Not anti-scottish

On a pretty regular basis, those of us who oppose Scottish independence are accused of belittling Scotland, of somehow suggesting that we are incapable of governing ourselves. Twisting the argument in this way is beginning to wear thin.

Scotland is as capable as any other country of self government. Indeed, in the days of the British Empire we were accused of running it! The question of independence has nothing to do with our competence, or the imaginary lack of it. Independence centres exclusively on whether or not it is in our interests to go it alone.

The fixed attributes of geography and topology make it highly unlikely we could ever be better off as an independent country. Situated on the absolute periphery of Europe, with a highly dispersed population and terrain which makes transport both difficult and expensive, the loss of economic scale will make every public service, from the cost of a stamp upwards, much more expensive. Almost every import travels through the UK; tariffs and custom duties will make everything we buy more expensive, too.

The SNP government has clearly demonstrated its reluctance to make significant changes to taxes or social benefits, and our public services have actually deteriorated under their control. So, apart from being poorer, what will independence do for us?

CAROLE FORD Terregles Avenue, Glasgow