Democracy rules

I AM so glad Douglas Turner (Letters, 16 March) has given the majority in Scotland an opportunity to clarify some of his confused thinking and mistaken assumptions. Perhaps a response to his most recent letter will give him a chance to brush that chip off his shoulder and stand up as a free citizen, instead of a cowering “subservient, subjugated serf”.

First, let me clarify that the only serfs of which I am aware were, indeed, in Scotland. They were miners who were only released towards the end of the 18th century when Great Britain made slavery illegal, though Scotland had been quite happy to keep it going.

However, I am not aware of Scotland being subjected to anything except democratic decisions, like the one that we, the majority, won in the referendum.

Of course, we all want the nation to be more prosperous. I am sure Mr Turner is honest enough to admit the overwhelming bulk of recent additions to the national debt were incurred by two Scottish banks, RBS and HBoS, with Alex Salmond egging on Fred Goodwin to close the deal that caused its meltdown. Credit where credit’s due, eh, Mr Turner? We and all our fellow citizens are paying for that and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Andrew HN Gray

Craiglea Drive

Edinburgh