Sitting ducks

Alexander McKay (Letters, 17 July) rejects as lunacy the pacifist and Nationalist calls to save the massive expense of Trident on the basis of the protection this “solution” provides.

I have a hunch that Mr McKay would take the view that American and Scottish geopolitical interests will always be broadly aligned – and so I wonder if he might be persuaded to consider the following pragmatic 
solution.

Under an independent Scotland, we would not pay any contribution to Trident, but would afford the Nato submarines controlled access to our base 
at Faslane in exchange for the cherished “protection”.

I recognise this goes against SNP policy but post-independence, everything is up for negotiation – and if you don’t believe that perhaps you will believe that I have a nuclear submarine in my yard that I can sell you.

John Proctor

Falkirk

I have examined the various parties’ defence policies and, in brief, they seem to be as follows.

Tory and Labour: “Attack us and you will fry, very soon and very permanently.”

Liberal Democrats: “If you are going to attack us, be warned that we will defend ourselves to the utmost on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, otherwise, we are closed.”

The SNP is quite unashamedly different from the others: “Walk right in and sit yourself down, we have no defence because we don’t need one.”

I think voters can make their own minds up as to which to vote for.

Andrew HN Gray

Edinburgh