Few surprises

I REFER to Douglas Turner’s ­letter of 20 April. In typical left-wing SNP fashion he accuses another letter-writer, Dr McCormick, of intellectual snobbery for suggesting that the less well educated were more likely to have voted Yes.

The demographics of the vote cannot be ignored, much as Mr Turner might choose so to do.

A report on who voted Yes clearly showed that unemployment and poverty were far above the national average in the only four out of 32 areas to vote Yes in the referendum. These were Dundee City, West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.

Unemployment ranged from 16.4 per cent to 19.1 per cent in these areas, against a national ­average of 12.8 per cent.

Assessing the vote for Yes ­according to poverty levels gave the same picture and showed that the same four areas comprised a higher percentage of Yes voters of between 16.8 per cent and 21.5 per cent against the national average of 13.4 per cent.

Whilst everyone would agree that poverty, unemployment and education standards need to be addressed, it is little wonder that people who see themselves as in need and disenfranchised would attach themselves to the party who cynically targeted their votes with promises of ­increased benefits and unaffordable and fanciful promises of life in an independent Scotland.

Donald Lewis

Gifford

East Lothian