DR Gerald Edwards (Letters, April 24) has his predictable snipe at the SNP simply because it is trying to deliver “what it says on the tin”: I think we all know by now his opinion on the subject. If he really is a supporter of democracy and not just a Nat-basher, I wonder what he thinks of Theresa May denying Scotland out of hand a second independence referendum before we actually ask for one ("PM 'will block new referendum'", The Herald, April 24). It’s a bit like her government choosing to ignore the “Revoke article 50” petition signed by more than six million UK citizens.

If Scotland is indeed a separate entity which centuries ago entered a voluntary union with England, is not simply a subjugated colony, it should be able to leave the Union at will without seeking permission. It is unconscionable that a referendum result, whatever way it went, would not be accepted unconditionally by the other members of the Union. That the Prime Minister can simply dismiss the possibility of a second referendum is an outrageous denial of democracy to all Scots whether or not they support independence. That an embattled and unpopular Mrs May can do so without discussion of the matter formally in Westminster simply demonstrates how undemocratic our form of governance actually is. If the people want it we should be able hold a referendum on the subject every Tuesday afternoon; who will stop us? What sanctions would be inflicted on Scotland to prevent it happening or in the aftermath of a "leave" majority? Would they send the troops and tanks back to Glasgow?

The Brexit referendum received 37 per cent support of the eligible pool of voters and is used as justification for leaving the EU; it follows that a simple majority in any future referendum on Scottish independence will suffice. That is assuming that Bumbling Boris the Red Corbyn or whatever Unionista takes Mrs May’s place feels it is in England’s interest to let us “sweaty socks” put down our deep-fried Mars Bars and sober-up for long enough to repeat the exercise.

David J Crawford,

85 Whittingehame Court 1300 Great Western Road, Glasgow.

Read more: Letters: SNP priorities not those of Scottish voters

A WEEK is a long time in politics. It is almost five years since the independence referendum of 2014. Since then many of the Conservative voters in my elderly category have gone and there is a 16 to 20-year-old cohort who could not vote in 2014. Many who voted against independence did so to remain in the EU: that was before Brexit. Both Gerald Edwards and Alexander McKay (Letters, April 24) think that the independence and Brexit games are over: Dr Edwards evades the fact that the people of Scotland voted against Brexit, Mr McKay thinks that the majority of Scots 'are in favour of the Union – for "are" read "were" in 2014, not necessarily now.

There are recent precedents for re-runs: the Prime Minister's multiple attempts to push the Brexit deal through Parliament and the prospect of UK participation in the EU elections on May 23. Whatever the chaos of Westminster and the Brexit process has demonstrated, it is that nothing is set in stone and that change happens.

Colin Campbell,

Braeside, Shuttle Street, Kilbarchan.

SO we wait many months for Nicola Sturgeon to tell us that she wants to hold another referendum before 2021 – when she risks losing the nationalist majority in Holyrood. And on Tuesday Downing Street reiterated that it would not grant a Section 30 order, which would enable indyref2 to be held. So nothing new from either side.

That Ms Sturgeon's announcement is days before the SNP party conference is no coincidence. But I suspect the party faithful will realise this announcement furthers their cause not a jot.

Martin Redfern,

Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh.

THE political situation in the United Kingdom is a veritable Pandora's Box of misunderstandings, unravellings, hubris, nostalgia and gross incompetence.

It truly takes a careful observer patience and acuity to work their way through the morass.

Observers from outside the UK watch with disbelief as the Conservative Party tries to hold itself together against the assaults of its internal and external opponents.

The disdain that has been shown by the Conservative leadership to the European negotiators is only equalled by that shown to the other nations of the UK.

Now in Scotland, we find ourselves on the cusp of a new stage of political development which will go forward despite the opponents' mantra of "too wee, too small, too poor".

The previous three years have shown such levels of Government incompetence and inhumanity that there has been a clear shift in Scottish self-awareness. Despite the chorus of hostility against the Scottish Government by all the major parties who support the Union, it is being seen by many outside the UK that Westminster is a busted flush.

The Conservative Party's policies of the two-child family, the bedroom tax, the hostile environment of the Home Office to the Windrush generation and other BAME families have exposed Westminster as deeply uncaring. The treatment of low-paid British workers and benefit recipients has been beyond belief for someone like me who was born at the end of the Second World War.

Nicola Sturgeon has been promoted by many as a competent and humane leader. She has throughout the Brexit negotiations

tried to find solutions that embraced the economic and social needs of the whole of the UK and of European citizens of the UK and UK residents in Europe.

She is not without faults. Her support for the Growth Commission has caused many pro-independence supporters to feel disappointment. There are many of us who want to see the great opportunities that control of our own economy and currency can bring.

The currency debate ("No need for the SNP to take a pounding over the currency issue", The Herald, April 24) is a healthy one. It will determine the nature of the Scottish economy after independence.

Let us ensure that we begin to build a country we can all be proud of.

Maggie Chetty,

36 Woodend Drive, Glasgow.

JAMES Campbell (Letters, April 23) could not be more wrong. Far from having a banana republic currency, a Scots pound would be stronger than sterling. The top-secret McCrone Report of the mid-1970s said that Scotland would have one of the strongest currencies in the world. It would still be strong today because Scotland has a balance of trade surplus, while the UK runs a deficit of around £3 billion a month. Sterling is the weak currency.

As far as the EU being a “tiny market”, it is more than eight times the UK market. Does Mr Campbell really want to cut us off from the big market?

Ian Macdonald,

195 Maxwell Avenue, Bearsden.