Letters to the editor

Whisky exports could power economy

Sir, - I read with interest the portents of doom listed by your correspondent AG Walker (May 13) regarding the dangers of Scottish independence.

His depiction of a family war with brother against brother and father against son is fanciful in the extreme.

Difference of opinions yes, but one doubts whether healthy debate would ever get beyond this stage. The union was born of political pressure on the Scottish Parliament and was not the most popular of decisions at the time among the population

It certainly has been no bed of roses with a political imbalance in parliamentary representation being arguably the root cause. We know from the McCrone Report that the UK Government used Scottish oil revenues to bail out a faltering UK economy but placed on it top secret status at the time to avoid political embarrassment .

The cry that Scotland is too wee and too poor to be independent won’t wash. The GERS statistics oft quoted by those opposing independence are made up of estimated figures and not audited accounts. It is clear Scotland is capable of standing on its own two feet. A figure of £100 billion of exports are a sound foundation.

Between 2002 and 2015 the food and drink sector increased by 73%. Nine new distilleries were built between 2014 and 2016 with a further 40 planned. Without whisky exports, the UK’s trade deficit would have been 12% higher.

Picture: Getty. A whisky sample is taken from a cask at Bruichladdich in Islay.