Paying the price

John Addison (Letters, 22 July) and others talk about the “cost” of independence as though this is a bad thing.

I would make two comments. First, most of the “costs” will be spent creating jobs in Scotland and, therefore, are not “costs” at all. For example, the UK government recently published a long list of quangos that we currently pay for that would be replicated in an independent Scotland.

This will create a lot of jobs in Scotland, which must be better than paying for these jobs to be done in London and elsewhere. Second, the independence vote next year is about who will best govern Scotland for the next century and beyond; it is a decision about the future for our children and grandchildren. To allow a small cost or inconvenience in the next year or two to influence that decision is the sort of short-term thinking we expect from politicians (who rarely look beyond the next election).

I am confident that most of my fellow Scots will be thinking about the long-term future when deciding whether we should be governed from London or Edinburgh.

ANDREW COLLINS

Skinners Steps

Cupar, Fife