Yes, but...

If someone stopped me in the street and asked if I would like to be able to pilot a small aircraft, I would unhesitatingly say “Yes”. However, it is not an ambition which is high on my list of priorities and I know that to achieve it would take significant personal and financial commitment. Much as I like the idea, it is not something I am going to do.

Robert Farquharson (Letters, 2 March) makes the common mistake of assuming that, because the number of people who answer “Yes” to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” holds steady at around 50 per cent, there is an underlying strength of opinion towards seceding from the United Kingdom. I am confident this is not the case for the following reasons.

A recent survey ranked issues individual voters selected which would determine how they vote. Each participant was able to list up to three issues. Independence was ranked seventh with only 16 per cent of voters selecting it; not surprisingly, the economy and healthcare topped the list. Even among SNP voters independence came third, with fewer than 30 per cent selecting it; in contrast, 67 per cent selected the economy and 66 per cent the NHS.

Research has also demonstrated that, while people are frequently positive about independence as a concept, when asked if they would still be in favour if it resulted in an adverse economic impact, support drops very significantly. Voters are aware that, with no substantial economic case having been made to support secession, the level of risk associated with it is high.

Given the many important issues that we all currently face, it is clear that those who say “now is not the time” for another constitutional debate and referendum reflect the reality of public opinion. George Rennie

Inverness