I THINK we should be telling voters everywhere, especially in southern Scotland, that Brexit is bringing unemployment, depopulation and lower house prices; and, consequently, the Unionist parties that support the continuation of Westminster’s economic mismanagement should be called the “No Hopers”.

Only with independence is there a chance of reversing the effects of Brexit. So, the SNP with the Greens and Alba are the “Hopers”.

While some 60% of Scotland’s exports may be taken by the rUK, some 10-15% of that will be going to Northern Ireland and surely a large chunk of the balance will be oil, gas and electricity that will never be paused for customs checks. Also, how much of Scotland’s “exports” to England are actually exported onwards to other countries? All that needs some analysis.

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Anyway, with a Yes vote, there will be an enormous wave of incoming businesses, many from the north of England, and that will be good for employment and property developers. House prices will rise, and Unionist voters should be made aware of that prospect. In other words, be careful what you vote for: depression with the “No Hopers”, or growth.

Independence will drive a boom in financial services, with Edinburgh and Glasgow being attractive alternatives to Dublin for those US and European companies needing an English-speaking base that’s EU-friendly. A new and resurgent manufacturing industry can take advantage of truly renewable electricity.

Instead of depopulation, driven by “No Hoper” policies, we can have repopulation driven by massive inward investment and resulting growth.

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The housebuilding programmes mooted by the SNP and others will probably not be enough to keep the lid on house prices (for the benefit of wavering Unionist voters) over the first five years of independence. However, Scotland’s construction industry can be expected to catch up with demand over 5-10 years perhaps.

There can be no Unionist antidote to Brexit short of a volte-face, and waiting years for recovery from Covid while Westminster’s English-based parties accept the ongoing harms of Brexit – that is unthinkable for Scotland, the most adversely affected part of the UK.

The trigger for major economic growth will be a successful Yes vote; but even setting the date for a referendum should start a mini boom, if polling shows enough support for Yes.

That is why a date should be declared as soon as possible after May 6, Covid permitting, and why the “No Hopers” slogan of “now is not the time” is obscenely anti-Scottish.

Alan Adair
Blairgowrie

AFTER writing to The National last week encouraging people to research their list vote, I was really encouraged to see the challenges in your letters pages on Monday to Mhairi Black’s article over-simplifying the list vote in the D’Hondt system (This is how list system works – and why every vote matters, April 3). Nice work folks, keep it up and keep educating your friends.

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I have some sympathies with Stephen Paton’s article on Monday about list parties undermining our mandate for indyref2 (How ‘tactical’ voting could undermine indyref2 causes, April 5), but quite frankly the UK Government will always be looking for ways to dismiss our democratic election results. It’s why people are utilising list parties in the first place.

If our elected MSPs voting to hold indyref2 (which they have done) was respected, we wouldn’t find ourselves taking about the need for a super-majority. We need out of this Union as soon as possible.

Maggie Rankin
Stirling