SCOTLAND has had the SNP for 90 years now and the party have, from the very beginning, always “played the game” by the Westminster rules. The trouble is that Westminster routinely changes the rules in order to sustain its control of the Scottish revenue river.

It’s a long time now since Conservatives at Westminster said that a majority of SNP MPs from Scottish seats would be a mandate for independence, and we’ve seen how hollow that promise was as the Tories maintain their grip on the constitutional controls! Now, our current First Minister plans to continue playing the game by presenting another manifesto and encouraging the Scottish electorate, at the next General Election, to vote SNP. Well, here are some of the problems.

READ MORE: Mhairi Black to quit as SNP MP at next General Election

Firstly, this makes the assumption that Westminster operates as a democracy. It doesn’t. The Tories won the last General Election “by a landslide” which gave them 43.6% of the popular vote across the UK. While the SNP achieved 45% of the vote in Scotland, the Tories came in on 25.1% and took power. This clearly underlines the constitutional contempt of Scotland, as it’s governed as an English region and not as a partner country!

Secondly, our FM assumes that a vote majority is going to shame the Westminster establishment into acquiescence, and they’ll do the honourable thing. They won’t. The Westminster establishment all know it’s essential to their revenue requirements to cling on, with ever-increasing tenacity, to the Scottish golden goose and there’s no underhand manoeuvre or dirty trick that is beneath their employment!

READ MORE: Met Police to reopen probe into potential Covid-19 breaches at Tory HQ

Thirdly, the whole nature of our current parliamentary procedure is based on confrontation. It works on the basis of, “if they say white, we have to say black. But we said white the other day, that doesn’t matter, we have to say black because we have to oppose anything they say.”

This has been clearly demonstrated by the Deposit Return Scheme, which the Scottish Tories supported until they were told what to do by their Westminster bosses! It supposedly leads to a “black” verses “white” compromise and, thus, a shade of “grey”. Unfortunately, this mentality has resulted in the independence parties tearing lumps out of each other to the delight of the Unionists!

What is required, and I believe the grassroots independence supporters know this, is an impregnably united Yes front, which has no shade of “grey”, but is a pristine “white” so that Scottish independence has international recognition and Westminster is seen to be the colonial power which has outlived its time! Our elected professional politicians need to get a grip, put aside the trivial issues and come together, as one, for independence. Without it there’s no point in arguing for shades of “grey”, you’ll only be getting what Westminster says you can have!

Ned Larkin
Inverness

HOW interesting to read George Kerevan’s extravagant analysis and claim of the demise of an EU subsumed by the rise of increasingly ultra-right-wing political parties, and his apparent acquiescence to its inevitability (Will a new Europe dominated by far right really welcome an indy Scotland?, July 3).

Of course the answer is yes, the EU will certainly welcome us. Who doubts the opportunity to raise a middle finger to rUK would be irresistible? Kerevan alludes to the nationalist aspirations in many regions of the EU, such as Catalonia etc, and suggests that these territories being emancipated from their political “captors” would lead to the break-up of the EU. Yet, wouldn’t independent Scotland’s example of rejoining send the clearest signal that while the EU cannot/does not become involved in the internal politics of member nations, and therefore can’t influence aspirations of self-government within those territories, our being welcomed back into the fold would send the clearest message that newly designated territories would be made most welcome?

READ MORE: Scottish Tories show hypocrisy in statement on Mhairi Black resignation

Isn’t it only the number of constituent members within the EU that will change with independences achieved, each with their own new voice within the EU internal control structure to lobby for and advocate change, not the overall membership of individuals?

Kerevan also seems to consider that the rise of the far right throughout the world is a battle already lost, and there’s no point wasting time fighting the certainty of its rise.

I’m sorry to rain on his parade, but one of the advantages of independence is to better arm us to defeat right-wing extremism in our own backyard. Our shift to an egalitarian society in Scotland that eschews the right-wing poison being promulgated by our draconian anti-democracy British government would send the clearest signal to politically decadent societies that ride roughshod over the rights of their citizens that there is a better way. It would also energise organisations supporting workers’ rights to withdraw their support of political parties lurching to the right and away from the interests of their members – our trade unions may just “grow a pair” and realise that Keir Starmer’s agenda is not where the interests of the working class lies.

READ MORE: Scotland's NHS just isn't safe in Labour or Tory hands in Westminster

Surely the message for those like Kerevan is to join the fight, not to meekly give in to it; win the fight, not lose it?

International borders are falling. Future generations will recognise how redundant they are in their global world driven by common interest and technology. The EU is our platform to begin now to build that global society that can benefit us all.

Independence within the EU brings us the voice to embark on a new enlightenment, where we can make as big and important a contribution as we did in the last one, which was internationally recognised as exemplary.

Jim Taylor
Edinburgh