A kingdom more disunited than ever before

Sir, – If the general election in the United Kingdom has highlighted one thing, it is that we are far from being a united kingdom.

Scotland voted overwhelmingly to reject Brexit, to lock Boris Johnson out of Downing Street and for the right to hold a second referendum to decide the nation’s future.

South of the border a totally opposite path has been taken.

In Scotland the Tory appeal to block a referendum, their only campaign message, was roundly defeated by the SNP and seven of their MPS lost.

As nations we are on two very different journeys and yet Mr Johnson is responding to events north of the border with his usual contempt.

Nicola Sturgeon has now won four elections on a manifesto commitment to hold a second independence referendum.

Indeed, in simpler times, that great hero of the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher, famously commented that a majority of SNP MPS would be a mandate for Scottish independence.

The SNP victory across Scotland eclipses that of the Tories across the UK, with the former securing 81% of seats north of the border while the Tories only secured just 56% of seats across the UK.

Despite this, while Unionists bizarrely argue there is still no mandate for the holding of a second independence referendum as the SNP did not secure a majority of the votes, it is somehow okay for Mr Johnson, in very similar circumstances, to pursue a damaging Brexit agenda.

Circumstances have changed since 2014 and it is difficult to see how Mr Johnson, who suffered such a crushing defeat in Scotland, can continue to deny the Scottish people the democratic right to decide on their own future.

Alex Orr.

Flat 3, 2 Marchmont Road, Edinburgh.