Scottish senate

It does not surprise me that Andrew HN Gray (Letters, 5 August) disliked my statement (Letters, 4 August) that “we shall probably not want a House of Lords in an independent Scotland”.

He does not comment on my suggestion of a Scottish Senate, with an advisory but not a legislative function, in either an independent or a devolved Scotland.

He quotes statements made by SNP leaders in the run-up to the 2014 referendum but not the promises made by 
unionist politicians in the final days of that referendum campaign.

We have still to see whether and to what extent these promises may be fulfilled. Neither the SNP nor the wider independence movement will stop because of a temporary setback.

Indeed the referendum, while not securing immediate independence, has invigorated public interest and participation in debate about independence, equity, austerity and related topics.

While we have to make the best use we can of the present situation, we can still expect and plan for Scottish independence.

David Stevenson

Edinburgh