Don’t let Queen rule independence debate

Published on 10/06/2012 00:00

I WAS pleased to see that in your editorial congratulating the Queen on the “remarkable milestone” of reaching her Diamond Jubilee you nevertheless insisted – correctly in my view – that “most Scots... like this newspaper ...would rather act like citizens than subjects, thank you very much” (“Long to reign over us?”, 3 June).

Much to my confusion you then went on to argue that in the coming independence referendum debate “the issue about whether the Queen would remain head of state if Scotland secedes is likely to be a key issue”.

I should have thought that the First Minister has done everything he could to neutralise this issue – by indicating that as far as he and the majority of his fellow SNP MSPs are concerned, the Queen will continue to reign over an independent Scotland. Only last week, the Holyrood parliament – with its SNP majority – passed a motion congratulating the Queen on reaching her Diamond Jubilee.

Moreover, as Jeane Freeman, a former special adviser to former first minister, Jack McConnell, sagely points out in her thoughtful contribution to the debate: “Whether or not we keep the Queen… is important, but it’s not actually what our decision is going to be about” (Insight, 3 June).

Wearing my Scottish citizen’s hat, I am nevertheless bound to add that it’s just a pity about that historically inaccurate – and constitutionally unsound – royal numeral.

Ian O Bayne, Glasgow