HAVING read the various correspondence in the Letters Pages regarding a second independence referendum I have come to the conclusion that even if the Scottish Government came up with a cast-iron, 100 per cent guaranteed plan to a Scottish utopia many of your correspondents would reject it out of hand.

Most of the critics of independence for Scotland seem to believe that their argument is sound because it is based on estimates by economists. I hate to disturb their certainty, but economics is not a science. It is in fact no better than a sequence of guesses of varying levels of reliability based on data which is only relevant in a historical perspective. Unfortunately it is also subject to bias dependent on the economist’s political point of view. To quote Darryl Huff, "Lies, damned lies and statistics." An example of this was a prospective Conservative councillor who sent out an election leaflet asking people to respond whether they were in favour of a second referendum and unsurprisingly he received more against than for. Could that be because they were Tory voters? Undaunted he promptly sent out another leaflet stating that the majority in the constituency were against another referendum.

However, perhaps it is germane to ask if there is something underlying this knee-jerk reaction? After three centuries of subjugation is there now a deep-seated fear in a large section of the population which makes them frightened of taking responsibility for their own country? Are the economic theories merely a smokescreen to camouflage deeper insecurities? Are these people hiding under the skirts of Westminster and even though they know that Brexit is heading for disaster they lack the confidence to stand up to the Westminster ruling elite?

David Stubley,

22 Templeton Crescent, Prestwick.