I TAKE issue with Nicola Sturgeon and her current mantra that Brexit is an economic calamity about to embrace us all. She should come to Inverclyde where the towns of Greenock and Port Glasgow have lost more than 20,000 jobs in recent times. Then she might realise that we have been enduring that economic calamity for more years than most of us care to remember, including the nine her party has been in power. No wonder we have lost one- third of our population, down from 120,000 to 80,000.

The litany of companies and industries lost is seemingly endless with no light at the end of the tunnel.

There is shipbuilding and marine engineering with Scotts, Lithgow, Kincaid, Hastie, Brown Cargospeed, Lamont and various subcontractors no longer– total 12,000.

Electronics with IBM, FCI, Brands, MIMtech, Kerr & Kerr and miscellaneous subcontractors is all gone – total 5,000.

The textile industry has seen the disappearance of Playtex, Fleming Reid, Blacks tent maker, Lee Jeans – another 1,500 jobs lost.

In general engineering gone are Gourock Ropework, Aircraft and Marine Products, Drummond box maker, Joy Manufacturing for air compressors and mining machinery – another 1,000 jobs.

Lastly there are no sugar refineries left. Sacrificed at the insistence of the French beet farming lobby as our price for entering the Common Market in 1972 though we did not know that till 25 years later- another 500 jobs gone.

Add on to the above a probable additional 2,000 jobs lost in service industries as a consequence and one gets an idea of the calamity that has befallen the economy of Inverclyde and the wider Lower Clyde area.

The people of Inverclyde do not sell anything any more to the European Union so we have nothing more to lose from Brexit. Ms Sturgeon’s words about Brexit economics are so much hot air. The question for Ms Sturgeon is when is she going to do her day job instead of dabbling in UK affairs?

John Findlay,

57 Holmscroft Street, Greenock.

HAVING been constantly warned that she "is not bluffing", Nicola Sturgeon’s bluff appears to have been called. From being "on the table" to "inevitable" and then "very likely", some of her following are demanding second independence referendum with a sense of immediacy. Ordinarily, we would expect Ms Sturgeon to furiously announce a set date for a new vote.

However, Ms Sturgeon has painted herself into a corner. The general consensus is that the people of Scotland, including many of her own flock, don't relish the prospect (or the result) of another referendum any time soon and the results of her unpublished (and not for public consumption) national survey very likely compound this. With support on the wane, her reliance on the Brexit result transferring to support for independence has not materialised.

So, no set date for an independence referendum and no explanation of how an "independent" Scotland would fare in the EU without Barnett or any other financial packages from the UK, even if it did meet any of the mandates of application.

Why are we not surprised?

Mark Ward,

60 Dalmellington Road,

Crookston, Glasgow.

FACT: Brexit means Brexit. Fact: the EU has said there can be no special deals for Scotland. “Little Britain” speeches ad nauseum are not going to change this (“New ‘Iron Lady’ starts with a long pause”, The Herald, January 19). Meanwhile, the UK Government has embarked on a vigorous programme of talking up Britain as the place to do business. How much fruit this will bring remains to be seen but it certainly has to be done given future uncertainty.

When will the Scottish Government start talking up Scotland? Or is it content to remain on the sidelines whingeing? The demands it is making to be treated as a separate case are not within the power of either the UK Government or the EU to grant. Scotland is not an independent country and, like it or not, although we have a voice in negotiations, we have very limited power beyond that.

So please, First Minister, instead of continuing with the negative rhetoric, could you face facts and start making a positive contribution to Brexit on Scotland’s behalf? Or are we just a wee country with a big chip on its shoulder? I hope not.

Ann Logie,

Adele Street, Motherwell.

OVER the weekend a friend of mine said: “The Union is the future”. I replied that the post-Brexit future looked pretty grim because, as many European politicians have said, the EU must demonstrate that “outside” of the EU is worse than “inside”. However, it seems that the EU won't have to do much work to make “outside” look worse – big business will do the job for it.

Following the announcement that UBS and HSBC are both looking to shift up to 1000 investment bankers (“Black day for banking”, The Herald, January 19), I did a quick calculation. Suppose each banker is on £250,000 a year – they will pay approximately £90,000 per year in income tax as well as VAT on, as a rough guide, £50,000 of disposable income – another £8,300. That's almost £100 million in tax.

Now suppose that each banker generates three times their income (a very low estimate) in profits for the bank - £750,000, giving total profit generated of £750m. Corporation tax on that is £127million. So in one day, without the EU having to lift a finger, two companies have said that, in the lead-up to Brexit, they will remove the thick end of a quarter of a billion pounds per year from the UK Treasury.

I'd like to wish Theresa May's government every success with their Brexit negotiations, but that's some future they're going to have to sell to the country by the time they are finished.

David Patrick,

Thirlestane Road, Edinburgh.

THERESA May has now made it clear she intends to go for a hard Brexit. The act of “calamitous self-harm” of which she spoke (“Sturgeon says second referendum on independence is now almost certain”, The Herald, January 18) will be the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, not the EU’s reaction to it.

This calamitous act will cause long-lasting harm to the economy of the United Kingdom and, as we well know, when the going gets tough Westminster governments look after their own. As usual all effort will go into protecting the interests of those in financial circles. The further removed one is from the south-East of England the more deprivation one will suffer.

Whatever people in Scotland decide they will be in for a rough ride, but the surest hope of jam tomorrow is – now without a doubt – independence. If Scotland (given that it is currently within the EU and therefore already complies with the acquis communautaire) votes for independence before the UK actually leaves the EU it would be quick and easy for us to join the European Economic Area even if we were denied immediate membership of the EU. We would then be in a position to trade freely with the rest of Europe and with southern Britain on the same basis as is eventually arranged by that rump state with the rest of Europe.

It is highly likely many businesses and financial services would relocate to Scotland to take advantage of a country that was part of the single market, English-speaking, and with a respected legal system. As for the currency, I have a number of Scottish banknotes in my wallet; they will do fine thank you. The Scottish Government can decide whether to tie its currency to the pound sterling or let it float free, as the Irish government did before it joined the Eurozone. If the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic remains soft, so will the border between England and Scotland: if the border hardens it will be England that is cut off from the mainstream, not Scotland.

We are in a situation where, as a predecessor of Mrs May once said, “there is no alternative” to independence unless the people of Scotland wish to become part of a sleazy little state floating away from European civilisation.

Peter Martin,

Sruth Ruadh, Milton, Strathconon, Muir of Ord.

I FIND it hard to believe it is just over six months since the EU referendum vote took place. It seems to have dragged on for much longer.

We have had hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no idea what is happening Brexit, now this week’s “optimistic” Brexit announcements from Downing Street followed by an interesting comment from one of of the European negotiators that the UK will not be allow to exit on better trade terms that it has in the EU!

It makes me wonder which politician will be brave enough in future to take a stand and say UK may have voted to leave but if we cannot negotiate a better deal to leave the EU than what we have in the EU we are going to stay.

That could make for a very interesting time

Dougie Jardine,

20 Buchlyvie Gardens, Bishopbriggs,

''I HAVE not seen evidence which would persuade me that there is a need for a Scotland-specific solution to (EU) market access or in relation to issues around migration'', said our ever-vigilant Scottish Secretary, David Mundell (“Mundell slaps down hopes of Scottish Brexit deal”, The Herald, Janaury 19), speaking from his Downing Street broom closet with a shopping bag emblazoned with the Union Flag over his head.

James Mills,

29 Armour Square,

Johnstone.

THE Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries saw Scots swept from the land to make way for sheep.

Given our timid reluctance now, in the 21st century, to take full control of our own destiny in the face of being swept out of the greater European community, it would seem that the sheep have thrived.

John Elder,

Howden Hall Road, Edinburgh.