GOOD to see Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp teaming up with The National to winkle out more converts (We’ll explain the merits of Yes to your undecided voters, January 27). I would say we need him and more like him to be getting prime airtime.
It’s also long overdue that we had a major update of the Growth Report – now irrelevant in a post-Brexit, post-Covid UK and actually damaging to the cause. I thought somebody was working on that. If so, get a move on!
In Wednesday’s questions to Alister Jack, 10 were given to Scottish MPs – less than half of the total – and only five of the 10 were given to SNP members.
READ MORE: Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp: We’ll explain the merits of Yes to your undecided voters
The first five questions related to the vaccination programme, no doubt to strengthen BoJo’s arm during his visit.
Both Mhairi Black and then Pete Wishart asked: “How do Scots get the independence that we want?”
Of course this was not answered. Instead A Jack launched into what he must consider to be a list of weak points in the case for indy: £1600 per person more from the public purse than rest of the UK, the largest deficit in Europe, and Andrew Wilson’s promise to apply “austerity like never before”. So, in Jack’s mind, it’s the economy, the economy, and the economy!
According to MacIntyre-Kemp in Wednesday’s National: “75% of Scottish voters say they would back independence if they believed in the economic case.”
Fortunately, a large part of support for indy is maintained despite many Yessers believing they will be worse off financially. That support needs to be steadied, nurtured, and bolstered. Then there will be scope for a victorious surge in converts from amongst the ranks of the undecided and the misled.
I believe there is a very strongly positive case to be made for Scotland’s economy post-independence, contrasting the malaise of post-Brexit trade prospects in a Covid-ridden economy with the enormous growth that will follow our decision to be independent. Yes, even before independence, just making the decision will suck investment here like never before seen in the UK. That is just the jag in the arm that Scotland’s post-Covid economy needs, and underlines the need for the earliest possible indyref2.
Come on Andrew Wilson, come on Gordon! Debunk the myths, ad nauseum, and get the positive case out there. Your country needs you!
Alan Parker
Blairgowrie
YESTERDAY Boris Johnson boasted that only by being part of the UK can Scotland benefit by sharing money drawn down from the Bank of England, with the Covid-19 support as a good example.
Sadly the SNP have no argument against this if they follow through with the Growth Commission policy to lean on sterling for the first few years of independence. Any extra cash needed by an independent Scottish Government would then only be available if the Westminster parliament agrees.
There’s a good and extreme example of how this could develop, eg Greece needing to depend on the EU and not able to draw down drachma from its own central bank.
I find it extremely frustrating that the SNP have still not cast aside the Growth Commission strategy. We must have our own central bank and Scottish currency from day one of independence. Having such a strategy is essential to reassure our population and refute Unionist arguments, not only before a referendum but well before the May election.
So for goodness sake, SNP – wake up!
James Macintyre
Lesmahagow
PAGE 10 of Wednesday’s National contained reports on two very interesting and manifestly underhand activities of the Tory government and its Conservative party membership.
We are by now very aware of Tory cronyism when it comes to any Tory government, but in particular the current Johnson regime. Billions of taxpayers’ money has been awarded to companies with links to certain politicians and the Conservative party in general.
The figures are astounding! £3 billion to 68 contracts and, for most of last year, 66% of awards worth £8.4 billion went undisclosed within the required timeframe. And then another 17 contracts were awarded by the Department of Health and Social Care, worth £971 million, to companies also with political connections.
It is the SNP who are left to try to come to the rescue. SNP MP Owen Thompson will present a bill in an attempt to force any political minister to disclose any connections to companies receiving taxpayers’ money, thus putting an end to political cronyism (SNP bring forward bill to tackle ‘rampant cronyism’ in Tories, January 27).
READ MORE: SNP bring forward bill to tackle ‘rampant cronyism’ in Tories
No doubt the class of Tories in politics will find ways to circumvent giving billions to companies that financially support the Conservatives.
It is now the turn of the Conservative party to be exposed for underhand activities. It seems it has broken a statute law by receiving data where the name of a person might suggest that person’s country of origin, race, and religion.(Tory party collected ethnicity data on 10m people, January 27).
Take note that this would be pure guesswork. Notwithstanding the fact that a person might be first, second, or third generation born in the UK. All this information came from ten million voters.
The legal accusation is racial profiling which, after some dispute, was deemed to be illegal. The party was later told by the Information Commissioner’s Office to destroy the data as “there was no legal basis to collect the information”.
READ MORE: Tories illegally collected ethnicity data of about 10 million voters
It’s bad enough having to bide a while with an unelected parent government that makes promises one day and breaks them the following day; that cheats and lies even when the four UK nations are suffering the Covid-19 deadly virus. This now having reached 100,000-plus deaths is referred to by PM Johnson as a mere “statistic”.
We need to make sure our Scottish Government is re-elected next May with a super majority, enabling it to continue doing a far better job in government than Johnson is with his majority government.
We need to allow it to secure our independence even if it goes through the courts. Legal opinion has it that the principle of self-determination in international law, in this case for Scotland, could be a success simply because of the now changing (and increased) circumstances brought about by Brexit.
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife
CAN anyone explain to me why it is necessary for anyone to travel if they are able to work from home? Memories of Dominic Cummings. No doubt Boris Johnson will be “excused” for his totally irresponsible trip to Scotland by his party and Tory MPs. He will not be forgiven by the people of Scotland – who have had to make so many sacrifices to try to end this awful pandemic as soon as possible by listening to the SCOTTISH government.
Joanna McKenzie
Bridge of Earn
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