JOHN Wilson’s letter (July 31) is all about the push for independence, the theory of independence, and the need to “pursue independence at the earliest possible opportunity”.
Not one iota about the real implications of separation for “the people of Scotland”. No SNP politician, no SNP supporter, will address the fundamental issues which would face an independent Scotland – let’s get independence then we will sort everything out. They are playing with the emotions of people. This is moral irresponsibility but none of them care, being totally blind to the economic and financial implications.
They think it will be worth decades of austerity, as confirmed by Andrew Wilson, to achieve some sort of misguided “freedom” - the teenage dream of their leader from which she has never matured. Conveniently, the pandemic has moved focus from the disgraceful tenure of this SNP regime but the day is coming when Ms Sturgeon will have to atone for her shortcomings, especially in education, on which she wanted to be judged.
Douglas Cowe, Aberdeenshire.
THE First Minister has been reported as having said that coronavirus rates in England are currently five times higher than in Scotland. This prompted the Conservatives to immediately dispute the statement and claim that she has been caught using “dodgy statistics”.
Like many people, I follow the grim worldwide statistics on a daily basis, country by country, and I have to say that in terms of coronavirus rates over recent weeks, the First Minister’s statement appears not only to be correct but if anything an under-representation of the differences between rates in Scotland and in England.
The Herald is to be commended for printing daily figures of Covid-19 deaths and new cases for Scotland and the UK (rather than England). But it could go further by publishing these statistics for deaths and new cases for, say, the entire month of July, for each of the four home nations. That would allow readers to reach their own conclusion as to who is making false claims.
David Williamson, Dunbar.
THE First Minister has assured us, again, that she is not using her daily coronavirus briefings as party political propaganda. She could have fooled me. In fact from the first day they have been exactly that.
After a recent broadcast, she introduced Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, who lambasted the UK Treasury and complained of Holyrood’s lack of borrowing powers. I am not sure I can see a coronavirus message there but I can see plenty of blatant SNP grievance propaganda and there is no possibility to question in depth.
The SNP are of course entitled to make their political points but to do so under the guise of a nationalist leader’s statement on the pandemic engulfing the world is simply wrong and even immoral. They should turn the statement-making over to medical experts.
Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.
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