QUITE a lot has appeared in your pages over recent days regarding the lack of progress of the current Scottish Government towards independence and contrasting this with the continued progress of the London-based pro-Union activities.

Apart from the Internal Market Act – which is quite blatantly a direct attempt to reduce the powers of the devolved administrations – other potential or actual threats to Scotland’s successful transition to an independent country and its sustainability thereafter seem to be getting looked at as though they are unfortunate side-effects of larger legislative activity.

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Take for example the plight of the Scottish fishing industry, particularly the inshore businesses and the huge drop in revenue which they have suffered by the fall in exports to Europe since Brexit. Is this really just an unfortunate happening? How about if we think of it as a pre-planned situation allowed to stand without too much fuss by the Westminster government during the Brexit negotiations, as it would ultimately lead to a sizeable fall in Scotland’s viability in the future?

Then we come to the still largely secret Australian deal. If allowed to continue, this source of cheap meat supplies has the potential to wipe out huge swathes of Scottish agriculture and crofting life, with the consequential depopulation of vast areas of the country as we know it. Again I would suggest this was well factored in to the negotiations to ensure that we were carefully Trussed-up to assist in the failure of Scotland’s economy in the future.

This would then help secure our wonderful country as a playground for the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ brigade from the south, and of course a suitable locus for anything nuclear if it were all to go horribly wrong.

Some will say that this is just a conspiracy theory and dismiss it out of hand. Just think about it though; the Westminster government will stoop to any level to stop our country achieving independence.

No trick will be too dirty.

George M Mitchell
Dunblane

IT is reassuring to read that SNP members are starting to waken up and question the lack of progress as the leaders of the SNP are not preparing us for self-determination. These well-paid, underachieving leaders have failed to move the Yes vote onwards in the past seven years. Movement was being achieved by Theresa May, Brexit, and Boris Johnson but that progress has now been lost by the inaction of those in charge of the SNP, providing zero guidance to the membership.

The two primary issues that lost the 2014 referendum were: (a) what currency? and (b) what could a self-governing Scotland be like? Common Weal, Business for Scotland, the Scottish Currency Group, Constitution for Scotland, the Land Review Reform Group and others all have well researched and achievable proposals ready to go, but from the SNP, nothing but talk.

READ MORE: Don’t talk about SNP wake-up calls if you aren’t doing your bit personally

Going by their record, the current SNP leadership will not provide us with independence or initiate the preparations which should have been in place by now. They march us up then down more hills – plenty talk but no decisions. Decisions that would have upped the Yes vote to at least 60 -70 % instead of sliding back to 2014 levels.

If you or I had failed to achieve the objectives of the company that employed us then we would be removed. The members need to take back control of their own party and elect proactive leaders NOW. Leaders who will act, initiate preparations now, set the date for the referendum, respect the sovereign authority of the Scottish people, and stop tugging the forelock to a foreign nation, a nation which has frequently violated the Treaty binding our two nations.

Politicians failed the people in 1707 and in 2014, and the current bunch are failing us now.

Bob Ingram
Aberdeenshire

I AM in total agreement with Shona Craven in Thursday’s National – PMQs is nothing short of a disgrace (Johnson shamelessly rewrites history on Hancock, June 30). How is it allowed to continue by the Speaker when Boris Johnston flatly refuses to answer a single question? You get ten words if lucky and then the usual “how wonderful the vaccine is” and platitudes from scripted one-liners.

We may not like the answers given but they should contain explanations and details in response to the question. The answers are now so obvious you could put a robot in Johnson’s place and I doubt many would notice the difference. You cannot even embarrass this PM since there is nothing anyone else does that he has not done before them.

READ MORE: PMQs: Johnson shamelessly rewrites history about Matt Hancock’s departure

When Blackford said Johnson had been sacked for lying that was factual, and yet he was admonished by the Speaker. It seems that this UK Government is not going to be held to account by anyone and can do as it likes.

Meanwhile the Scottish Tories are struck dumb, while sitting on their hands and leaving their councillors to troll the SNP with impunity.

Winifred McCartney
Paisley

SO the latest marketing wheeze by the Tories to promote the failing UK is “Royal Week”, as if reminding us of the greed of the royal family will have us all clinging to the shipwreck that is the UK. Maybe they should launch a series of special weeks to remind us of what we get as being part of the UK? We could start with “Bedroom Tax Week”, followed by “Benefit Cut Week”, then of course “Brexit Week”. However, the one which most people will remember this corrupt Tory government by would be “Hundreds of deaths from a pandemic that the Tories ignored so that their pals and funders could get dodgy deals to make themselves richer” Week! Not the most catchy of terms, so maybe just shorten it to “Corrupt UK Government Week” – except it doesn’t last just a week!

Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley