It beggars belief he doesn't know more than he's letting on.

Starmer is either a liar or incompetent. Both are sackable offences. Olly Robbins' evidence at today's hearing will be fascinating, to say the least. Whatever the outcome, Starmer looks like a lame duck prime minister. As Anas Sarwar prophesised all these weeks ago, he should, undoubtedly, resign.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Time for change

As the “day or hour” of the Holyrood elections gets ever closer, members of the SNP must be getting rather anxious. How will their party fare this time round? Just how accurate are the polls which appear to indicate that the SNP might just scrape through again?

If the SNP's results in the Westminster general election were anything to go by, there are going to be a lot of very disappointed Nationalist supporters. As most folk will recall, the number of SNP MPs was reduced to a mere nine in the House of Commons at that point in time.

But, in any case, why should we Scots bother to vote back in a party which has been so lacking in political verve, and even more especially devoid of good behaviour and judgment? Individual key SNP figures have most certainly not led by example; let us not forget that the Scottish media has had a field day in recent times with High Court cases, missing SNP funds and police inquiries.

Fellow Scots, may I dare to suggest the time is ripe for change – and at perhaps no better time than on 7 May. But obviously, the decision is entirely yours!

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

Facts of life

I wish Kezia Dugdale well as chair of Stonewall. Many same-sex attracted people will watch her tenure with interest, because, despite her assertion that Stonewall is “fit for the future”, it desperately needs reform if it is to survive (“Former Scottish Labour leader named chair of LGBT+ charity Stonewall”, 20 April).

An organisation founded to advance the rights of lesbians and gay men has, in recent years, too often subordinated same-sex attraction to gender identity.

It has promoted definitions of homosexuality that blur sex and gender; supported self-identification policies while airily assuring the public that nothing need change for single-sex rights; and too often treated those who defend sex-based language and boundaries as though they were motivated by prejudice rather than by a perfectly legitimate concern for truth, clarity and freedom of association.

Gay men are not attracted to identities or pronouns. They are attracted to other males. Lesbians are attracted to other females. If that basic fact is obscured, then the words by which homosexual people describe themselves, organise politically, and maintain sexual boundaries are emptied of meaning. What is presented as “inclusion” becomes, in practice, a demand that same sex-attracted people deny the significance of biological sex in their lives.

Stonewall once did invaluable work in helping secure the freedom of gay people to live openly and honestly. I hope Ms Dugdale will work to restore that honesty: respect and safeguarding of rights for trans-identifying people, of course, but without expecting anyone to surrender sex-based boundaries or the sex-based meaning of sexuality.

Brian Forsyth, Edinburgh

Banks for people

To me it is incredible that the nitwits in charge of the big banks continue to shutdown their birthright ie: the branch networks.

Nationwide has clearly listened to its customers – detailed market research shows they have a strong preference for “face to face” banking service.

I suspect the vast majority of other banks’ customers would be in the same boat; however, they have not been asked!

In the US, JP Morgan Chase last year announced the opening of 500 new branches over the next three years – I wonder what they know that our erstwhile leaders don’t!

John R Wright, Edinburgh

Everybody drill

Here are just ten of the numerous countries which are still burning coal in order to drive their economies, China, India, US, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Russia, South Africa, Poland and Kazakhstan. The world holds 1.1 trillion tons of proven recoverable coal. Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkmenistan, the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and China hold 84 per cent of the proven gas reserves in the world.

Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran and Iraq hold the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Their total alone is 1,035 billion barrels.

Does any sane person think they will not continue to exploit this wealth beneath their feet to grow their economies?

Ed Miliband refuses to allow the UK to open up the North Sea, which is estimated to still hold 14 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas and would reduce our need for imports in an uncertain and dangerous world. Keir Starmer must sack Ed Miliband and resume drilling.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Glasgow’s green

The Remains Of Tomorrow website – which does “what if?” artificial intelligence walkthroughs of how major cities might look if humanity vanished overnight and nature took over – has just turned its attention to Glasgow.

What made it so completely and utterly depressing most of all was the acknowledgement of just how much nicer it all looked.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

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