I VERY much had a “light-bulb” moment recently when picking up my copy of the Sunday National from the newsstand in my local supermarket.

As is my want, at the time I had a quick look at the headlines in the other, mainly “Scottish” editions of English rabid-right-wing papers in the so-called mainstream press (surely “mainstream” shouldn’t be extreme-right-wing views!). I’ve done this for several years dating back to when I bought The Herald, prior to it being split into two papers.

If I had a pound for every headline that spits out effectively that “Sturgeon” is to blame for this, “Sturgeon” is to blame for that, etc, I would be as wealthy as Rishi Sunak! Always “Sturgeon”, never “Nicola Sturgeon” or “Nicola”. Clearly it’s only nice, honest, sincere, upstanding politicians like “Boris” that get their cuddly first name in print!

Any regular readers of these “newspapers” will no doubt have concluded a long time ago that “Sturgeon” has been responsible for:

  • The climate catastrophe
  • All the major wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, including the ones started before Nicola was born (“come on Sturgeon, you’re not getting away with that lame excuse, ‘before my time’”! I hear them cry)
  • Causing the coronavirus pandemic
  • Poverty and starvation throughout the world
  • What must be the most heinous, horrendous and sickening crime of all – eating wee Johnny’s pet hamster!

Seriously, this constant daily drip, drip of very negative headlines towards Nicola and the SNP from the press that has consistently supported the political party backed by only around a quarter of us Scots is an abomination in a so-called democratic society. A country where around half of the voting population supports independence only has The National and Sunday National to clearly reflect those views in print.

Yet I rarely hear anyone on any current affairs shows, which I regularly watch, raise this abhorrent situation, never mind going apoplectic about it. Everybody in the media with a scintilla of integrity must realise this appalling situation, but it remains a big secret.

Come the run-up to the next independence referendum, whenever that is, the importance of being able to properly communicate with particularly potential swing voters is vital. However, with the vast majority of the written press, the BBC and the UK media in general supporting the dark side, in my opinion it’s going to be an uphill task to get a significant amount of undecided voters on board. Also, the mind only boggles at what total anti-independence rubbish will end up online on various platforms, which may well affect the younger vote which is generally more likely to be pro-independence.

Ever since I can remember, it has always been drilled into all of us what a great, “free”, democratic place the UK is to live in. What these talking heads on the telly never acknowledge, however, is that the rich and powerful, who have always lorded it over the rest of us mere peasants, have the dice heavily loaded in their favour by having a vice-like grip of information output.

I’m sorry for coming across like Rikki Fulton’s Reverend I M Jolly in his pomp. I’m sure, however, the independence movement has plenty of “glass half full” types, unlike me, to inspire the undecideds to put two fingers up to the barrage of negative messages put out by the UK “free” press!”

Ivor Telfer

Dalgety Bay

THE man that supports Pakistan’s independence but cannot support Scottish independence, Anas Sarwar, is now saying Scottish Labour are planning new powers for Holyrood and local councils.

Do you not need to be in government for that to be implemented? And in Scottish Labour’s case, their London masters would need to be in government in Westminster as well.

It comes after much outrage in the handling of the tendering process at Ferguson’s of Port Glasgow.

I would much rather Sarwar reminded us of the success that Jack McConnell as Labour first minister made of said yard.

Or Ross Finnie, who was the local LibDem MSP in the Lab-Lib coalition. He had responsibility for the environment.

Could they both remind us of what happened to the tendering process, for the construction of a fishery protection boat, to get built in that yard?

What has happened is not ideal and heads of the board of management must roll. But Port Glasgow, most importantly, has jobs, supporting local shops and businesses. An enthusiastic workforce and hope.

Robert McCaw

Renfrew