Common ground

IN A speech on 16 June on constitutional issues, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “In Scotland, the people are sovereign.” A few days later, the Scottish Parliament, at the behest of the City of Edinburgh City Council, voted to annex common land in the Portobello area of the capital for a new school, despite local opposition. A government spokesman indicated that this did not set any legal precedent.

The history of Scotland is strewn with examples of the powerful taking control of common land. If the people are sovereign, how do our elected representatives in the Scottish Parliament justify this action?

John Black

Woodhollow Bouse

Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute