THANK you Xander Elliards and The National for highlighting the planning application for the “formation of trotting track” on the site of the Bannockburn battlefield presently before Stirling Council (Minister are urged to ‘step in and save’ Bannockburn battlefield, Jun 14).

The planning officials are recommending that councillors agree to the application with conditions. A decision is on hold for a month or so while our Scottish ministers deliberate. I am not sure how much they will do so in between campaigning in the Westminster elections.

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My memory tells me that there have been development pressures on a number of our historic battle sites in recent years – Culloden, Sheriffmuir and Killiecrankie come to mind! There may well be others.

Coverage in The National had a common theme – that our Scottish Governments since the beginning of devolution have not enacted any special legislation for the preservation of, and permanent protection of, our historic battle sites.

When will some of them in Holyrood wake up to the need to preserve our heritage for future generations and designate some special status for such sites?

Willie Oswald
Blanefield

STEPH Brawn’s article on Lucy Grieve and Alice Murray, founders of Back Off Scotland, was lovely and well-deserved (Buffer zone campaigners celebrate law passing, Jun 16). I began following their campaign early on and recall how many times they were told that national legislation was impossible. Nevertheless, they persisted, and now clinic harassment is finally coming to an end in Scotland. The almost unanimous support from MSPs is a testament to the movement these young women have built.

The global attack on abortion rights is one that Scotland and the rest of the UK are not immune from, and it is fantastic that Back Off Scotland will continue to fight for other areas of women’s healthcare. This includes addressing the lack of abortion provision in Scotland, which is forcing vulnerable people to travel to England, as well as the increase in police investigations of women accused of having so-called “illegal abortions”.

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Unfortunately, we do not have to look far to find our very own Christian right movement at work here in Scotland. It has been widely reported that local churches recruited protesters on behalf of Texan group 40 Days for Life, and the anti-abortion organisation SPUC has already released videos and social media posts promising their followers that they will pursue every avenue to overturn buffer zones.

If we allow such an organisation to undermine our democracy, we will find ourselves on a very slippery slope. However, grassroots organisations like Back Off Scotland, which have gained a loyal following among the Scottish public, give me hope that Scotland can resist the pernicious forces that seek to send women back to the kitchen.

Gemma Clark
Paisley

I MUST congratulate The National on the articles you are publishing from Scottish Socialist Party spokespersons.

Colin Fox’s piece in Tuesday’s edition hit the nail on the head regarding the scandal of PFI (Thatcher had the poll tax, New Labour had PFI...). Seven Scottish hospitals sold for private profit? No wonder the NHS is in a crisis! Professor Pollock sums it up nicely: pay for three hospitals and get one, which we still don’t own!

But, unlike mainstream politicians, Mr Fox is not content to just moan about his political opponents. His party puts forward a realistic alternative. This is the kind of radical thinking the Yes movement needs if we are to progress, showing Scotland’s working-class majority that independence is about more than changing the flag over Edinburgh Castle.

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Labour’s slogan is “CHANGE” but it is no more than a change of management; they are still peddling the same old shoddy policies we’ve endured under the Tories.

I won’t have the opportunity to vote SSP this time around, and voting for any of the mainstream parties feels like being told I’m to be shot in the morning but I get to pick the members of my firing squad!

I look forward to 2026, when illusions in Starmer and his “Red Tories” are shattered and Scots see that the only hope for meaningful change begins with independence.

Michael Davidson
Edinburgh

I HAD occasion to visit Forth Valley Royal Hospital outpatient department twice last week. Despite the grim picture of our NHS as portrayed by Ross, Sarwar and Baillie, I found a very efficient, well-run service. Appointments seem to start before 9am and people were seen quickly. People were arriving and leaving in a well-organised manner.

It’s obvious the staff are putting in extra hours and are determined to reduce the backlog build up during the pandemic. Well done to every member of staff.

Jean Hendry
via email