However that is where my wife and I now are. We are deeply embarrassed by the state that Scotland is now in after over ten years of divisive “independence at the forefront of every single decision we make” SNP government control.

What a mess they have created by infiltrating every sector of Scottish civil society and putting their acolytes in positions of power.

Scotland used to be regarded as an honest, fair, competent, combative and principled society with sound commercial values. The SNP has turned us into a dictatorial, lying, hypocritical and morally corrupt country run by unqualified career politicians which I am ashamed to be part of.

A reader says he feels embarrassed to be Scottish

We are an international political laughing stock and that is a sad indictment on a country previously held in high regard in most areas of political, economic and commercial competence.

Gordon Presly, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire

Short memories

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s instruction to Embassies and High Commissions to inhibit the activities of Scottish representatives and ministers overseas reveals a failure of the collective memory of Whitehall.

Scotland has been represented overseas, first by the Scottish Development Agency and then by the joint SDA/Scottish Office Locate in Scotland organisation since 1975. The reason for this was simple: the Foreign Office was neither equipped nor inclined to represent Scotland properly.

The only thing that has changed is that, in those days, we had in George Younger a Conservative Secretary of State who was prepared to defend robustly this representation against Whitehall attack. Now we have a Conservative Toom Tabard.

James Scott, Edinburgh

Sexism in rugby

I was dismayed to read the article on sexism within the governance of Scottish Rugby (Scotsman, 8 April).

The content sadly reminds me of an incident around 40 years ago. My then husband and I were enjoying a quiet drink in a Richmond, Surrey hotel on a Saturday evening.

At another table there were three very drunk Scots international rugby players. I did not follow Scottish rugby at that time so I had no idea who they were. However they were all turned out smartly in official blazer etc.

They were openly discussing myself and my husband to the extent that they thought I must be “his bit on the side”.

As a fellow Scot, but living and working in Twickenham, I felt thoroughly ashamed and disgusted at their behaviour. My English husband merely treated them with complete disdain and we quickly left.

It is so disappointing to note that very little appears to have changed for Scots men of a certain vintage.

Joan Reed, Northumberland

Energy secrecy

The article by Michael Sturrock on independence (Scotsman, 17 April) contained not a single reference to the cost of implementing a Just Transition in Scotland by 2045.

The Climate Emergency Review Group paper estimated the cost of a Green Revolution at £150 billion, the price of fitting a heat pump to a flat at £40,000 and to upgrsade rural homes to a Band C rating based on EPC standards at £33,000. All such details were suffering from a lack of transparency in the article.

Again no mention of the cost to energy consumers over repaying the capital debt for the 25GW ScotWind project or installing 20GW of on-shore windmills that will desecrate the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland just to supply him with electricity. Except that it won’t.

There is great secrecy over the plan by the SNP to build 25GW of hydrogen fuelled gas turbines at some unknown location to keep the lights on, especially since windmills are inefficient (output falls with reductions in wind speed), unreliable (no wind means no energy) and unaffordable (capital costs higher than Hinkley Point C for similar annual output). However, the SNP have made no mention of the costs of electrolysers, the number required to meet the annual demand of the gas turbine plant or the debt built up to provide sufficient leak-proof storage vessels to allow gas turbines to keep the lights on.

Mr Sturrock made no mention of the fact that that independence results in a decade of austerity which means that IndyRef2 is surely irrelevant until consumers have repaid the hundreds of billions of pounds of debt required to meet Scottish net zero goals set by COP26. Time for the generation of pupils and students who marched in support of Greta to decide between the austerity of independence or doing our bit to save the planet!

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

National disgrace

While in no way condoning the animal rights protesters who disrupted the Grand National, I do agree that it is an unsafe and cruel course.

On Saturday four horses fell and one, Hill Sixteen, died. The condition of the others is unknown. Unknown too is the welfare of the 11 jockeys who fell. Supporters of this awful steeplechase, where ambulances follow the field, claim that the horses “enjoy” it. I see no evidence for that. On the contrary, seven horses refused to jump. They avoided the fate of the 89 horses who have died at these deadly fences. It's time this cruel event was ended.

William Loneskie, Lauder, Scottish Borders

Flat racing

Yet another Grand National has passed and yet more horses have died in the trainers’ and jockeys’ pursuit of glory.

It’s totally predictable that the same scenario will recur every year with promises made to reduce the height of the fences but the same unnecessary loss of animal life goes on.

I don’t think there's an appetite to ban horse racing completely but surely limiting it to flat racing would give the horses a sporting chance without reducing the spectacle and perhaps it would minimise the untimely deaths.

Bob MacDougall, Kippen, Stirling

L plates

When Nicola Sturgeon takes the theory part of her driving test, will she eventually grasp that “I can’t recall”, “I honestly can’t remember”, and “It's difficult to recollect with certainty” aren’t acceptable answers?

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Scottish Borders

Egalitarian goals

Jill Stephenson (Letters, 17 April) demonstrates quite succinctly why those who fear “nationalism” should be more worried about the “British form” which is driven by an increasingly self-centred right-wing agenda, as evidenced by the recent actions of the UK Tory Government, than by the “Scottish form”, which seeks to progress a fairer and more egalitarian society.

According to Ms Stephenson people in Scotland should be grateful when the UK Government is “willing” to spare a tiny portion of the defence services for an emergency “rescue” in Scotland (alternative ferry), when the people of Scotland are making a considerable financial contribution to those services. The clear inference is that when Scotland becomes an independent country in times of emergency it should not offer help to its neighbours, nor expect help if it is not already funding the service needed. This scenario sadly paints a limited and bleak picture of Ms Stephenson’s ambitions for both Scotland and England, although admittedly it is consistent with the ideological pursuit of a hard Brexit and the UK Government’s increasingly authoritarian approach, both to its own citizens and those seeking refuge from armed hostilities around the world (often as a result of the supply of British-made weapons) as well as from the devastating consequences of catastrophic natural disasters.

The alternative picture painted by those who support independence is a country that is always willing to help its neighbours where feasible and shows compassion for those desperately fleeing political and climactic conditions that often they played little part in creating. As the choice facing the people of Scotland becomes increasingly stark, irrespective of whether blue or red “Tories” are in control at Westminster, support for self-determination will continue to grow and sooner rather than later Scotland will regain its independence.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Financial cushion

Alex Orr (Letters, 17 April) draws attention to the growing Irish economy, the reason for which is the focused economic management of Ireland that has not been distracted by the social engineering and sundry trivia that has afflicted Scotland for some time now. Indeed, the economy of Scotland has been studiously ignored.

It is a blessing that Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, and has the financial cushion of Westminster to fall back on.

Malcolm Parkin, Kinnesswood, Perth & Kinross

Bottling it

As the impending bottle deposit scheme approaches what happens to the current council uplift of these items?

Councils are currently charging us for this service but if we are all now going to be trekking to the shops with a heavy bag of empties surely we must also gain a reduction in council taxes as they withdraw that service?

There is an answer. Abandon the bottle deposit scheme and remove the Greens from government. The councils can still get some money from recycling by continuing the current uplift, Holyrood saves on Green minister salaries and the long-suffering Scottish public will not be faced with huge cost increases.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

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Readers' letters: The SNP have made it embarrassing to be Scottish

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