Shooting fish

I see my old sparring partner and colleague Kenny Macaskill using his column to set loose a shoal of red herrings about my call for a devo max option to be on the ballot paper in any future constitutional referendum( Perspective, November 19). Let me address these one by one.

First, Devomaxwa snot on the ballot pap er in 2014, I argued that it should have been, but senior people in my party rejected that option. What we do know is that the option that was most definitely on the ballot paper was independence and that was rejected by the voters.

Second, The V ow, which was in part drafted by Nicola Sturgeon’ s spin doctor Murray Foote when he was editor of the Daily Record, was –according to Mr Foote– delivered in full. Maybe Mr Macaskill can identify for Mr Foote’s benefit which elements of it were not delivered?

Third, I agree that for a fully federal system to be an option we need to see demand for this in England. That demand is now growing, as we can see from the calls from Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Ste - ve Rotherham, other Metro mayors, council leaders and influential regional players for powers to deal with all elements of the Covid crisis.

But we cannotwa it on England–Scotland can forge ahead and develop a political set-up that meets our needs; if that is in an asymmetrical way, so be it.

Furthermore, in what was a cheap shot in anotherwise reasonable article, Mr Mac Ask ill says thatKeir Starmer doesn’t seem to want to visit Scotland – there’s been a Covid pandemic on every day since he was elected, Kenny, have you not noticed?

And finally, I would say to Kenny and his chums: you speak regularly of democracy, so why would you want to deny the widening of choice to the Scottish people by including a third option, as called for this week by STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer?

Denying more democratic choice strikes me as coming from people who are losing confidence in their case – and

with that case based on the SNP’S dreadful Growth Commission prop osal, I can see why.

NEIL FINDLAY Labour MSP for Lothian region

Holyrood, Edinburgh