It’s time to take some actions that will put us back on the front foot

He was telling listeners he would be interviewing Anas Sarwar and – wait till you hear this one – that Anas Sarwar was the SHADOW FIRST MINISTER FOR SCOTLAND.

Well, I would have laughed if it was not so serious. This just shows you how bad things are, doesn’t it!

Let’s get this show on the road then. Why is it that the Changed Labour Party is totally fixated on taking money from pensioners, sick people and disabled people and any others who are continually struggling? The Chancellor has ruled out taxing the rich. There’s a surprise.

All this bluster about that pain is coming because of the mess the Tories left is a load of crap! Rich people are now taking over the running of the country and it is no wonder that the Changed Labour Party is polling badly. GB Energy – this great idea to basically make sure as much of Scotland’s green energy will be heading south is the proverbial pig in a poke.

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It is becoming clearer every day, especially in these pages, that the public are not happy. They are dismayed at the incompetence of the new Labour administration, appalled by the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment to most pensioners, and their stomachs are turning watching all the nodding dogs telling us that taking lots of freebies is OK.

I am not in any way saying that SNP politicians have never swum in this pool but I suspect that when the Unionist media dig up some misdemeanour by anyone in the SNP it will be an earth-shattering event. That takes me neatly on to what we are going to do about it. Are we just going to sit back and watch the show, or are we going to take some actions that will put us back on the front foot? We need a big win at the moment and this would be a good time to get one. Over to you, John.

Old John

Ayrshire

I REFER to the letter from Andy Anderson in Thursday’s paper where he urges the Scottish Government to legislate to put the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights into Scottish law.

This, he states, is perfectly possible and would give the Scottish people “the right under section 25 of that covenant to have a referendum on any political issue any time they wanted”. Accompanied, I presume, with an appropriately numbered finger gesture to the Supreme Court ruling. I have no reason to doubt his suggestion, so as he says, “are you up to it”, independence-supporting parties?

Now there is a clear suggested route to enable the holding of a referendum at our time of choosing, I expect the independence-supporting parties to either do as he suggests before the 2026 election or explain clearly and convincingly why Andy’s suggestion is not possible.

Doing the former would ensure a big support at the 2026 election. Taking no action without adequate explanation would expose the lack of drive and ambition of these parties and lose them more support, including mine. I am tired of voting for the SNP as a vehicle towards independence when they seem to be a party content with the established position of devolution.

I asked the question in my letter on Tuesday, what majority would be required in a referendum? Two to three years would be required between a Yes referendum vote and Independence Day. My view is that a simple majority of one would not be sufficient for a successful transition.

Look at support for Labour since the election. We must be prepared to set a higher bar for our massive constitutional change. I think 60% of the vote would be a minimum.

Achieving a majority of the whole electorate would be very desirable but difficult, as I demonstrated, and unfair as anyone not registered to vote or who for any reason does not vote is automatically counted as a No vote.

Let’s enable us to have the right to hold a referendum, set our base requirement for success, re-energise our supporters to campaign with a sensible vision for a post-independent Scotland and win our freedom.

Campbell Anderson

Edinburgh

AT the Labour Party conference I saw very little of the greater respect for Scotland that we were promised by the Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer, Knight Commander of the Order of Bath, at the time of the General Election.

While announcing that his GB Energy project will be based in Aberdeen he ignored everything that has previously been done to foster the development of sustainable energy in Scotland.

He failed to give any indication of when his project will actually lead to reduced energy costs, particularly the domestic fuel bills of Scots pensioners who have had their allowances slashed by this Labour Government with no thought to the impact of the Scottish winter climate. So where is the respect for Scotland, Sir Keir?

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It seems to me that the intent expressed by Juergen Maier, the chair of GB Energy, to “build supply chains across the UK” suggests that the company will benefit the bigger “partner” to the south in disproportion to anything it will bring to Scotland that we do not already have or could not do for ourselves if it were of benefit to us. Again I ask, where is the respect we were promised?

No amount of disrespectful, patronising talk from the Prime Minister of “the talent and skills of the working people of the Granite City” can disguise the fact that the GB Energy project is nothing more than a crumb off the Westminster table.

I note Herr Maier, is not one of those talented and skilled Aberdonians the Prime Minister made reference to in his speech.

To paraphrase our Bard, Mr Starmer, Scotland wants nae stinking ware, if you wish our grateful prayer, gie us our independence.

Ni Holmes

St Andrews