Forget independence marches and protest over the real problems facing us all

A few thousand Scottish independence marchers were out in Galashiels at the weekend. The organisers claimed five thousand, so the reality is about half of that. We are all used to Nationalist spin!

However, this weekend also saw a severe breakdown in National Health Service outof-hours GP services in Glasgow.

If the Galashiels marchers actually wanted to achieve something tangible, would they not have been better to march to Holy rood and demand the Snp/green alliance attend to the real problems Scotland is facing rather than creating more?

Those seeking independence always seem to turn a blind eye to any thing unto - ward emanating from Holyrood, prefer ring to attach blame for everything to Westminster, Brexit, the Tories or all three.

It is not independence we require, it is a government capable of sorting out the everyday issues that affect us all. We are still waiting.

(DR) GERALD EDWARDS

Broom Road, Glasgow As First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon seeks permission to have another Scottish in dependence referendum. The wording of the question to be asked has raised its head again, but this should be decided by the Electoral Commission and certainly not the SNP administration.

One question that remains to be answered by Ni cola Sturgeon is :“Why is Holy rood wasting essential parliamentary time on Indy 2 when Scotland has important pressing problems in health and education that the SNP have failed to resolve over the last 11 years?” DENNIS FORBES GRATTAN Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn

Gill Turner (Letters, 31 May) claims that 46 per cent of those voting in the EU elections support in de pen dence,ievot ed SNP or Scottish Green.

That means that 54 per cent do not, which is close enough to the 2014 referendum result to confirm that there has not actually been a significant increase in those supporting separation.

It must also be remembered that the S NP election campaign urged people who wish to remain in the UK to “lend” them their vote to ensure the maximum pro-eu MEPS were elected, so it would be most unwise to count all those voting SNP or Scottish Green as favouring independence.

JANE ANN LISTON Largo Road, St Andrews

A suggestion to the S cottish Government: as a small step to greater transparency and openness, could we have future references to the completion of A 9 carriage way dualling changed from 2025 to 2035 please? Roadworks for dualling now announced on traffic reports be lie the evidence of all our own eyes: not one bulldozer is shifting earth yet and it’ s a massive project.

Changing the date to a more truthful one now would also have the advantage that the Scottish Government would be more trusted and they might then get away with slipping even more face -saving fibs and untruths past us next time they really need to.

R BRODIE Duff Street, Dundee