IN a week dominated by further Conservative chicanery over the railroading of the Brexit bill in parliament this week, it was heartening to see that one person has taken issue with the lack of debating time allocated to this momentous sitting. That person is Nicola Sturgeon, our own First Minister and someone who is definitely doing her day job! She has written to the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, to basically ask him to demand the Tory government stop trying to bypass the House of Commons with stunts like Tuesday.

It is admirable that Sturgeon has had the guts to stand up and be counted, to risk being vilified and demonised in online forums and such like, and she should be applauded by the citizens of our country for continuing to try and get the best of an ever increasingly bad deal for Scotland. I have seen some of the comments that are left online about Sturgeon and others who have the temerity to speak out against the Brexit folly. The Scottish Government’s consistency throughout this whole period speaks volumes for the kind of government we are fortunate to have working for and defending our rights and interests. They have had to put up with lies and double dealing that would put a riverboat gambler to shame, and yet somehow the statistics still refuse to show that the Scottish people have realised what the SNP Scottish Government is offering is an escape route from the train wreck coming our way.

And where is the wonderful Colonel Davidson while this is going on? She is conspicuous by her absence and thankfully her silence, but I’m confident that she will break cover soon to howl “SNP Baaad!!” and other such puerile mantras. Well, Ruth, here’s a bit of advice for you. How about you start doing your day job and whip your miscreant 13 in Westminster to actually represent the “will of the people” – the Scottish people that is – and fight to halt the Brexit process and work for our nation. Fat chance there, I would think, as there are no career prospects for any of them in being seen with their heads above the parapets just now, but what they fail to see is that the Scottish electorate are a wily crowd who take their politics seriously, and they will remember this inaction when the next election comes rolling by. At that point, barring a miracle, we will be right in it and the right-wingers of the Westminster elite will have disposed of May and we will be faced with either Johnson or Gove as Prime Minister, and God help us all then!

One T May is, as usual, missing in action, hopping off to a G7 summit where she was blatantly ignored by her new best friend Trump, who apparently ridiculed her for her school ma’am style. It was proven there that the UK is already considered a nonentity by the rest of the world, and it is plain to see that any trade deals they do eventually get will be out of pity rather than out of real economic worth. Keep up the good work Nicola, as I for one am glad of your diligence and sincerity. Oh and by the way, call indyref2 now!

Ade Hegney
Helensburgh

CURRENTLY centre stage with the Kim/Trump talks, Singapore is an excellent example of what a small independent country can achieve. It has almost exactly the same population as Scotland (5.5 million) and almost the same GDP. Unlike Scotland, it has no natural resources, no agriculture and the whole country is half the area of Fife.

It used to be part of Malaysia but in the 50 years or so since it declared independence it has gone from poverty and great illiteracy to having the best-educated and richest population in Asia and it has followed its motto of “clean and green” by having more green spaces than any comparable city.

It hosts international conferences, takes part in UN peace-keeping efforts, supports some of the best medical facilities in the world and is a leader in high-tech innovation.

It is only 700 square kilometres, yet there are those who say Scotland is too small to be independent.

James Duncan
Edinburgh

I HAVE to disagree with Malcolm Parkin’s analysis on how various political leaders would invest a £100,000 windfall (Letters, June 9).

Donald Trump would say “I’m going to use it to make America great” while spending it on building a bigger wall between the USA and Mexico. Theresa May would say “I’m going to reduce the deficit” but hand it over to the rich in tax cuts. Jeremy Corbyn would say “I’m going to help the poor” while spending it on renationalising utilities and railways.

Only Nicola Sturgeon would say “I believe in the future of our country” and deposit it in a national investment bank to improve the infrastructure in Scotland. Do we really have a choice?

Peter Rowberry
Duns

The new edition of The Idiots’ Guide to Diplomacy comes out next week. What a shame the idiots don’t read.

Richard Easson
Dornoch