Why stay in GB?

Published on 27/08/2012 00:00

Alan Massie’s article about the “phoney war” between the Yes and No camps in the referendum wanders off into idle speculation (Perspective, 25 August).

The only people campaigning at the moment, even if only in a low-key way, are members of the Yes campaign, and this will continue to referendum day when one would expect the Yes campaigners to get 90 per cent or more of the Yes votes into the polling station.

Meanwhile, the onus is definitely on the No campaigners to explain what the benefits of the Union are. As part of the UK, Scots pay more than £3 billion for our defence yet Britain has no credible defence strategy for Scotland.

Devolved Scotland controls housing, education and health but not pensions and welfare. At the very least, this is illogical. At the worst it is stupid.

Major changes are taking place in Europe, yet Britain fails to represent Scotland’s interests at the top table.

Britain is mired in a quagmire of debt which will take the country a generation to get out of. North Sea revenues are not a panacea but at least they can offer a cushion to an independent Scottish Government to help it climb out of Britain’s recession, which is better than disappearing down a Westminster sinkhole.

The sooner we move from the phoney war to real debate the better, but in the meantime, can someone not explain why being British is so important?

George Leslie

North Glassock

Fenwick