Hand overplayed

Ross Mccafferty (“What lessons can Nicola Sturgeon learn from Catalonian Indyref plans?”, The Scotsman, 28 July) advises Ms Sturgeon “not to overplay her hand [regarding Indyref2] before having the public’s backing”. Wise words, but way too late for Ms Sturgeon to heed his advice?

The 2016 and 2017 election results show lessening support for the SNP, culminating in the June general election with the SNP plunging to 36 per cent.

The SNP’S constitution clearly states its raison d’etre is to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK. Despite maintaining that education is her priority, Ms Sturgeon has spent the last year agitating to use Brexit as an Indyref2 trigger.

The declining fortunes of the SNP at the ballot box, combined with a drop in Ms Sturgeon’s personal popularity, demonstrate that the SNP leader has already overplayed her hand. Scottish voters continue to reject her teenage dream of partitioning the UK.

She undoubtedly has her fin- gers crossed for Brexit failure – whatever the outcome, it’s inevitable she will declare it detrimental to Scotland.

But right now, it seems the more ms sturgeon obsessively cranks up her anti-uk grievance machine, the more vulnerable the SNP becomes to both the Scottish Conservatives’ determined anti-independence stance and Jeremy Corbyn’s brand of genuine socialism.

MARTIN REDFERN Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh The SNP’S new leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, says the campaign for independence requires a “reboot”.

The approach in 2014 tried to build an economic case based on a soon-discredited pretence over currency and oil. Following the 2016 EU referendum result, the SNP argument for the last year has been based on a pretence that the benefits of EU membership are more important that being a part of the UK.

Both these misleading and simplistic approaches failed to win people over, so the SNP are going to have another go. This time the plan is to contrast SNP “social justice” with UK and Tory “austerity”.

Yet, setting apart what the SNP are really delivering in Scotland, current Scottish Government spending depends critically on a multibillion pound top-up from the rest of the UK to bridge the gap between scotland’ s public revenue and expenditure.

Meeting EU joining criteria will require an independent Scotland to implement its own austerity plus project, rendering the latest “reboot” as nonsensical as the previous versions.

KEITH HOWELL West Linton, Peeblesshire