Letter: Better to aim for the top of the hill
But his Grand Old Duke of York analogy (devo-max and independence – with shared competencies – marching to the same final position on the hill, devo-max marching up from the bottom, and independence marching down from the top) inadvertently highlights the essential difference between the two, ie, that it is infinitely better for Holyrood to go into post-referendum negotiations from the top of the hill than from near the bottom. That is, unless he really believes that – based on past practice – Westminster would really wish to diminish its powers and status by readily granting devo-max powers to Holyrood. The Scottish Unionist MPs and MSPs, including (sadly) the Secretary of State for Scotland, are understandably not enthusiastic.
Donald Waters, Inverness