BELIEVE in Scotland’s strategy for independence featuring a new-style Scottish Citizens’ Convention is perfectly timed. There’s no point waiting for a lengthy post-mortem on what just happened to the political wing of the movement within its Unionist context.

The SNP loss at the General Election was not a great look but to draw conclusions in relation to Scotland’s independence strategy from a result with multiple contexts (UK and Scottish) is precisely the kind of confusion our devolution settlement was designed to create.

So let’s not do that.

BiS plans to use the 2026 Holyrood election as a de facto referendum. This has not been tested by the Supreme Court, which looked instead at whether Holyrood could, by an enactment, “ascertain the views of the people of Scotland on whether Scotland should be an independent country”. “Enactment” is the crucial bit.

A positive outcome to the proposed de facto referendum (say 60% support) after sustained democratic engagement, a national conversation embracing all civic bodies and communities, would at best produce an unstoppable force for self-determination or, at worst, be a compelling platform for civic protest.

Nowhere in its strategy does BiS claim more authority and legitimacy than political parties, as has been suggested by some. On the contrary, it gives a perfectly lucid explanation of how two elements – political parties and the grassroots independence movement – will work in tandem.

Strategically, it is surely correct to separate these two. It is not “throwing the baby (politics) out with the bath water”. It’s recognising that a movement deals with the vision thing; can reach parts of every community in ways that pure politics will not; and engage – a key part of this – on levels that politics can only dream of, creating energy and momentum as it goes.

This is what happened in 2014. Where did the increased Yes numbers come from if not from this? Politics since then has only taken us so far. That’s not BiS denigrating politics or undermining the SNP, it’s the truth.

The citizens’ convention will look at all constitutional options, not just independence. BiS is pursuing this particular design not because it would allow participation by numerous civic organisations (though it would) but because, crucially, it would be impossible for Westminster to challenge, given the precedent of the Welsh Assembly version, which was “permitted” because it looked into all possible constitutional outcomes, not independence alone.

So the strategy deserves careful thought. Misrepresentation of its aims and motives is not helpful. It’s a grassroots movement, with wide support from the different strands, requiring courage and conviction and enthusiasm and belief.

Frances Roberts

Ardrishaig, Argyll

AS I rather expected he would, Stan Grodynski replied to my recent letter in which I was critical of the SNP’s election campaign by comparing me to Dad’s Army’s Private Frazer and his famous catchphrase: “We’re all doomed.”

I can live with that far from original comparison for two reasons. Firstly, without a policy and party reset it is sadly the probable outcome of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. Secondly, Private Frazer was played by John Laurie, a very talented Scottish stage, film and television actor.

Mr Grodynski seeks positive suggestions. Some 100,000 children may have been lifted out of poverty by the Scottish Child Payment but the failure to address the fundamental problem of homelessness, with around 10,000 Scottish children still with no permanent address to call their own, remains very much unresolved.

We need to urgently address this and consider re-instating at least part of the housing capital budget.

On June 10, Mr Grodynski claimed that the SNP winning the largest number of Scottish seats at the election would be “a significant step forward on the road to independence”. By his reckoning, winning only nine seats must qualify as a very significant step back.

It was not a great idea for the SNP to try to fool the electorate into thinking an SNP group even if reduced from 48 MPs to 29 would be in a position to demand independence when they failed to do so in 2015, 2017 and again in 2019.

Failed recycling schemes, men put in women’s prisons, protected marine areas, the sudden exit of two first ministers and the iPad saga did great damage and no amount of positive thinking could have combatted these issues.

The Scottish Government needs to recover at least some of its previous (pre-2014) reputation for competent governance. There was a total failure to link the concept of independence to real-life problems.

The SNP need to realise landlords, users of the A9, second home owners, island dwellers, owners of non-compliant LEZ cars, owners of log-burning stoves, people on NHS waiting lists and a lot of other very significant minorities have a vote and that they and their families are prepared to use it to express their disappointment with the SNP.

Brian Lawson

Paisley