After Johann Lamont proclaimed on Sunday in Brighton that next year's referendum was about "Scotland versus Salmond", her former MSP colleague, Margaret Curran, declared that "The SNP will not end 113 years of our movement" ("Lamont says SNP exploits misery of Scots, The Herald, September 23).
While Johann Lamont's pronouncement may have been predictable, it was Margaret Curran's which was far more revealing, as it told the real truth about how the struggle for Scottish independence is (and has been for several decades) perceived within the Labour Party in Scotland.
Margaret Curran did not attack the concept of independence on the basis it would let the people of Scotland have the government they elected or provide the progressively social democratic policies that are accepted as the norm in many Northern European democracies and which so many of the people who live in Scotland would love to see.
No, instead, Ms Curran's objections to independence seem to be based on her fear independence will bring an end to the automatic voting fodder the Labour Party has taken for granted for decades from the people of Scotland.
The notion of opposing independence on the basis of solidarity with the people of England was touted last week by Johann Lamont.
It will indeed be very novel if some day a Labour politician in England should ever attempt to appeal for support from English voters on the basis that they should show solidarity with the people of Scotland when they are considering what is in their best interests.
The referendum next year is not about "Scotland versus Salmond". It is about the future of the people of Scotland and their right to have the government they choose. Margaret Curran's statement was revealing in that it demonstrates that she appears to view the future of the UK Labour Party as being more important than the future of Scottish democracy. During the years when Thatcherism was wreaking havoc in a Scotland that did not vote for it, many of us suspected that the reluctance of Labour to play the Scottish card was just for this reason. Margaret Curran has now confirmed it to be so.
Gail Finlayson,
6 Larch Tree Way, Banchory.
Last week, Douglas Alexander warned against the use of "vitriolic" language during the Referendum campaign (headline). A couple of days later, Johann Lamont described nationalism as "a virus". She should have listened to her colleague.
Kenneth Fraser
24 Winram Place, St Andrews.
When Johann Lamont attacks Scottish independence she defends British nationalism, proving that she is in the grip of a very serious "virus". People in glass houses ...
Colin Campbell,
Braeside, Shuttle Street, Kilbarchan.
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