Lose the party politics and give us a government we can all get behind

Sir, – I read with interest the article and comments from Professor Mark Blyth (Courier, March 27) around Scottish independence and, in particular, its impact on the economy of an independent Scotland.

I voted No in the 2014 referendum primarily because of the concerns that Prof Blyth outlined.

Sadly, rather than responding to Prof Blyth’s comments as an opportunity for some constructive dialogue on how we could bring about better government, a couple of opposition MSPs (Liz Smith and Willie Rennie) and other correspondents took them as an opportunity to dish their hobbyhorse – independence and the SNP.

Personally, while I don’t believe the independence as promoted by the SNP is achievable in the short to medium term, neither do I believe the kind of government we get from Westminster – paternalistic, heavily centralised, questionable accountability, (see House of Lords) and far removed from the reality of living outwith London and the south-east – is any longer sustainable without reform.

The UK is one of the world’s most centralised democracies and thus that reform as a first step should entail the decentralisation of it’s key institutions.

This should involve significantly extending the powers, including economic, of the Scottish Parliament alongside a major extension to regionalisation, with powers similar to Scotland in England.

Replace the first past the post voting system for Westminster and replace the House of Lords by a second chamber of the communities.

I’m tired of the interminable and personalised vilification that our politics has arrived at – no party and few politicians can be satisfied of where we are and it’s time for change(s) that would surely be better than what we have. Bryan Poole. Cupar.