We won’t leap
Kenny Macaskill undoubtedly reflects the frustration of many in the independence movement over delays by the SNP leadership in pursuing a second independence referendum (Perspective, 21 February).
He also reveals an attitude that goes a long way to explaining why the “canny” wing of the SNP is holding off. His basic rationale for pushing ahead now appears to be that in the midst of Brexit confusion the UK is weakened and that should be exploited.
Yet he goes on to recognise that the SNP has failed to answer many of the big questions over currency and other issues including, presumably, the economic consequences of leaving the UK and the potential costs of trying to join the EU, but says that now people “may be prepared to take a potential leap into the unknown” given the scale of the crisis that he perceives resulting from Brexit.
Alternatively, the people of Scotland might have learned from the last two referendums, and know only too well the importance of asking searching questions of those who would have you take the plunge with them. I suspect the majority in the centre ground, whatever their party affiliations, know full well that now would actually be the worst possible time to impose another divisive independence referendum on Scotland.
KEITH HOWELL West Linton, Peeblesshire
Can any parallel be drawn between the setting up of Dail Eireann almost a century ago and the predicament facing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on another Scottish independence referendum?
Kenny Macaskill drew an unfortunate comparison at the end of his article pleading for a more decisive approach. He might have mentioned the sequence of events which followed, including the grim 1919-21 IRA campaign to assert a form of independence, and the even grimmer civil war which followed the 1921 peace treaty. More Irishmen died then than in the guerilla war with British forces.
He could have gone further and looked at how the Irish Republic developed politically throughout the last century. The case for a united Ireland was laundered repeatedly in rhetoric but with little progress on the ultimate dream of those who fought for their version of freedom.
In a way, Nicola Sturgeon faces the same dilemma. She has to balance the competing demands of activists who would jump headlong into any campaign, and a more cautious electorate already peeved with too many referendums.
Too many of those activists take a “we wuz robbed” view of the independence poll of September 2014. The idea of one more heave may be popular among the converted, but it is well divorced from the concerns of the voters. Opinion polls are useful to help guide policy.
There can be no substitute for a new, well-researched programme for independence which will meet the needs of people in the next decade and beyond. Work on that has to start now for presentation at the Holyrood election in 2021. By then the fog of Brexit may well have lifted and all parties will have a clearer view of the way forward.
BOB TAYLOR Shiel Court, Glenrothes