After reading Iain Macwhirter's comments on what he terms "the yawning gulf between Scotland and Westminster political culture", and then Ian Bell's article, exposing the hand of London Labour on the allegedly grass-roots Let's Stay Together movement, I turned to Judith Duffy's interview with Professor Adam Tomkins for some necessary elucidation of the No case (Cameron flushes Scotland's hopes down the toilet; You love us but what about independence; In the hot seat, Comment and News, July 20).
I found a puzzling lack of substance in the professor's arguments. For instance, is this referendum really about forcing him, for reasons of nationality, to choose between staying in an independent Scotland or moving to England? The Scottish Government's White Paper indicates that dual nationality (Scottish and British) could be perfectly acceptable. This isn't an issue. The citizenship section of Scotland's Future makes clear that nobody would be forced to move anywhere as a result of Scottish independence.
Even more puzzling is the professor's failure to address the two essential aspects of the referendum vote, namely democracy and politics. Democracy meaning the restoration of full powers to the Scottish Parliament and people so that the Scottish nation will have a parliament worthy of its name; and politics meaning that policies can be passed and implemented in Scotland that reflect the will of the Scottish electorate (such as opposing privatisation of the NHS and the Royal Mail), while giving Scotland an independent voice on the British, European and world stage for the first time in modern terms.
Alas, Tomkins has nothing to say about these noble aspirations. As holder of the important chair of public law at one of Scotland's major universities, and with an international reputation, should he not let us know what he really thinks about democracy and politics in his adopted country?
Randolph Murray
Rannoch
With regard to the Rev Stuart Campbell interview, to describe Wings Over Scotland as "controversial" sums up the state of the press in Scotland (In the hot seat, News, July 20).
Wings Over Scotland publishes articles and news that are blocked and ignored by the mainstream media. The standard of the articles published that inform and balance the debate, together with the comments made by forum users, puts to shame the newspapers' journalistic standards that have been plunging new depths during the referendum campaign. It is little wonder that newspaper sales are in freefall and the future of titles are now being questioned. Many will not be missed.
Douglas Thomson
Banchory
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