EU go your way

Are we surprised Ms Sturgeon is frustrated by Brexit negotiations? In common with her preference for having David Cameron in Downing Street after the last election, a Brexit negotiation successfully portrayed as frustrating gives her a better chance of being prime minister of an independent Scotland. As such, it allows her ongoing manipulation of the news to favour her objective.

Like Donald Trump she needs to learn to accept the will of the majority to remain part of the Union and get on with serving Scotland’s best interest ahead of personal and party ambition. WENDY ANDERSON

Bangor, N Ireland

Nicola Sturgeon’s meeting with Theresa May to discuss the crisis prompted by the June referendum vote for the UK to leave the EU had no good outcome.

May acted like a sadistic headmistress of an austere public school, treating the First Minister and the Scottish Government like errant school children who needed to be ‘educated’ about their place.

The prospect of a second independence referendum adds to the crisis of a British and European nation-state system already reeling from the implications of the June 23 vote for Britain to leave the EU.

Westminster will never agree to separate terms of Brexit for Scotland, post-brexit access to the single market for Scottish -based business and the right to maintain a more lenient migration policy will simply not be considered by the arrogant Tories.

The hypocrisy of the Tories on this is plain to see. Billions of pounds will be paid into the EU annually to allow London to maintain its position as a leading European financial centre.

The issues around which the SNP are seeking to pressure London are precisely those on which May and her probrexit cabinet are refusing to offer concessions. Over the last weeks, it has become clear that the Conservatives, despite their deep divisions, are led by elements set upon pursuing a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ in which they are ready to sacrifice access to the single market in order to end free movement of EU labour and preserve the City of London from regulatory interference.

ALAN HINNRICHS Gillespie Terrace, Dundee

As an ex-pat Scot but frequent visitor to Scotland, I am bewildered at Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘frustration’ re the Brexit, and her aspirations of an independent Scotland.

Only work creates wealth, nothing else, and when Team Sturgeon grasps that concept and implements some vision through action and sensible decision making to enable Scotland to stand on its own feet, only then should independence be discussed.

As to my friends here in Scotland looking at bleak prospects for their kids, their level of frustration at the SNP sitting on their hands and failing to deliver the promised land should be addressed first, instead of being distracted by Brexit.

Ms Sturgeon should focus on what we have, not what we don’t have DR STUART BALLANTYNE Southport, Queensland, Australia

Nicola Sturgeon has got some brass neck with her demands for a clearly mapped out programme and a detailed timeline about Brexit negotiations

That’ll be like the clear programme and the detailed timeline towards indy2 then, Nicola?

The Prime Minister is acting in compliance with the wishes of the EU referendum majority. Nicola Sturgeon is acting in defiance of the wishes of the majority in the EU and Scottish independence referendums. No wonder the SNP is so pro-eu. They share the same concept of democracy. If the voters get it wrong, just ignore them. GRAHAM M MCLEOD

Muirs, Kinross

It seems if a ‘hard Brexit’ becomes reality then ‘Chocolate, cheese and wine prices will soar’, (Scotsman, 17 October).

Unbelievably, because of the imposition of ‘punishing tariffs’ on a wide range of food and drink.

No doubt Adam Smith was right in his scepticism about the possibility of achieving free trade.

As he pointedly says: “To expect freedom of trade is as absurd as to expect Utopia.”

Why, when the economic and cultural benefits of free trade are known, do governments impose tariffs?

Perhaps on the whole it’s the influence that lobbying interest groups have on politicians to provide ‘protection’.

No doubt there are more benefits than losses from an economic policy of global free trade.

Obviously there are goods that are produced abroad much cheaper and of course vice-versa.

Arguably ‘freedom of trade’ and ‘comparative advantage’ should be preached and practised as far as possible

ELLIS THORPE Old Chapel Walk, Inverurie

The SNP claim to have the interests of Scotland at heart as they continue to campaign against leaving the EU and threaten to call a second independence referendum as a consequence of the EU vote.

SNP ministers have felt justified spending tax-payers’ money on a series of trips around Europe to talk to various minor officials about the possibility of Scotland becoming a new member state of the EU without having to meet the normal entry requirements.

They have berated Theresa May for her public announcements that the result of the EU vote means that the UK will indeed leave the EU.

These activities are not in the interests of Scotland. On the contrary, they are very damaging. In the months ahead the UK will be negotiating its new relationship with the EU. EU politicians have already made it clear that they intend to punish the UK for leaving.

President of the European Commission, Jean-claude Juncker, is no friend of the UK. As Finance Minister and then Prime Minister of Luxembourg Juncker was responsible for the secret tax deals with UK and US companies which deprived the UK Treasury of many billions of pounds of lost income. The deals were revealed in the Luxleaks. UK public services including the NHS have suffered massive loss of funding due to Juncker’s secret deals. In the light of that, David Cameron tried to prevent Juncker becoming President of the Commission, but he failed because Juncker had more allies in the EU than he had. That failure was an ominous sign foretelling what we are up against now.

Clearly the UK must go into the negotiations presenting a united and strong front. A divided UK will be at the mercy of a vindictive EU. That is why the words and actions of the SNP which cause disunity and division will have terrible consequences for us all.

The SNP see the current situation as merely an opportunity to promote their project of Scottish independence so they are being difficult and obstructive at every turn. That is a short-sighted, narrow-minded attitude to adopt. It does not take much statesmanship to see that the long-term interests of Scotland would be better served by being a constructive, supportive part of the UK in order to get the best deal for all of us out of the negotiations.

Getting the best deal should be the primary objective of every politician

LES REID Morton Street, Edinburgh