GERS is a set of figures based on guesswork

Sir, The publication of the latest GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue for Scotland) figures triggers a now traditional feeding frenzy, with a black hole in Scotland’s finances heralded by Unionists as supporting the continuation of their beloved Union.

This financial situation is under the Union and is hardly the greatest advertisement for how the economy has been managed on the UK’s watch.

Most of the key economic levers required to stimulate economic growth are currently reserved to Westminster.

It is a bizarre scenario when Unionists, who should be ashamed at the situation, actively gloat and support a Union that has mismanaged the economy so appallingly.

Under normal circumstances, nearly all governments run a deficit.

The UK’s is approaching £100 billion, which, with Brexit, will inevitably rise.

GERS is a set of figures, based on a measure of guesswork, that indicate very little, except highlighting the negatives of Union. It has little bearing at all on the finances of an independent Scotland.

The point of independence is not to do everything in the same way as it has been done under the Union but to move away from a one-size-fits-all economic strategy to one that addresses our strengths and priorities, stimulating economic growth. Alex Orr, Edinburgh.