AN OPEN letter to Keir Starmer et al: As a new and inexperienced administration you have found, on examining the books and opening the coffers, that there is nothing there; all assets have been acquired and scattered in various havens across the world with no means of recovery. This dearth of assets caused totally by the largesse of the then incumbent “ leaders” to the benefit of hedge funders and share holders, ie, their supporters.
You may feel in order to address this massive deficit that taxation in one way or another may be the only way to reduce expenditure and will have to be paid for by the very people who voted for you, Labour Party supporters in other words.
The workers, the OAPs, the children etc will all see their way of life worse than the way it was previously, and having to cope with your “austerity” seems to fly in the face of what you stand for – a heavy burden indeed!
READ MORE: Plaid Cymru send message to Yes supporters at SNP conference
In view of the difficulties you are facing, we in Scotland feel it is time to relieve you of “pesky” Scots burden and run our own country. We realise that this will take a little time, but with a full administration already in place we do not see any problem that cannot be solved.
The original agreement if any, where England is required to decide what happens in Scotland and Wales is no longer viable, as it was based on the aims of creating an empire … convenient at the time and in subsequent conflicts … but that empire is now history, therefore England’s assumed responsibilities are at an end. It has served its purpose and is no longer ethical or appropriate … without the people having a say in its continuance. Both Scotland and Wales have administrations which will best serve their own people.
We are a rich little country and there is no reason why Scotland should not be run as a separate nation. All the one-time countries of the empire (more than 60 of them) have become independent and none appear to want to return to the dying remnants of a decaying Empire that was! Or remain the victims of paternalistic plunder!
The choice to return to the European Union (nearly 70% of the Scottish population voted to remain), or any other organisation that will benefit us, will be by the people of Scotland. We wish you well in your future attempts to make England the country all your workers and supporters deserve … as similarly we in Scotland expect to have through our own independent administration.
J Ahern
via email
SEEING as everyone else seems to have had their say about the SNP conference and 2026 Holyrood election, here’s mine. I’M 50 next year and have been a party member and supporter since the scandals of the closures of Ravenscraig and the Clydesdale tube mill. Which means, like John Swinney, I’m not new to this cause.
Mr Swinney is a decent person and anyone who heard his speech at the launch of his campaign to be First Minister knows just how much fire he has in his belly for independence.
While there are debates to be had about how we achieve this (and note, I use the word “debate” not “slanging match”), the basic fact is that to do that, we a) need to win seats at Holyrood and Westminster, and b) need to win people over to our cause. Tearing each other and the party apart WILL NOT DO THIS.
Yes, bad mistakes have been made in the past few years, but EVERYONE (and I include ministers, party workers, members, etc) needs to see that we have to unite. Otherwise, people will not listen to us and the cause of Scottish independence will be dismissed by the Unionists.
One thing I will give Alex Salmond credit for is that in 2007 he recognised that providing a good, stable government would show how an independent Scottish Government could function (and function well, I may add) and that our party was not a one-trick pony.
Now we have two years to get back on track. SNP ministers need to do that, and the rest of us need to point out that voting Labour won’t do anything to get Scottish independence – and Labour don’t keep their promises of “change”.
READ MORE: John Swinney says it’s ‘time for SNP to step up’ in conference speech
Remember the old saying, “Attack is the best form of defence”? I know I will be dismissed by some readers of The National as a “party loyalist”, but, having given so much of my life to independence and seeing just how callous the Unionists can be when it comes to Scotland and her people, I’m not going to stay silent.
I’m also not going to destroy the biggest party that supports independence either.
Finally, I have read comments on The National website from someone saying that Alba don’t attack the SNP, and then read the headline on the front of Scotland on Sunday (Aug 25) where Alex Salmond did just that. That helps no-one and it needs to stop.
We ALL believe that independence is vital to the wellbeing of our people but if we carry on as we are the cause will be lost. Do we want to see our people suffer more?
Andrew Haddow
Drumoyne, Glasgow
AN interesting story in Saturday’s edition describing how Angela Constance brushed off Graeme McCormick’s perfectly valid and pertinent question on the selection process for the current Chief Constable’s selection process.
We will never know the details but I think we can safely assume that anyone applying for the top job would be thoroughly vetted, and in the unlikely event that any “off message” views came to light, dumped. Angela Constance’s description of Mr McCormick’s query as “unhelpful” is a typical politician’s response to a question she either didn’t want asked or is not prepared to answer.
Jim Butchart
via email
A VERY good article by Colin Fox (Aug 27). It was an honest, factual appraisal of 2014 and the period since, containing his opinion (wisely not expressed at the time) that he did not think that Yes would win.
He correctly stated the reality of the fight for independence that now lies ahead for us. He did not indulge in pointing the finger at mistakes made, other than the Supreme Court approach. He also did not utter comments similar to those frequently made by other writers about missed opportunities, mandates and UDI etc.
Colin was in Barcelona when the failed Catalan independence referendum happened. I imagine he has learned things from that experience. The SSP did essential work during the 2014 indyref campaign. I am sure they will do so again during our next one.
Bobby Brennan
Glasgow
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