Letters II: Westminster chaos provides an opportunity

Should the SNP now resign all its MPs from attending at Westminster? Yes, thereby standing in solidarity with those unseated via sordid methods. Bring the talent back home! Develop a hot line of communication directly with the EU. Never mind London, or reserved matters.

These MPs have the talent and moral authority, unseated or not. Our MSPs were voted in to conduct a referendum on exactly the circumstances we see. Our Parliament endorsed it. It is incumbent that Scots are offered that referendum. We must reject breaking our bonds with Europe. Brexit is a British farce. A Fawlty Towers. Opportunity lies in Westminster’s disarray. The way is clear. Seize the day.
David Campbell

AS a lifelong supporter of the SNP and Scottish Independence, I’m very disappointed with the results. In particular, I’m more than disappointed with the manner of the Tory campaign. Disgusted actually, both at the lack of focus on policy and Ruth Davidson’s relentless banging on about a second referendum.

For those in Scotland who voted Tory, you need to reflect on what that will mean for Scotland. The Tories will dismantle the NHS by the backdoor, they will continue to drive more Scottish families with children into poverty.

But hey, what do the well-to-do Borders folk and those well heeled north-east farmers and folks who benefitted from the oil industry care about that? Not one jot! They are the people who don’t want to contribute more for the benefit of all, they want to keep their wealth. They are the people who did not balk, as the rest of the country did, at the obscene rape clause.

Regardless of the results, what will come down the line from the Brexit negotiations will make them sit up and take notice. Anyone who thinks that Theresa will get a better deal than the one we have at present is kidding themselves.

At the end of the day, the yearning to be in a position to sit back and watch the Tories destroy the economy and say thank God we are not a part of it, is still where I would much rather be. The dream shall never die.
Marie Gray

SINN Fein nearly double their seats but don’t take them up. Their electorate are obviously quite happy with that situation. If they take up their seats and all the other MPs come together except the Conservatives and DUP then, if my count is right, there is only one seat of a difference between the extreme right-wing parties and everybody else. Could Sinn Fein not be persuaded to change their minds? Alternatively, maybe SNP MPs should do the same as Sinn Fein. After all, they will never have much influence in Westminster votes unless in extreme circumstances. Just a thought.
Watt Smillie
Whitburn

IT’S sad to see the SNP losses but with 56 out of 59 seats, the only way was going to be down. However, I just can’t figure why so many traitors voted for the dreadful Tories. I mean, unless you live in a castle, or at least a mansion, then no self-respecting true Scot should vote for these lying reptiles. I can only assume that the constant play on independence being detrimental to Scotland by the pro-Unionists had an effect, even though our First Minister told everyone that any vote on independence would have to wait until the smoke of Brexit clears to see what state the wonderful British Union was really in and how that all affected us here in Scotland.

Where were the 62 per cent who voted to stay in Europe last June? Obviously too much for them to face being an independent country within Europe and outside of their cosy Union!

Now we have the ridiculous situation where May and her cronies are going to try limping through another five years with the help of some really disgusting Irish party who live in 1690 constantly – big trouble lies ahead.

Despite all this the SNP still are the largest party in Scotland and if they speak honestly, sensibly and loudly in Westminster there’s still hope for the Yes movement to continue – things might take a bit longer than some folks expected but all is not lost despite Ruth Davidson’s proclamations! Interesting times indeed.
MJ Macintyre

RUTH Davidson, left, will no doubt sport that Girl Guide gleeful grin as she tells us that some silent majority has expressed how tired they were with talk of independence. She may even muster a tempered triumphalism, shots of disability scooters hurriedly swept under the carpet. A headline concerning dementia tax filed away. However, the indelible stain of the rape clause is what should define her legacy.

The sad loss of Angus Robertson, Alex Salmond and others from the green benches will sadly diminish Scotland’s voice in Parliament.

The same Labour members who trashed Corbyn mercilessly will now sit there, next to SNP members who set records for attendance, properly holding the government to account. In their place, another tranche of serial abstainers and fence-sitters.

The Tories have been incompetent, opportunistic and void of any discernible moral compass. What on earth were Scots Tory voters thinking? Autocracy trumps autonomy? I’m guessing their vote was down to their postcode or their tax code. Certainly not their moral code. As Benjamin Franklin said: “Justice will only be served when the unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
Alex MacMillan
Portobello

THE BBC Unionist party was the clear winner in GE17. Having pushed the Tory/Labour/Lib Unionist and devolved issues line they can sit back and enjoy a celebratory drink at Pacific Quay. Even by the standards of the disgraced coverage of indyref 2014, the partisan “news” was breathtaking in its arrogance and cavalier disregard for the future of the BBC. The imbalance was so routine it became the standard across the whole of the British Isles.

It is high time that a Scottish Broadcasting Television fund be set up so that disaffected licence payers can instead donate the fee towards a future independent Scottish television service that seeks to reflect the views held across the country and not just that of the Unionist establishment.
Mike Herd
Highland

AFTER 30-odd years of defying the poisonous Tory programmes of social division, unearned privilege and the demolition of public services, non-Tory Unionists, duped by the canard that this was an election on indyref2, decided to put the Conservatives back into office. A heavy price to pay for a possible referendum that was two turbulent and unpredictable years away. What’s done is done, so what now?

It’s clear that Labour’s feeble revival was on the back of the Corbyn momentum rather than any vision or policies espoused by the hapless Kezia Dugdale and her moribund Scottish Labour party.

It seems to me there are two aspects to any programme by the SNP and the independence movement to regain lost ground.

First of all the SNP has to move further left of centre. Corbyn, south of the Border, excited and energised young voters in the same way that the referendum campaign three years ago inspired young Scots.

English Labour had policies and a vision, something missing from the SNP’s lacklustre campaign. Why, for instance, was the SNP’s response to attacks on our excellent education system so weak and defensive? Without going into detail, why did we not question the corrosive impact of the over reliance on Pisa scores as a measure of educational success instead of apologising and promising to do better?

We need to recapture the focus and ability to inspire which made 2014 so exciting. Most of all, the SNP Government need to stop talking about social democracy and start acting. This means using the powers available to us under the Scotland Act and biting the bullet over tax increases.

Secondly, the independence movement is not the sole property of the SNP. Many of the young voters in Scotland who were drawn to the frankly mildly radical programme articulated by Jeremy Corbyn were probably active Yes voters during indyref1. The SNP and all the other civic groups which contributed so much during those exhilarating few months need to reach out to potential supporters in the Labour and LibDem parties.

They must be out there, intimidated by their own parties’ fierce constitutional inflexibility but ultimately persuadable that their beliefs and principles can flourish in an independent social democratic Scotland. The SNP and the independence argument has been caged by Unionists and their media supporters. It’s time to break free and spread the message.
Dougie McKenzie

IT was inevitable that, whatever the election result, the Unionists were going to claim it was a victory for them. So the Unionist parties in Scotland won 24 seats while the Yes side has to make do with just 35. Sadly, the SNP did not do as well as in 2015, but we should all watch the new and re-elected Unionist MPs to see if they represent Scotland’s interests or merely fall into line with their Westminster masters.

So what to make of the result?

The Unionist parties paid scant regard to policies and focused instead on making the election a referendum on a referendum, and their combined seats failed to overtake the pro-indy SNP.

If anything, it should now be clear to Yes campaigners that it’s still there as an option. It was sad that the Greens failed to win seats and, of course the SNP lost some good MPs, but the mandate at Holyrood and Westminster has been confirmed.

As for Mrs “Strong and Stable”, who has proved herself anything but, she’s now promising us certainty. The only certainty for her is that behind the scenes there will already be back benchers plotting her downfall – the Tories don’t tolerate losers in their ranks. It will be fascinating to watch as the storm clouds over her tenure as party leader build up. Of course, on the surface all will be unity with her party and “friends”, but behind the scenes she will hear the sharpening of knives. As a good party apparatchik, she will know her days are numbered until the backstabbing on the fateful Ides of May.

On Brexit and her “no deal is better than a bad deal” stance, she has paid the price for ignoring the 48 per cent of UK voters who wanted to remain in the EU, and those Leave voters who felt they’d been misled by the Brexiteer’s lies.

Democracy can only function if campaigning is honest – to claim legitimacy based on the democratic will of the people when the Leave side clearly lied their way to the ballot box devalues the very basis of democracy. The Yes campaign is not dead, but the battle lines are now very clear. For the near future, the ball remains in Mrs Strong and Stable’s court, but Holyrood asked permission to hold a referendum based on its existing mandate – the General Election has confirmed that mandate. The one certainty May can count on is that if she continues to treat Scotland with disdain, she will provide the final nail for the Scots to hammer into her political coffin.
Geoff Tompson
Helensburgh

I LIVE in Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine, where our SNP MP Stuart Donaldson lost to Tory Andrew Bowie. I’m gutted that the north-east of Scotland has voted this way. Only one SNP MP left up here (Kirsty Blackman in Aberdeen North). Just two years ago the map was turned yellow, now it’s blue and has helped Theresa “strong and stable” May stay in power. Where does this hung parliament leave us? DUP supporting the Tories? How does that work with EVEL and all that? Bad times are staying.
David Gauld

AFTER an incredible amount of effort from a long list of activists and supporters, the last hurdle was the weather. It rained from 8am till 5pm in Edinburgh on polling day. Turnout was down in key areas. Yet despite this and a relentless Tory campaign which offered no policies, just no to a second referendum, Joanna Cherry QC and her team won the Edinburgh South West seat.

I particularly will remember the many people I met on the street stalls. Especially the kids in Calder Park. Theresa May’s plan has failed she is a lame duck PM. Weaker than before. The EU must be laughing at little Britain by now.
David Henry
Edinburgh

I’M devastated. I can’t believe so many Scots voted for the Tories!We must reach out to the Scots who voted to remain in the EU and work with the EU for guaranteed membership in the EU after we get independence. We have to have that guarantee written in stone.
Lucille