YOU asked in Friday’s paper “If Johnson resigns, what next for the Yes movement?”.

Yes, we need a clear vision of what indy means, the advantages, the kind of Scotland we can create. But this can only ever be relevant in direct comparison with the status quo. Unless and until the waverers become disenchanted with the status quo, nothing will change.

Our problem is that despite the sterling efforts of campaigners on the fringe, our independence party seems to have gone tame on the drive for independence, when it should be their prime focus. Since the 2019 General Election we have had ample opportunities to press home the failings of the UK union, make direct comparisons with how it could be with indy, and engage with the Unionists to ask them to explain why this Union should persist.

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All we’ve had is a Section 30 request we all knew would be rejected, yet no follow-up. No refutation of Johnson’s response that even a primary school child could have made. No plan evident whatsoever. Section 30 or nothing, no effort to have Scotland’s fundamental right of nationhood legally recognised.

Now Sturgeon tells us she’ll do all in her power to get a referendum. One doesn’t have to be an advocate to realise this is a trained lawyer using carefully chosen words to reflect a lessened drive for indy and preparing for failure.

Meanwhile the party whose raison d’etre is supposed to be independence has gone off on a transgender tangent, rewriting the definition of males and females, and indy is now clearly on the back-burner. Money meant for campaigning has “disappeared”, presumably into the mire of general party funding while the cause has stalled.

We’re now no nearer indy than we were five mandates ago.

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The shenanigans of Westminster, a PM who is a practised liar, the abject corruption over contracts, a Met police refusing to investigate a crime committed by rule-making government that thousands of ordinary folk have been prosecuted for, a band of Tory brigands in government who support all this and are all equally culpable, and the disdain shown broadly in Westminster for all things regional and Scottish – if we can’t or won’t take advantage of all of this, then indy truly is dead in the water.

Topping it all we have MI5 choosing this precise time to release the story about alleged Chinese “interference” in British politics. This extraordinary “coincidence” must show how our secret service is interfering in politics and I would like to know what interference they are making and have made in Scottish politics, politicians and campaigners, to influence and retard the drive for indy. Who are they getting at to take the heat out of the clamour for referendum? And why is the media not now asking the serious question?

Jim Taylor
Edinburgh

A LOT has been said about the latest revelations about Johnson and his supporters, but the best comments by far have been from Gus McSkimming in the letters page of Thursday’s National. He is so right ... it isn’t especially Boris, it’s the “system” that is broken, and if we really do want away from such a corrupt and rotten system then the way is obvious!

Wake up Scotland, if you truly care. If you don’t care of course then you can have the current “system” for evermore if you want, but DON’T complain about if you are not prepared to DO something about it.

George Archibald
West Linton

FOR some time there has been no shortage of pundits telling us what many of us already know – why we need independence. What we really wish to know however, and no-one us telling us, is how do we secure our independence.

Peter Swain
Dunbar