WHAT a load of waffle Stewart Hosie managed to concoct in his piece in Sunday’s National (‘I will be making the case for a brighter future for Scotland, Apr 14). Regardless of his retirement plans later this year, his opening shot was that he promised to remain active in the SNP and the cause for Scotland’s independence.

And that was it!

All the rest was about what the SNP has achieved while in office and what has taken place in Westminster during his own time spent there. However, his concluding message was that because the people of Scotland are full of optimism and hope, the SNP will always offer hope.

Big deal!

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Let me say one thing on that, Stewart: we do not need hope from an SNP government. We need action and, more importantly, information on what benefits will we get in an independent Scotland. Something that was forgotten about in every one of your paragraphs, apart from the first.

For ten years Scotland has been optimistic, as you suggest, about every opportunity that came along for the government to organise the departure from the Union. But nothing happened and governmental life carried on, as it is now with our new leader.

Importantly, we want the government’s view on Scotland’s currency in an independent country and whether it will be an immediate change over. Remember decimalisation? That was an overnight change with hardly any problems apart from the subsequent slight increase in the cost of living.

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Next on my list, being a pensioner, is my pension. I heard or read way back that it could increase to an average of all EU countries’ pensions? Then there is the NHS. Brexit has decimated the staffing of our hospitals and local surgeries. How will you attract those wonderful people back from the their individual countries? Similarly, for our wonderful fruit farmers. They need the European casual labour back to pick the fruit instead of letting it rot, as is the current situation.

Schools and public and social services need more money as well as all of the above. How much money could Scotland realise for itself on an annual basis instead of its paltry offering via the Barnett formula from Westminster?

All of the above has been sadly missing since and before the 2014 vote for independence. We have had to rely on experts outwith both parliaments; people like Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp and his Business for Scotland partners.

Scotland already has a model constitution both ancient and modern. You can find the modern one online, available for the Scottish people to amend as necessary. Now that’s democracy! Under the heading “Constitution for Scotland” it has 15 articles and 174 sections. This was organised by the Scottish Independence Foundation.

Stewart Hosie needs to forget for the last few years, forget about politics and concentrate on what we, the sovereign people, would like our country to be. Why not organise a multi-faceted convention with interested parties from all walks of life taking part? That would be good for starters.

Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife

I WANTED to hear from Stewart Hosie about how Scotland’s values and interests are ignored by a media class that want prevent any kind of change, and are misrepresenting Scotland as being a disaster in order to get a Labour government elected that will ensure the lack of change they want. If you don’t fight the enemy and you don’t try to turn the voters against the enemy, the enemy will continue to win – as they are doing. It’s time to fight back dirty.

A J Wilson
via thenational.scot