THE campaign for Scottish independence is against the policies of anti-immigrant chauvinism, austerity, dictatorship and war pursued by Westminster. The slump in wages and living standards over the last 14 years is a result of the benighted, ruinous Tory austerity.
This fairy tale posited that it was possible to grow an economy by cutting public spending to the bone. The savings are then given to the extremely wealthy in tax cuts. The propaganda says the rich will invest this money back into the economy. The reality is that it goes to tax havens.
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This has lead to UK living standards and wages lessening and the physical infrastructure of the country crumbling. As well as record food bank use, we are seeing child malnutrition and Victorian-era diseases.
The recent extreme weather has exposed the decayed condition of the UK infrastructure and the refusal of Westminster to prepare for the impact of extreme weather conditions on the public.
The problem for British Unionists is that the incoming government led by Keir Starmer are as committed to this austerity insanity as the Tories. There is no strategy, simply a continuation of stagnation and cuts.
Starmer (like Blair before him) is an unrepentant supporter of war crimes. He has backed Washington’s latest debacle attacking the Houthis. Britain is not in a position to instigate military action unilaterally. Instead it has become the junior partner in Washington’s reckless actions.
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The campaign for Scottish self-determination is on the right side of history. Maintaining the status quo serves only the super-rich for whom Scotland is a colony to plunder.
Every war that Westminster/Washington have started has ended in disaster. All with millions dead. However, each debacle only reinforces the determination of imperialists to use war as a means to control resources.
Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee
READING the interview with Stephen Noon in The National (‘Yes must go back to old approach’, Jan 22) I was reminded of myriad in-service days as a secondary teacher when an education officer from the local authority would descend from their ivory towers to address the staff.
Jargon, cliches and obfuscation were the usual orders of the day, as habitual educational issues and problems were utterly ignored by people who had lost touch with reality and genuine understanding of school matters, much to the anger and frustration of those involved in day-to-day school life.
Mr Noon gave a masterclass in how to say nothing, an assemblage of soundbites masquerading as a vision for independence.
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If this is where the SNP presently find themselves regarding future strategy then there’s a very hard and long road ahead for those of us who wish to support a positive and more aggressive plan of action in the immediate future.
The man who believes that the age of referendum is over and that those MPs who support an independent Scotland should draw up a ceremonial deckchair in the antiquated and exorbitant House of Lords is plainly disconnected from the grass roots of the independence movement.
It is both disconcerting and discouraging to witness the political direction in which he and leading members of the SNP now advocate that the party should travel.
From the First Minister’s naive and ill-advised dalliance with Turkish President Erdogan, his pointless and vapid questioning of the party’s name, to his desperate and supine approaches to Labour, it is transparently clear that Humza Yousaf is out of his depth and that only a bona fide political heavyweight like Stephen Flynn would be equipped to lead the party into the next election.
The SNP are currently rudderless and without any coherent strategy. An aggressive, incisive and proactive leader willing to take the offensive is an urgent necessity.
It’s time for change.
Owen Kelly
Stirling
I VERY much enjoyed, as always, Tommy Sheppard’s article on Sunday (Controversy sparked by my column must be addressed – but I won’t retract it).
He just nails it with such clarity and honesty, I so wish there were more politicians like him.
Anyone who believes in the benefits of independence but chooses not to vote for the SNP is setting the cause back. The Tories, Labour and LibDems viscerally hate the idea of Scotland being free from the shackles of a morally corrupt UK establishment.
And that cracking letter from Tony Perridge in the same edition of Seven Days, providing the statistics that show how productive and financially important Scotland is to the UK economy, just underlines why they are desperate to keep us locked in.
We aren’t too wee, too poor, too stupid, we can be a very successful, socially caring, independent country and everyone who shares that view needs to vote for an independence party every time.
Sandy Slater
Stirling
HOW interesting it was yesterday to hear Emily Thornberry on Politics Live, discussing a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, declare that it should never be “in the gift of a neighbour whether you have your own state”.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak REFUSES to condemn Israeli killing of Palestinian man as 'war crime'
If that is her genuine view, could she perhaps persuade her boss Starmer that Scotland’s right to make that decision should not be in the gift of England and therefore to agree to a referendum as soon as he becomes PM?
Or would she please explain why Scotland alone does not have that right which she supports?
P Davidson
Falkirk
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