LIKE many folk I’m annoyed that Scottish products are being retailed with packaging displaying the Union Jack and not our Scottish Saltire. In yesterday’s edition of The National yet another case of this happening has been highlighted by Edith Davidson from Innerleithen (Letters, February 9). She writes that Sainsbury’s are selling Airdrie firm Albert Bartlett potatoes in packages with a Union Jack. Ms Davidson asks as many people as possible to bombard Sainsburys with complaints.

I wonder if perhaps it is Albert Bartlett that should be bombarded with complaints. After all, they appear to be happy to allow their potatoes to be sold under the guise of being British. One has to ask oneself why is a Scottish firm happy to do this? Surely they could demand that their produce/products must be retailed in packaging which clearly lets people know the country of origin? Do Albert Bartlett, and other Scottish companies selling under the Union jack, have no pride in their Scottish products?

Anne Smart
Glasgow

I LIKE my tatties. We grow our own but at about this time of year it’s back to supermarket tatties. I have had great difficulty buying any this year because the vast majority of packs are festooned with Union jackery. So, my question is this: as Bartlett’s have been given £4 million of Scottish funding to expand their brand (Scottish potato firm Albert Bartlett wins £4m investment, The National, February 7), will they now have the Saltire on every pack of their tatties? I would hope they appreciate that being in receipt of Scottish cash bears a certain amount of expectation of loyalty.

Morag D Black
Brora

I WONDER if Andrew Tickell is right about the Tory plan for Scotland? Their PR doesn’t seem to me a throwback to 1950s blue-collar Tory nostalgia (Blue-collar Tories? Davidson’s party are still serving the same old interests, The National, February 9). After all, blue-collar work is an increasingly rare commodity and likely to be more so as the age of robotics arrives.

It seems rather a message to the Scots, constantly repeated, that really they shouldn’t worry themselves about big issues like Brexit, overwhelming national debt and rising interest rates, and how we are governed. No, the likes of you should leave such difficult problems to those who know best; the clever people in Westminster. Haven’t they always done a great job for Scotland?

So keep focused on the day job. If you haven’t got one, find something useful to do. For example, get out there and keep the local road signs clean. That’ll keep you occupied in our climate!

Peter Craigie
Edinburgh

I AGREE with Patrick Harvie MSP that there should be a move away from council tax to replace it with a fairer system that provides local government with more control over it own finances (We need to see progress on replacing council tax, The National, February 9).

Graeme McCormick has already published a range of materials on proposals for an Annual Ground Rent (a version of land value tax) which has been well received at various events where he has gone through the details of this idea.

I believe there are a number of issues that have to be overcome before this method could come in to replace not just council tax but also business rates and potentially income tax. I would hope that the Scottish Government would look closely at this policy idea and start the initial work to make it an option for Scotland.

Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley

A NATIONAL savings bank is fine with me. I am already considering changing from RBS to elsewhere. There are no banks at all in Newburgh but we do have three ATMs. I do use online banking now and then, but have the occasional need to discuss issues as they arise. Online messaging doesn’t quite cut it for me.

Ken Gow (Letters, February 9) seems to have some good ideas in that direction. However, if he wants to use yet another banknote design then surely the Bank of England would have to sanction it with a Sterling valuation in order for it to have the same value and exchange rate as our current banknotes?

Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife