OUR globetrotting First Minister has created a "Government of Scotland in North America" ("Sturgeon sets Government sights on a bigger role in ‘global issues’", The Herald, March 21). Is this colonial overstretch? It seems that, despite the grandiose title, all it amounts to is having a deal with the Clyde Group public relations agency in the US. The purpose is to big up Scotland as a force in "global issues". Will it bring any benefit to us, who pay for initiatives of this kind? We already have Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International as presences in the US. Ms Sturgeon’s aspiration is rather to make her Government a "core leader in the international community". You could not make this up.

Ms Sturgeon’s remit is to attend to the responsibilities of a devolved administration. We have hospitals with staff shortages and infection problems, and a shocking attainment gap between better off and poor in Scotland’s schools. These responsibilities are clearly too mundane and dreary for a First Minister whose preference is to bestride the world stage. That aspiration is part of a well-known syndrome of arrogance that afflicts leaders who have been in power too long – and their long-suffering citizens.

Jill Stephenson,

Glenlockhart Valley, Edinburgh.

IT is surprising to see Dr Elizabeth Galbraith (Letters, March 21) making the basic error of conflating independence and the SNP; while they may be connected they are two different things. I seek independence because of the need for democracy and community development, realising our wealth and seeing how similarly-sized small countries organise themselves successfully. Not being a member of a political party, I expect the eventual party of government, majority or minority, will be what the electorate decides. Independence is about how we organise ourselves and manage our resources, for the benefit of future generations.

John C Hutchison,

Taigh na Coille, Badabrie, Fort William.

KEITH Howell (Letters, March 20) is of course correct. I believe the division in Scotland created by nationalism and the march for independence may be irreversible. I hope Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon are proud of what they have created in Scotland: anger, animosity and bitterness. Donald Dewar and his associates fought for a devolved Scotland and how good that would have been in a strong United Kingdom, but the grievance-driven SNP has failed “the people of Scotland” at every turn.

However, Ms Sturgeon knows that any new referendum will fail, that’s why she is afraid to fire the starting gun and of course, the wise heads at the SNP are confirming that.

Douglas Cowe,

68 Alexander Avenue, Newmachar.

WITH all of the palaver going on just now, what with 16th century precedents and the impending meltdown of the so-called Mother of Parliaments, is it not time to agree two things? Namely, the urgent need for a written constitution and a renegotiation of the terms of the Act of Union.

Roddy MacDonald,

1 Glenmount Place, Ayr.