Slanging match

Published on 29/09/2012 00:00

ALISTAIR Darling’s personal
attack on Blair Jenkins, the chief executive of the Yes Scotland campaign, suggests that the former Chancellor has no intention of raising the referendum debate above the level of party political mud-slinging and tribal warfare (Letters, 28 September).
I find this rather depressing.

Mr Jenkins has made it clear on several occasions that the people of Scotland deserve better than this as they prepare to make the biggest decision about their future in more than 300 years. What we need is a well informed, mature debate outlining the cases for and against an independent Scotland. Not
personal attacks.

Furthermore, anyone who has been observing the emergence of grassroots groups like Scottish Labour for Independence knows the charge that the Yes Scotland campaign is being controlled by and dictated to by Alex Salmond and the SNP is utter nonsense.

Does anyone seriously think for a moment that former Labour MP and Independent MSP, Dennis Canavan, for one, would agree to chair an organisation that wasn’t truly a broad church?

I suggest Mr Darling and his campaign follow the example of Yes Scotland, which has steadfastly refused to get dragged into the kind of petty, point-scoring squabbling that will only serve to disenchant the Scottish
voting public.

(Dr) Iain Black

Trinity Road

Edinburgh