UK stronger together in national crisis – even with differences in dealing with it

If there were any further indications required that Nicola Sturgeon was losing her iron grip on her colleagues within the SNP, it was provided by Kenny Macaskill’s article in The Scotsman’s Perspective section yesterday.

Ms Sturgeon has continually asked the Scottish people to believe that her actions at this very difficult time are not borne out of her ideology for Scottish independence but only to do the best and right things for the Scottish people to get through this crisis.

Mr Macaskill’s article blows a huge hole in her pleas declaring: “The road to independence is open.” The saving grace for Ms Sturgeon is that his arguments within the article are at best weak and at worst ridiculous. While she has advised that the time for independence arguments are not now (ignored by one of her most senior MPS and indeed others), his article cannot be ignored. The simple fact is that the economic argument for independence is over.

How ironic that should the desire for independence have been successful in 2014, the financial support for Scotland required and provided at this time would still have come from the Exchequer and the Bank of England and which the nationalists wanted to retain as “lender of last resort”.

Therefore this financial support for Scotland, supposedly as an ‘independent’ country, would have come from a foreign country. I will not even ‘enter’ the oil price and loss of revenues since 2014 into the argument but will say that the proportion of the enormous deficit (currently estimated to be over £400 billion) that will be attributed to Scotland as the ‘share’ of the deficit after this crisis will be eye-watering.

Positives can always be drawn even after the darkest of times, and it is now clear to most sensible people that the UK is immensely stronger together in a national crisis whether there are some minimal differences in dealing with it or not.

RICHARD ALLISON

Braehead Loan, Edinburgh

In his Perspective column Kenny Mcaskill claimed: “Scotland and England are clearly diverging and the coronavirus crisis has highlighted that.”

His words were published on the day that we learned of Scottish golfers driving south to play on courses from Berwick upon Tweed to Carlisle and that Scottish anglers were eager to cross the River Tweed to cast rods from its English banks.

Thank goodness sportsmen and women see the benefits of our continuing union and open border; may their message spread.

As the great Quaker Rufus Jones said: “I believe in small circles gradually transforming the whole.”

May we continue to be peoples of two nations living in harmony and unity along a common open border, also enjoyed by Scots who cross daily to buy cheaper alcohol and much more.

(CANON) ALAN HUGHES

Governors Gardens Berwick upon Tweed