Scottish nationalism

SIR – Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, talks about a second independence referendum in the event of Brexit as though some force of nature would bring it about (report, telegraph.co.uk, April 24).

What she really means is that she will campaign for a second referendum in that case. The SNP is not being swept along on a tidal wave of nationalism, but is desperately trying to create such a surge.

This distinction is important. Nationalism can be a solution to a problem where there is dissatisfaction, because national sentiment does not align with statehood. However, in Scotland, nationalists strive to create the problem in order to offer themselves as the solution to it. Richard Lucas Edinburgh