Focus more on home matters

Sir, - I sincerely hope the folks living in other parts of the United Kingdom have not formed the opinion that we Scots are always whinging.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has a constant gripe or two against the rest of the UK.

As everybody knows, in 2014, a majority of Scots rejected the SNP’s case for Scotland becoming independent of the UK. That is emphatically still the position.

The SNP minority administration at Holyrood will use any means to take the question of Scottish independence back to the ballot box, even although the referendum was described as a once-in-ageneration event.

Polls indicate that the situation has not altered; there is still a majority of the electorate for remaining part of the UK.

Ms Sturgeon’s latest ploy of insisting that Scotland should remain in the EU is merely a smokescreen.

It is the UK which is a member of the European Union not the constituent nations of this country.

The SNP should be more worried about the effects of a split with Westminster.

After all, £164 billion (65%) of Scotland’s trade is with the rest of the UK.

Would we really want to see a tariff barrier across the border between Scotland and England?

It is high time that Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that Scotland is not, on its

own account, part of the EU.

Any move by Scotland, post Brexit, to continue a relationship with Europe would be opposed by Spain and other member countries with separatist problems of their own.

The administration at Holyrood urgently needs to place more emphasis on achieving improved management of devolved matters. Robert I G Scott. Northfield, Ceres.