Readers' Letters: Will Nicola ever let us escape?

So Nicola Sturgeon tells Sky’s Sophy Ridge that she wants to keep the people of Scotland from enjoying foreign holidays until… well, God knows. The traffic light system employed by the rest of the UK won’t do because she wants to eliminate the virus.

Greece is desperate for tourists, but First Minister doesn't want them to come from Scotland (Picture: Getty)

It’s not going to happen. The experts says the pandemic will end, and then “endemic” is the watchword. New variants will occur, but as with flu, annual boosters will deal with them so far as possible.

I could understand the First Minister’s caution were she speaking last autumn, but we now have a collection of vaccines that ensure that if we do catch Covid, we almost certainly won’t get seriously ill. That’s an amazing win for the UK.

But no, Scotland has to be different. Vote SNP in May and stay in Nicola’s playpen... forever?

William Robertson, Musselburgh

Begone, old timers!

Life moves on! It appears a number of writers to this newspaper are not only living in the past, but wish to condemn future generations to the same fate.

There was a time when it was entirely logical to encourage our youth to follow the well-trodden path, for our most academically gifted, to Oxford and Cambridge and on to rewarding posts within the British Establishment, whether within the UK or countries scattered around the globe within “The Empire”. Certainly we have all recently witnessed evidence of the huge financial advantages of being close to those currently enjoying power and influence at Westminster, but as the UK’s influence in the world diminishes, so do opportunities for our youth to build their careers within the framework of the Establishment, even those hoping to find short-cuts to riches through influence rather than merit.

Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters should have the democratic confidence to vote for the SNP, or the Greens, at the next Holyrood Election, at least on the list, or have the moral integrity to abstain. Assuming most wish to have a closer relationship with Europe than we are currently compelled to endure within the Union and also wish to remain true to the principles of the party whose political objectives they endorse, then the only sincere way they can achieve the outcomes determined by those principles is to support self-determination so that the people of Scotland can have the opportunity to be persuaded by arguments around those principles. Those lacking the confidence to win those arguments in a referendum, overwhelmingly desired by Scotland’s youth, or in a subsequent election for an independent Scottish Parliament, should recognise it is time to move on and let others who do have belief and genuine ambition determine the future of our country.

The world is changing fast and seeking a long-term career in a contracting oil and gas industry or the UK’s shrinking military is likely to be increasingly frustrating for many with ambitious goals. Of course not everyone can step outside of their own personal preferences and experiences, especially in advanced age, and take an objective look at the emerging world facing the youth of today, but perhaps if it can at least be accepted that it is time to trust younger generations to take more control of their own destinies we will not stand accused of blocking their path (even with good intentions).

Stan Grodynski, Cairnsmore, Longniddry

Find own path

John Scarlett (Letters, 14 April) asks why an Independent Scotland could not be like Ireland, and earlier this week another correspondent suggested Scotland could be like Norway. This is just fanciful. Scotland has its own assets and liabilities, and hence its own way forward. A more constructive approach would be to have an answer to the financial problems that could face Scotland in independence, such as the £15 billion deficit, businesses leaving or failing to come, possible capital flight, a halt to inward investment, the choice of currency, and could Scotland be truly independent when governed from Brussels. These answers would serve us better than wishful thinking based on our similarity of size and population with other countries.

Malcolm Parkin, Gamekeepers Road, Kinnesswood, Kinross

Do the maths

Not for the first time Nicola Sturgeon looked out of her depth when she faced predictable questions on the economic costs of Scottish “independence” by a member of the press, on this occasion Ciaran Jenkins of Channel 4 News. In what had been a low key interview, Sturgeon became flustered and claimed all the forecasts were "completely out of date".

Jenkins replied that economic experts at the LSE estimated trade costs between Scotland and the rest of the UK would rise by between 20 and 30 per cent after independence. Sturgeon claimed this analysis was a “very, very narrowly-based assessment and it didn't take into account the wider benefits of independence to Scotland's economy”.

But as she claimed not to have estimated the costs, Jenkins retorted that if she was going to rubbish the LSE she should at least have done some of the maths. Having promised a spending spree of billions with no rise in income tax – presumably everything would be funded by England – her independence bid made no sense because it would cut Scotland off from this largess.

(Dr) John Cameron, Howard Place, St Andrews

Shameful ploy

It is all too apparent that the SNP plans to use Covid relief money supplied by the Treasury via Barnett to fund their ever-growing list of election handouts and goodies; that is, if any of the fantasy list is tackled at all after the election. It is certain these giveaways could not be financed in any other feasible way.

That this cash, earmarked to assist in recovery from a pandemic that has cost millions of lives across the globe, could be used in this beneath cynical way by the SNP brings a new meaning to “shameful”.

Literally with the SNP, anything goes, in pursuit of their Holy Grail, which like the carrot and the donkey will never be attained.

Alexander McKay, New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh

Time for refund

How ironic to read the Scotsman Leader declare “It’s zero hour for renewables”

(17 April). As the entire wind industry, carpeting our finest landscapes and now seascapes, has been flat-lining virtually all week, should it not be called Zero week for renewables?

On a single day in April last year, Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm received a subsidy payment of nearly £1.5 million pounds.

When can we have our money back for poor or non-existent service?

George Herraghty, Lhanbryde, Elgin

Autism tokenism

As an autistic man with an autistic son I have been dismayed by the lack of autism support services in Scotland. The current Scottish Government has over the last decade followed a disingenuous approach to the worsening crisis facing the autism community in Scotland. Rather than address specific areas of deficit in service – diagnostic waiting times, support in schools, autism-friendly respite, proper assessment by specialist social workers – they have opted for “groundbreaking” gimmicks like their failed ten-year Autism Strategy.

This approach is more akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and involves conference type events providing unfocused wish lists, guides and production of documents without ever getting to the real problem – there are no support services. After the letdown of their Scottish Autism Strategy, the SNP’s manifesto for the forthcoming election, an almost-80 page document, ascribes barely half a dozen lines to the issue. This election’s offering consists of installing an Autism Commissioner (timescale unspecified) to ensure those living with autism will finally get the support they legally merit. That is, a process will begin that will eventually install a well-paid person who will insist that autistic people receive services that are not actually there!

This offering is being promoted by large charities that receive substantial funding from the Scottish Government and is being presented as a grassroots “campaign” that by good fortune matches exactly the proposal in the SNP manifesto. This tokenism is simply an insult to an already marginalised group who have already endured over a decade of hardship.

Duncan F MacGillivray, Victoria Road, Dunoon

Twilight of the goals

The 12 teams creating their own “European Super League”, football's Voltairian take on the Holy Roman Empire, have forgotten, in their greed, the vital element making for successful sporting competition – tradition.The European Cup and Fairs/Uefa Cup have thrived since the 1950s, outlasting every other European trans-national competition, including the Cup Of The Alps and our own five-nation Texaco Cup. In continuity they encapsulate the blue riband of club footballing achievement.All the money in the world cannot buy history. Winning a corporate brand closed shop whilst the Champions and Europa Leagues continue will swiftly illustrate the folly of their vanity project, no matter the initial respective prize pots.The 12 may be missed, but they will also be easily replaced – history shows many gods of club football have met their twilight. Just ask Nottingham Forest.Mark Boyle, Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Face facts

I note with dismay three pictures of Nicola Sturgeon in yesterday’s Scotsman. Leaving aside questions of balance, is this really necessary? Is there anyone in Scotland who doesn’t know who she is, she’s on the TV every day?

David Edgar, Main Street, Symington, Biggar

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