Call to arms

John Mayer's likening of the SNP government to a "toon cooncil" (Letters, 25 January) is ill-informed.

He accuses the Scottish Government of lacking intellectual rigour, vision and leadership because of its inability to remove nuclear weapons from Scottish soil, and suggests the SNP would not be fit to lead an independent nation. For one who claims an understanding of history, politics and international law, he appears unaware that defence is not a devolved matter. The SNP government, and for that matter, the Scottish Parliament – to which his "toon cooncil" jibe would be more accurately targeted – could well call for the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil, but they cannot legislate for it. As things stand, only as an independent nation would this be achieved, and there's only one party that wishes to take Scotland there.

GRAEME FORBES

Longformacus Road

Edinburgh

If Labour's claims that Scotland has been paid a 76 billion devolution dividend (your report, 25 January) are to be believed, it means the rest of the UK has been short-changed. This is unlikely to be popular with voters south of the Border and I would expect Labour's claims to feature widely in the forthcoming Westminster election.

When MPs representing English constituencies start demanding independence for England, then Labour's claims will have brought down the present UK government and furthered the cause of Scottish independence.

THOMAS L INGLIS

Menzies Avenue

Glasgow