Consultative indy referendum can be safely ignored

Sir, – Nicola Sturgeon had one outstanding opportunity to make Scotland an independent country, which was the day after the Brexit referendum in 2016. The thing she said would happen did indeed happen. Her party were at their strongest then, the UK Parliament was at its most divided and weakest and, legal or not, a referendum held later that summer would have had momentum and international sympathy behind it. She could have created her own political weather and eventually prevailed. Probably.

She didn’t do it, and the chance was gone. Brexit has opened our eyes to what Scexit would be really like. The courts would go against her and all the businessmen who sat on the fence and didn’t say anything in 2014 because they didn’t think it would happen are much more likely to speak their mind this time around, given the precarious state of the economy at the moment.

We are told any vote now would be “consultative”, perhaps asking permission to negotiate. There might be something in this if all of us who have better things to do with our lives just ignored the vote and got on and did that, but be gracious and agree that if Ms Sturgeon got more than two million votes then her vote is higher than the No mandate in 2014 and she can negotiate.

We then get a second vote on the outcome, as advocated by Ms Sturgeon on Brexit, and to make sure that this is legally binding, it could be organised by the UK Government who can set a timetable to make sure that negotiations and the confirmatory referendum take place within this parliament and that there is no scope for foot-dragging from Holyrood.

They could also take the opportunity to change the Yes/ No answers to Leave/Remain, as advocated by the Electoral Commission in 2016.

That way, those who want an illegal referendum can have one, those who don’t can ignore it, and as long as we have the check and balance of a confirmatory vote, then surely we would all be happy? What could be easier?

Victor Clements. Mamie’s Cottage, Aberfeldy.