HAVING read the First Minister ’s statement, I believe she has chosen the best way forward for Scotland. It was a measured reflection on what has been and a firm, clear statement on the way ahead for us in light of the unravelling shambles of Brexit and Westminster. Now it’s up to those of us who believe that independence is the best way for Scotland. It’s not up to the SNP, this is for all of us, Yes and No, to decide what sort of country we want to live in. Do we want a vibrant, progressive, inclusive country or are we happy to be the subservient, regressive country we are fast becoming? We have the brains, the skills, the materials to be independent, but do we have the motivation? In other words, can we really be bothered to get up off our backsides?

There was a challenge to all of us in what Nicola Sturgeon said and I, even at this late stage of my life, intend to respond to it.
Morag Forsyth
Nairn

I’M satisfied that this is the correct decision in the current circumstances. However, whether it is through the SNP or through the wider pro-independence movement, it is becoming increasingly important that a way is found to neutralise the steady stream of misinformation coming from the UK establishment and media.

Otherwise our support is likely to steadily decline in the interim period.
Archie Hamilton
Glasgow

I HAVE long supported independence, going way back to the Winnie Ewing days and have led the Bannockburn march as standard bearer. Following the unbelievable actions of some of my fellow Scots at the recent local and national elections, I now feel the softly, softly (playing by the rules) approach will never gain our independence.

We, as an independence movement, really need to ‘up’ the ante and fight fire with fire and grasp the bull by the horns and take our independence as we will never be granted it in the present corrupt country we live in. Yes, my enthusiasm is on the wain as I see no end in sight. The more nicely, nicely approach is futile.
Terry Thomson
Bishopmill

THE unbelievable events unleashed by Theresa May in her feverish desperation to cling to power have changed the priorities of the Scottish people, albeit an independence referendum should definitely be kept on the table.

I don’t see how things have really changed, Nicola was always going to wait until after the Brexit process before starting the ScotRef process — until we know what Brexit really means to both Scotland and the rest of the UK, it would be impossible to say how Scotland would be affected.

Her statement saying that she would look to grassroots for building the case for ScotRef is also not new — it has always been a cross-party grassroots campaign. So in essence, nothing has really changed — we keep going as we’ve been keeping going — her speech changes nothing.
Phillip Siviter
Wick

NICOLA Sturgeon’s understandable anger at the antics of the Tory leader cosying up to the DUP with all their antagonistic ideas and then bribing them to push through her personal dogma has seemingly decided her to take the fights ahead one at a time and as time goes on Scots will be glad to vote for separation from this extremist, right-wing, undemocratic bunch of dunderheads.

By giving the DUP £1 billion of taxpayers money and denying the other devolved nations anything whatsoever this is clearly bribery, pure and simple. The DUP must be laughing their heads off at the stupidity of Theresa May offering herself up as a puppet to them merely because her personal hubris is so great that she cannot put the UK’s interests before those of her party and now her own vanity.

Well Ruthie and Fluffy haven’t you both just gone and shot yourselves in the foot well and truly?

Nicola still heads the party favoured by the majority of Scottish voters despite all the crowing of the Tories, and most of those voters trust her calm and measured judgement of the time for another referendum. When that time comes support will be overwhelming.

Independence is the ultimate aim and we will achieve it.
Brenda Braithwaite

I DON’T know what Nicola means by “resetting” her plans for indyref2 but she is letting the Unionists dictate her strategy. She has a triple lock and she should proceed with it as planned. She needs to come out fighting by clearly publishing the figures that prove an independent Scotland would be economically sound and define the principle for our own currency.

Why the SNP don’t push this concept more is a mystery to me. I know a lot of people that believe Scotland is too poor to support itself — if they were given the figures comparing independence with status quo they would become independence supporters.

Another factor that needs to be dealt with is the media bias. Again Nicola needs to come out fighting and rebut the biased reporting, we can no longer sit meekly and take it.

The only way we can resolve the democratic deficit that exists is to be a self-governing independent country. If there is another election in the near future, and I believe there may be, the SNP should clearly state in their manifesto that a majority of SNP seats means independence.
Charles Maitland
Westhill

FM has my total support. However, regards strategy we must find a way of dealing with MSM and their unbridled bias. They are determined not to play fair so perhaps the Yes movement should be thinking along more radical lines to get the message out to the public.
Derek Ormsby

WE lost seats at an election that we didn’t need to. Along with May, it was a political miscalculation to do anything other than focus on the Brexit issue. The indyref2 argument was lost when the election was called, and could only be divisive. There are a significant number of Scots who would vote SNP but who would also vote Leave, and to conflate the two lost votes lost momentum.

We now have Labour and the Tories thinking that they have some support when in truth we gifted them their seats.

This statement should be issued, then put to bed and not brought up again till the mood of the nation turns. Let’s concentrate on governing what we have instead of coveting what we haven’t.
Steve White
Eddleston

NICOLA is right to wait for the next independence vote, let the Tories make a mess of Brexit and more Scots will vote Yes. We took a knock in the General Election and we need to regroup, refocus and get our confidence back.
Dave Ross
Inverness

LOOKS like she has got a grip of the panic merchants in the party hierarchy, reached out to the wider indy movement and spun the Brexit ball right back into the Tories far right corner of the court.
William Doherty

WHILE I agree with most of what Nicola Sturgeon said today, the sticking point for me is continuing membership of the full EU.

Most independence supporters want to be members but not necessarily of the full EU.

There is a division on which way to go when we come to the T junction. Right to full EU membership or left to membership of the EFTA/EEA, which seems to be growing in numbers.

I believe that membership of the EFTA/EEA is the best way forward for Scotland as an independent country. Lesley Riddoch made a very good case in The National for EFTA/EEA and that article had me thinking very hard about it.

More Scots seem to becoming round to the EFTA as a way of not being in the CAP or CFP as this would give the Scottish Government authority on controlling our resources such as fishing, farming, wind and sea power and renewables.

We have time now to take stock and think about what is best for Scotland during what is undoubtedly going to be a very trying time during the Brexit negotiations.
David Thornton
Dundee

I THINK Nicola has made the right decision. She has reaffirmed her intention to put Scotland first and giving her people the choice once the terms of Brexit are clear. I also believe she is right in handing the reins to the wider grassroots independence movement to continue to rally support for independence. I also believe throwing the gauntlet to the other parties, standing up for Scotland, was required. For too long they have used the constitutional question as a rod to beat Nicola and the SNP with. Now Nicola is saying well, rather than criticising, why don’t you do what is necessary to get the right deal for Scotland.
Michelle Graham
Musselburgh

IN the main, the Unionist media expected Nicola to kick indyref2 into the long grass. Thankfully, she hasn’t. What she’s done is reaffirm what she has said all along: that indyref2 will take place once the outcome of the Brexit process is clear. So, nothing’s really changed, other than an acknowledgement that, if Westminster was to enable Scotland to negotiate a soft Brexit, indyref2 could be delayed further. No problem with that; it’s the pragmatic thing to do.
Brian McKay
Callander

THE speech today was just a continuation of what lost us seats at the General Election — a lack of vision, strength, setting the agenda, being brave. Instead we were conformist, playing by their rules, not offering hope to those Yes campaigners who have given so much.

There are strong demands we should be making now, fighting back on media lies, being prepared to establish our own rules without approval of Westminster, doing more on the European stage, acting like the nation that we seek to be now, and so demonstrating to all that it is not only possible but preferable.

I hope the SNP change their outlook after the recess. In the meantime, it’s incumbent upon us all to really get a proper grassroots movement going again.
James McLeary

I TRUST Nicola’s judgement and instincts. She remains, as Alex before her, one of the most astute and effective politicians on the British scene. Independence is inevitable, but it needs to emerge naturally with a minimum of aggressive negativity. The Yes movement needs to preserve its inherent positivity — “YES!” IS positive!
Ed Inglehart

IT’S exactly what I’ve been hoping for all along; the Scots aren’t a stupid nation. We will have plenty of time to catch our breath, and make a wise decision.
Sidney Burnett

WELL done Nicola. Scotland will have its say at the end of the Brexit proceedings, when the people can see the damage it will do to our country. Till then it’s up to all us Yessers out there to get the positive case for independence across to the general public. So come on, let’s start now.
Charles Wightman

NO-ONE should be surprised or dismayed by the First Minister’s announcement of a “reset” on thinking in relation to another indyref.

The SNP more than any organisation in this country knows how hard and long a struggle it has been to reach the dominant position it now occupies in Scottish politics and to take the cause of independence to the advanced stage.

The progress the SNP has made, in the last 6 years especially, has been astonishing.

But in every long march there are setbacks and unexpected challenges. They give cause for taking stock and a re-thinking of strategy.

There are numerous examples in history of leaders and movements whose success was based on an ability to see the bigger picture and keep their eye on the bigger prize.

Now is definitely such a time. Fatigue has most certainly settled in.

It might not be apparent in the echo chambers of social media, but it is a real and present danger to the Yes movement outwith.

Since the referendum of 2014, there have been UK, Holyrood and local government elections. There has been an EU referendum and another General Election. One suspects that May called the latter to induce voter fatigue and though the Yes movement may rankle at its effectiveness, it would be a foolish person who took Scotland into another febrile independence referendum at this moment in time.

Or indeed announce it, for that would simply energise and prolong the unionist mud slinging that has tarred political debate over the past three years.

In any case, given the desperate nature of Theresa May’s attempts to cling to power, the intemperate alliances she has sought to secure it and the crass ineptitude of the Conservative party’s negotiators, a cannier politician would best wait to see how all that unfolds.

Perhaps they will do our job for us...
Brian Cook
Netherlee

I would expect that Scotland’s future referendum (as it is not about independence any longer) will have better prepared economic statements than flawed GERS data. The FM has given herself breathing room to capture more accurate data on Scotland’s economic development plans to improve inside UK, outside UK, inside EU, outside EU, with the ability to give the people a choice based on real facts, not fear, lies and conjecture like the last one. Real data, real economics, and real plans.
Gordon Paton

UNDER the circumstances this is the best outcome. We hold out, wait and see to what extent Westminster will listen to the Scottish Government and if it will allow us a seat at the table or not.

The Scottish Government under Nicola Sturgeon has made a good tactical move.
Andrew Macnair

I DON'T think the FM’s position has changed on IndyRef2. It was always designed to make sure Scotland had the option to choose a different path if Brexit didn’t turn out to be a benefit to our nation.

It was never inevitable and it was a reaction to Theresa May’s blatant disregard and disrespect for Scotland, the Scottish Parliament and the other devolved nations as she plodded on with her idea of a Hard Brexit completely ignoring concerns from others whilst calling for unity.

Brexit has been caused by a wing of the Tory party that still views Europe as the enemy and thinks we are fighting the war (not that one, the one against Napoleon).

Independence is still the best move for Scotland. We have always been more Eurocentric than our neighbours. The Scottish Enlightenment is evidence of this. The direction England is taking to be more closed off, insular and backward is a complete opposite to where Scotland wants to be. If we remain in the UK we can expect more austerity. We’ll be ignored and sidelined but they will still be desperate to hold on to us.

Europe might not be perfect but we can’t change things from the outside. Cross border co-operation on a European level is the way forward.
Stuart McIlwain

SO what’s changed? Fine by me.
Stephen Tingle