People power

Nicola Sturgeon says: “As long as we are in charge, there will be no privatisation of the NHS in Scotland” (your report, 12 March). Once again, the assumption seems to be that the SNP will form the first government of an independent Scotland, but what need would an independent sovereign state have for an independence party?

Ms Sturgeon needs to come to terms with a paradox: the SNP wants to bring about a state of affairs in which it will no longer exist. (The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa is a useful parallel.) When that happens, “the population of Scotland will be in charge of Scotland’s future”, to quote the SNP’s argument number one for independence. Thus, it is perfectly possible that in the future a Scottish Parliament will support the privatisation of the NHS.

Andrew Anderson

Granton Road

Edinburgh