Martin Redfern (Letters, 30 July) tries to put a brave face on the current state of the Union by sneering at the number of marchers supporting independence in Inverness. He draws a veil over the fact that the counter demonstration by Unionists mustered around a dozen people.

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Mr Redfern also makes much of the fact that support for independence remains at around 45 per cent of the electorate, but neglects to remind us that in 2012 support for independence was under 30 per cent .

What will a no-deal after Brexit negotiations mean for Scotland and the rest UK? Picture: TSPL

With support starting at 45 per cent , independence supporters are entitled to feel confident about making further inroads into the 5 per cent of the electorate who would swing the vote for a number of reasons.

For one thing the broad coalition of Yes voters goes way beyond the SNP (although Unionists generally fixated on the SNP are loath to acknowledge it) and has a much better structure, geared to campaigning, and many more committed activists than the Unionist side.

It is hard to imagine the Scottish opposition parties, who are riven by internal divisions and generally detest each other, forming another co-ordinated Better Together campaign and even harder to envisage which individuals of stature will lead it.

There is also strong evidence to indicate that Project Fear in the independence referendum campaign, with its extravagant scare stories, lies and broken promises, will mean that another similar campaign will be treated with scepticism by the electorate, particularly following the debacle of the Brexit referendum and its aftermath, which has seen the people of Scotland and its devolved institutions treated with utter scorn and derision.

Surely there must come a point when even supporters of the Union will say enough is enough and realise we can do much better as an independent country. Looking at the state of the UK government and the incompetence of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, we could hardly do worse.

Gill Turner, Edinburgh

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