IT is good to read in the SNP election manifesto statements of policies that reflect decent values such as a desire to repeal the Rwanda deportation scheme or the abolition of the two-child benefit cap. We need to be honest, however; the SNP are never going to be able to deliver on these policies at Westminster on their own.
Instead, the SNP should be smarter about their presence at Westminster. I am not one of those advocating abstention from Westminster. Nevertheless, SNP MPs need to focus their activity much more narrowly than they have done so far.
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First of all, they need to serve their constituents and help them with any problems arising from their constituents’ dealings with UK Government departments.
Secondly, they should, through the standing committee system, scrutinise legislation to identify the failings of the Westminster government and to ensure Scotland’s interests are protected.
Thirdly, they should, through the select committee system, monitor the doings of UK Government departments to identify the failings of the Westminster government and to protect Scotland’s interests.
Finally, they should seek any and every opportunity to advance the cause of Scotland’s independence.
What they should not do is to take any part in any of the all-party groups, parliamentary visits or any of the paraphernalia associated with the Westminster games. That includes taking any part in the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions. They should abstain from any participation in this Punch-and-Judy charade. It is a mockery of political discourse and a waste of time. The SNP MPs should make quite clear that their interest in Westminster is limited and short-term.
Gavin Brown
Linlithgow
THE SNP say that if their party wins in a majority of constituencies, that will be a mandate to negotiate independence.
The question remains, what do the SNP do when Westminster says “NO”? Do they ask for a referendum? Westminster says “NO”. All they can then do is mump and moan about how terrible Westminster is.
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I say again, the only way to independence if a majority of constituencies return candidates for independence parties is by a demand to the United Nations of a “Unilateral Declaration of Independence”, UDI.
Sure, we would need to negotiate with Westminster, but not for independence itself – that will have been decided – but an amicable settlement and other critical matters of mutual importance to be decided, if possible, between Scotland and the rest of GB.
If polling is correct, more than half of Scots want an independent Scotland. Why could the SNP not have gone that little bit further?
Alex Kerr
Paisley
I RECEIVED Robert Leslie’s SNP election leaflet through the post. Number six in his front-page wish list is “Re-join the EU”.
I do not want to be in a political union, the European Union – that is why I voted Leave in 2016. The EU is a political project that looks to incorporate all nation states into that union, with all the nations being subservient to the EU.
A definition of sovereignty should help: that is, the authority of a state to govern itself and determine its own laws. Countries in the EU can pass any law they want, but EU law on the same issue takes precedence.
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One concern is that if Scotland does become independent, it appears the SNP think they can just re-join the EU without asking voters for permission in a referendum about whether they want to be in the EU or not.
The SNP, and other members of the EU Supporters Club, should pay more attention to what is actually happening in the EU. Utopia it is not.
The voters in the EU are revolting. Farming protests have been taking place all over the EU this year. This is because of the EU Green Deal, which, remarkably, is aiming to make the production of food and meat at best awkward. The Farmers Party in the Netherlands has won seats in the nation’s senate and in EU elections due to public unease over the implications of the Green Deal.
The unelected head of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, has suggested the need for an EU-wide digital ID “that any citizen can use anywhere in Europe, to do anything from paying your taxes to renting a bicycle”. Oh, and handy for keeping track of what citizens are up to as well. Big Brother!
Scotland is not independent in the UK. An independent Scotland cannot be independent in the EU. Scotland can be independent, or it can be in either union.
Brian Nugent
Burra, Shetland
REGARDING your article “Parliamentary sovereignty must end, expert says” (Jun 19), it seems that Dr Paul Anderson is unaware that parliamentary sovereignty does not apply to Scotland, where sovereignty rests with the people and historically even includes power to depose a monarch who does not act in the interests of the people!
The sovereignty of the people in Scotland has in recent times been acknowledged by the UK Government by their acceptance of the Claim of Right, and by the Supreme Court in a public statement that sovereignty of parliament does not apply in Scotland. Should the people decide, therefore, that they wish either a referendum or even a declaration of independence, it is their right to proceed with it.
Moreover, enshrining the Sewel Convention in law was promised in 2014 by Labour and the other parties under the infamous “Vow” , but has still to be delivered ten years on and is nowhere to be found in their manifestos.
L McGregor
Falkirk
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