AS ever Iain Macwhirter is thought-provoking in his analysis of what the results of the recent Social Attitudes Survey tell us ("Yes or No:
disenchantment is the issue for both camps", The Herald, January 23). Will we be £500 better or worse off under independence? "Are Scots so crass," he asks, "they would trade their country's freedom for the price of a mini-break?" I admire his altruism in rejecting this interpretation of the findings.
Whilst there has never been a communitarian utopia in Scotland, there was a time when people looked out for each other more than they do today. Under successive neoliberal UK governments we have become more and more entrenched in values that simply do not add to our sense of wellbeing. Greed is good, selfishness the norm, celebrity the worthwhile aspiration and material wealth the route to happiness. It is now a bit hackneyed to refer to the UK as one of the most unequal countries in the developed world. But it is.
What is less often referred to are the consequences of this. These are the impacts on all of us of this state of affairs. Unequal countries put more people in prison, have higher rates of teenage pregnancy, exhibit less trust, produce higher levels of anxiety and ill health and have high levels of obesity and are more violent, to name just some of the negative consequences.
Iain Macwhirter's piece also comes on the day you announce the retiral of Sir Harry Burns as Scotland's Chief Medical Officer ("Health chief calls for reform of training given to doctors", The Herald, January 23). Mr Burns has been a terrific advocate for addressing the health inequalities that "determine the different levels of health and wellbeing enjoyed by the affluent and the poor". He will be sorely missed in his public role.
So, what about health and wellbeing in a future Scotland? If I switch on my selfish gene I ask: will I feel and function better within an independent Scotland? As with many independence referendum questions, the answer is I don't know. But I do know that there must be a better way than the one we have, and it is well worth taking the risk. £500 - what price health and wellbeing?
Jim Rooney,
59 Grangeburn Road, Grangemouth.
YOUR report of Johann Lamont's sycophantic idealisation of London as a "remarkable city state" generating wealth for the rest of the UK suggests that she is either badly out of touch with economic reality or angling for a promotion to Labour headquarters ("Lamont claims London is good for Scotland", The Herald, January 23).
In the space of just a few weeks the role of London within the UK has been described as "a giant suction machine sucking the life blood out of the rest of the country" by Business Secretary Vince Cable and "the dark star of the economy, inexorably sucking in resources, people and energy" by Tony Travers of the London School of Economics. Even Chancellor George Osborne recognises the dangers of London to the UK economy and has encouraged a rebalancing of the economy away from financial services.
Adulation of bankers by the Labour Party has not been seen since Gordon Brown praised their "unique innovative skills, courage and steadfastness". Let us all hope that the people of Scotland choose not to put all our assets with the City of London hedge fund again.
Calum Mackenzie,
4 Mount Tabor Avenue,
Perth.
THE Burns season is very much with us, and it was inevitable that a questioner at the debate staged by BBC in Greenock should pose the question: "How do they think Robert Burns would vote in the referendum?"
One panel member mentioned the poem To a mouse, without giving a quotation. The last two lines are as follows:
"But och! I backward cast my e'e, on prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess and fear!"
That last line is so true when applied to the coming vote. In spite of all the promises, calculations and bribes that the Nationalists put forward, we canna see, we guess and fear.
Ten economists, if questioned, will give 10 different answers on future financial prospects. The Nationalist campaign is but a dream, and it amazes me that so many Scots would bet their lives and risk their future on a dream that is likely to become a nightmare.
John Taylor,
10 St Georges,
Castle Douglas.
IN his letter (January 23), Jimmy Armstrong actually highlights how relatively poorly Scottish athletes have fared under the Team GB set-up. He states that every one of the six gold medallists had to leave Scotland to further their career.
No major UK sports have chosen to base their elite training facilities in Scotland. Scottish athletes are given virtually no option but to transfer to training facilities down south or lose their funding. This was exemplified by the pressure put on Kilmarnock weightlifter Peter Kirkbride to move south or miss his Olympic chance.
The tens of millions of pounds of public money thrown at UK elite sport undoubtedly brought an impressive haul of medals at London, but does Mr Armstrong really believe that a set-up where no Scottish male track and field athlete competed at the Olympics is a system that "ain't broke"?
R Partridge,
Irvine Road,
Kilmaurs.
HOW can we be better together when my bus pass is invalid and my Scottish bank notes are not acceptable south of the Border?
Dr Sheila Madsen,
43 Woodside Road,
Beith.
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