Time for a cap on political donations

The eye-watering details ­coming from Yes Scotland, that lottery winners Chris and Colin Weir have bankrolled close to 80 per cent or £2.5 million of the campaign’s budget in a year, are truly shocking.

It is simply not right that one large donor should be ­allowed to finance in such great part a political party, or one side in a referendum. In truth it is an affront to democracy. It most certainly makes claims of cross-party grassroots financial support for the Yes campaign looks rather foolish.

Surely obscene amounts of lottery winners’ money used to flood our letterboxes and billboards in an attempt to sway opinion is in principle wrong and should not be ­allowed to influence such an important decision. There should be a cap enforced by law.

It is now only too apparent why the Yes Scotland campaign decided to keep their donors’ list secret for so long.

Alexander McKay

New Cut Rigg

Edinburgh

You have to hand it to Better Together’s Blair McDougall, for brass neck he takes some beating (your report, 12 May).

He makes much of the fact that 80 per cent of campaign donations to the Yes campaign are from one source, as apparently Chris and Colin Weir are not deemed to be ­individuals in Mr McDougall’s eyes.

However, as he trumpets to the media in his own inimitable style, he chooses to disguise the fact that 80 per cent of donations to Better Together (£891,000 from £1,118,451) came from just ten donors.

There’s an irony there, but not a lot of honesty.

Douglas Turner

Derby Street

Edinburgh