Big bang theory

How good of South Britain to send up another overlord (Defence Secretary Philip Hammond) to sort out us poor ignorant Scots. Independence would, we are led to believe, cost defence jobs.

No, not really – it might cost attack jobs, but reconfiguring to our Scottish needs will tend to increase defence jobs.

We can well do without some of the spin-off jobs – such as undertaker and plastic surgeon – from failed colonial-style adventurism. Look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya – a waste of lives and resources, nothing gained and a mess left behind.

The spin is that we free these peoples, give them democracy, etc. The truth is we pick and fix (and fail). Note that our high ideals were not applied to countries like Tibet or the Democratic Republic of Congo and our allies can do what they like (Saudi Arabia, Chile, etc).

If West Europe, the UK included, could defend itself, American troops would not have been stationed here. With their reduction hundreds of thousand of jobs went.

The same applies to UK cut-backs. Hammond’s government (and previous ones) have wiped out thousands of jobs related to the military. According to his predecessor, Liam Fox, Scotland took more than her fair share of cuts.

Scottish defence forces will offer (literally in some cases) a bigger bang for our buck.

Why should Tories worry about a future free Scotland when it would strengthen their power in the rUK?

There is the loss of cannon fodder from areas remote from London. Maybe also they don’t want us to discover that we are paying more than our fair share for less defence in the UK. England needs more defending than Scotland, due to size and geophysical features. Thus Scotland subsidises England.

Time for that to end, time to sound the Last Post.

Thomas R Burgess

St Catherine’s Square

Perth

The most unforgiveable aspect of the debate on the future of a separated Scotland’s defence is surely the reckless abandon with which politicians keen on the break-up of the UK are prepared, almost eager, to destroy the livelihoods of many thousands of their fellow Scots.

It is almost a given that those on the pacifist fringes of politics, the ban-the-bomb brigades, would do so. They live in a fantasy world.

I would suspect that, in their hearts, most of them know their wacky ideas will never become reality and feel free to sacrifice many thousands of jobs on the altar of dogma, as if playing a video game.

However, those politicians aware of the deadly seriousness of it all who continue to ply us with imaginary scenarios where a separated Scotland will re-employ all those connected to UK defence who will certainly be made redundant, and dictate policy to the UK, Nato, the US and everyone else, are despicable.

It is not scaremongering to say voting for breaking up the UK will damage the economic health of tens of thousands. It is the plain truth.

Alexander McKay

New Cut Rigg

Edinburgh