STEPH Brawn reports on Angus MacNeil’s comment alleging that “too many members of his old party take a line without thinking it through” (Nov 12). This may be true of some, who vote as they always have out of loyalty, but the others? Far from it, and the same is true for any political party, especially those not part of the mainstream.
READ MORE: Angus MacNeil: My sheep show more independence of thought than SNP
The problem is with idealists like Angus, who themselves fail to think things through. It is always easy to criticise and suggest that any crackpot, pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking is the answer to life, the universe and everything. In the real world which those in authority inhabit, it is far from that simple: laws have to be obeyed, systemic structures that are imposed have to be followed. This means that in any administration pragmatic and practical reality takes over from the dreams, and dictates how those dreams play out.
I suggest that it is Angus MacNeil, even with the best of intentions, who hasn’t really thought things through, especially when all he and others do is criticise without offering any implementable solutions. If only things were as simple as in their minds, in which case we would have been independent many years ago.
Nick Cole
Meigle, Perthshire
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