AS one who is genuinely seeking to find a way from No to Yes I get no answers from Saltire-waving marchers, no matter their numbers.

Not being a nationalist I do not see independence as being an end in itself. However, I can envisage an independent Scotland as a community which has as its central purpose to be one which cares for all its members in these increasingly globally challenging times. Hence I agree with Michael Davidson (Letters, Freeing Scots from poverty must be our top priority, October 8).

I was also encouraged by your article, “SNP announce line-up for new commission on independence” (October 8) promising to deliver a new report on how independence can “end poverty, tackle inequality and improve the lives of families across Scotland”. I have given up on the UK ever again having at its heart such an objective and my loyalty no longer lies there.

This will be quite a challenge and may well require sacrifices from many of us in the short term, but I do believe we can rise to such recognising and acknowledging it in a mature fashion. Such a courageous acknowledgement will attract many more to the independence cause than will painting our faces blue.

John Milne
Uddingston