The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Risk parliaments will be left emaciated
Sir, – No one can be in any doubt now that the Tories intend to use Brexit as an excuse to pull the teeth of the devolved parliaments.
They will attempt to turn them into talking shops able only to carry out the policies agreed by Westminster and in no way able to diverge from the policies handed down to them, even if these policies have a detrimental effect on the people of Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon’s meeting with Theresa May and the Labour delegation from Wales will come soon enough, then all in Scotland will know where we stand.
In case of a no settlement, Ms Sturgeon must ask for the power to be transferred to the Scottish Parliament to hold a second referendum on independence.
If Mrs May says ‘now is not the time’ then we should be prepared to collapse the Holyrood parliament and go to the country on this one.
Ms Sturgeon should make it clear what is at stake for Scotland.
She should point out that this will not be a vote to elect MSPS but a vote on our very existence as a sovereign parliament.
All SNP MPS should be recalled to their constituencies during the run-up to those Holyrood elections – their task would be to whip up the grassroots campaign, hence ensuring a large turnout.
Only such a vote and a large majority one way or the other will put this question to bed.
We are now in a fight for our very existence as a country.
It is time to decide this issue once and for all. Walter Hamilton. Flat 3 City Park, City Road,
St Andrews.