I read, with a sense of incredulity, Nigel Farage's seemingly scathing attack upon the Scottish Government and the independence referendum ("Farage: Independence dead in the water", The Herald, February 21).
One may go as far as to assert that at times Mr Farage's tone was a trifle arrogant. It is surely inconceivable for one to take any credence from what the man has said in the article, when he and his party currently have no seats in Westminster or Holyrood and the rise of Ukip remains to be seen. Undoubtedly, Mr Farage would justify his assertions by highlighting that recent opinion polls may have tended to illustrate a slight support for Ukip in some parts of England and a small proportion in Scotland, in light of the current Coalition and the contentious issue of membership of the European Union.
It is easy for Mr Farage to pour scorn upon the Scottish Government (indeed the UK Government for that matter) as the United Kingdom has, thus far, no experience of his Ukip party as a source of accountable authority.
It will be extremely captivating to observe if Mr Farage's aspirations amount to what he desires regarding his share of the electorate (especially in Scotland) and how he would put that into practice over a raft of issues, other than the aforementioned issue of severing membership of the EU.
At this stage I don't envisage anywhere near the sort of landslide victory the SNP enjoyed in the 2011 Holyrood election, or Labour enjoyed in the 1997 General Election, unless something goes drastically wrong with the four main parties in Scotland.
John G McMenemy,
Braeside Avenue,
Milngavie.
I welcome Nigel Farage's intervention in the independence debate; with friends like him, the No campaign certainly needs no enemies. His remarks, especially about the Deputy First Minister, seem to be based on nothing more than ignorance and prejudice.
Are bluster and assertion really all that is on offer from the opponents of Scottish independence? Where is the much-trumpeted "positive case for the Union"?
The almost daily predictions of impending disaster that would follow a Yes vote from the mainstream UK parties are bad enough, with Mr Farage and Ukip, however, the dissembling and bombast are even more transparent.
If I were a showman I'd say, "Nice try, Nigel, but no coconut!"
David C Purdie,
12 Mayburn Vale,
Loanhead, Midlothian.
It was disappointing to note personal attacks on Nicola Sturgeon by Ukip's Nigel Farage, a clear act of desperation that has lowered the tone of the independence debate.
Mr Farage's optimism in putting up Ukip candidates at the next European and Parliamentary elections in Scotland is totally misplaced.
At every election he pledges this will mark a breakthrough for his party in Scotland, but it never transpires.
At the last European Parliamentary elections in 2009 Ukip came second in the UK, securing just under 17% of the vote and securing 13 MEPs.
In Scotland, however, it came behind the Greens in sixth place with just over 5% of the vote. At the last Scottish Parliamentary election in 2011 Ukip achieved less than 1% of the vote.
While this Little Englander party has had success south of the Border, where the majority want the UK to leave the EU, in Scotland this position is reversed with the majority wanting to remain within the largest single market in the world.
Ukip in England has forced Mr Cameron into an in-out referendum on UK membership of the EU, but its isolationist agenda has only ever seen it inhabit the fringes of Scottish politics, where it is destined to remain.
Alex Orr,
77 Leamington Terrace,
Edinburgh.
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