Where’s Nicola?

Where is Scotland’s First Minister? Nicola Sturgeon is not in Scotland supervising her struggling ministers to deal with the sluggish Scottish economy; the prospect of a teachers’ strike; current crises in the Scottish NHS, and multiple redundancies in Livingston and Dundee.

No, Ms Sturgeon has chosen the sanctuary of Canada and North America to engage in her latest grandstanding, taxpayer-financed trip. Rather than work co-operatively at home to avoid a no- deal Brexit, she is using the opportunity to talk down and voice criticism of the UK government and, of course, advance the case for Scottish independence to anyone who will listen. After all, for her “independence transcends everything”. SALLY GORDON -WALKER

Caiystane Drive, Edinburgh

Less than a year ago the SNP leader at Westminster was calling for Donald Trump’s visit to the UK to be cancelled and Nicola Sturgeon was at a Gay Pride march instead of welcoming the US President to Scotland. Now the First Minister is bigging up the nationalist cause on a tour of the States. What’s changed?

LINDA HOLT (Cllr for East Neuk & Landward)

Pittenweem, Anstruther, Fife

There has always been a perhaps unwritten rule that when

UK politicians are abroad no party politicking was done. By and large this rule was followed.

I read a little of one part of Nicola Sturgeon’s speech in the USA this week and I am afraid it cannot, in my opinion, be interpreted in any other way than as almost a party political broadcast in which she seems to be pushing for the break-up of the UK.

Anyone objecting to this attention-diverting and shameless use of our taxes will, of course, be labelled ‘’anti-scottish’.’ If the SNP picked up the tab I would not bat an eye. Again we are forced to ask: could the FM not find better use of her time and our money?

ALEXANDER MCKAY New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh