ISN’T it extraordinary for an elected member to call for our movement to “Keep faith in SNP and we can make indyref2 an unstoppable reality” (The National, August 4). To belittle those who have kept the faith, with nothing to show for it, other than blistered feet and sore throats. Richard Thomson MP belittles the movement.

Who have, since September 19, 2014, continued the fight and campaigned selflessly. To ensure the momentum was maintained. We have marched and rallied in every part of the country. We have spoken as one, for the SNP. Does he forget the efforts put into the General Election 2015, not only by SNP activists, but also the whole of the Yes movement, to deliver the greatest result ever obtained by the SNP?

No Mr Thomson, we are not trying to pull down what we have built and maintained. You belittle this movement, that have been the backbone and means to delivering the two best results for the SNP in its history.

There has to be a Plan B for winning independence.

That plan is unity and using the legal tools at our disposal at the Scottish Parliament election 2021 to deliver not only a pro-independence majority government, but also a pro-independence majority opposition in parliament and “follow that legitimate route which makes it impossible” to deny.

We in the Alliance for Independence #MaxTheYes and the Yes Movement have hundreds, if not thousands, of years of campaigning between us and behind us.

We were at the front of the independence movement and have plenty of memories, striving during those decades, when we were described as fringe politician and cranks, because our cause was just. We were the ones who fought and won the battle to make the SNP electable. We were the ones who delivered that success.

You do us a disservice when you belittle our efforts and decry our impatience.

Are those decades not a price paid?

Are the miles and miles we have walked in each of our constituencies on cold dark winters nights not a price paid to hold the party, whose whole reason for existence is to deliver what we demand?

Yes, the Unionist parties are in quite a panic right now. But they have been in disarray since September 19, 2014. Because they have no argument to save this dis-united Union, and never will have.

Yes, the Unionist parties will see the polls and possibly carry out more extensive polling than we in our social media bubble and their results will be devastating to their sense of privilege and entitlement.

We have them on the ropes. Now, is the time for the uppercut, followed by the haymaker and make certain they never come off the canvas. That can only be done with unity. Let us stand together, as one, and use #BothVotesIndy and #MaxTheYes.

Pat Lee

Founder member, Alliance for Independence

JAMES Dippie, in his very informative letter regarding the so-called UK internal market (The National, August 4), quotes Heather Anderson as saying: “At its heart is the key principle of ‘mutual recognition’. This means that anything the UK decides is acceptable must be accepted in Scotland.”

However, as per the Treaty of Union, Scotland is currently part of the UK ie Scotland is not external to the UK.

This sentence should therefore correctly read as: “Anything that England (Westminster) decides is acceptable must be accepted.”

However, there cannot be pan-legislature dictated by London (mutual recognition) throughout the UK without Scottish consideration (input) because the laws of our lands are different.

For instance, any trade deals involving Scottish resources would need to confer with Scots law.

Since Scotland has not given democratic consent to Westminster to negotiate with our resources in any trade deals, then Scotland should simply refuse to accept as legally binding any trade deals which England (Westminster) signs without our permission or consent.

We need to keep our laws and standards aligned with EU law and not English law until independence. Do we really want to see Scotch whisky relabelled as British whisky?

The EU is aware that England is using our resources as a bargaining chip in negotiations without our consent and that any trade deals it signs with England over Scotland’s resources will collapse immediately upon independence.

It was no coincidence that Boris Johnson flew up to Scotland to be pictured holding up Scottish produce with a Union Jack in the background.

The message he was signalling was that “we (England) have control over Scotland’s resources and can trade them away in any way we want”.

Solomon Steinbett

Maryhill, Glasgow

THEY reckon TV viewing figures have gone through the roof since the onset of the pandemic.

If the increase of cases in Scotland has anything to go by, it’s not the news people have been watching – it must have been the Disney Channel.

This so called virus “Disney” affect me.

I think the police need to up their game. I don’t think they should become heavy handed, but an increased pub and shop presence wouldn’t go wrong.

Remember in the old days they would miraculously appear in a pub at 10pm just to check the pub had stopped serving and customers were drinking up?

Well, maybe they should pop in now to check the pub has set up the necessary precautions and the registering of customers.

Just a thought. Every little helps.

Robin MacLean

Fort Augustus