Not the answer

Answers are emerging at last (“Europe wants Scotland as a member – but it’ll be tricky, warn experts”, 17 January).

I get fed up with the First Minister and his Deputy’s almost one-line answers to every challenge which are along the lines of, “Trust us. It will be all right on the night.”

Why don’t the Nationalists admit that there could be some real challenges, some real problems, that life in a newly independent Scotland could be difficult for a number years but it will be worth it?

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In other words, why do they not trust us? They accuse the No campaign (which I admit is stunningly awful) of being negative. The Yes campaign is stunningly pollyannish.

John Milne

Ardgowan Drive

Uddingston

It was intriguing to see UK Foreign Secretary William Hague venture north to lecture us Scots on the perils of independence.

I cast my mind back to 1997 when Mr Hague said that devolution would leave Scots “disappointed, disillusioned and depressed, living in a high-tax ghetto”.

He also said he was convinced the Scottish Parliament would be a “flop”, with a future Tory administration seeking to abolish it due to its failures.

This view was echoed by the chairman of the Scottish Tories, Raymond Robertson, who warned that a devolved Scottish Parliament could cost Scots nearly £1,600 in taxes over its first four-year term, impoverishing the nation and turning it, as also stated by Mr Hague, into a high-tax ghetto.

Mr Hague and his fellow ­Tories were clearly wrong then and are using many of these same arguments again in the ­independence referendum, clearly casting more than a little doubt on their credibility.

Alex Orr

Leamington Terrace

Edinburgh