Tories’ ethnic nationalism has no place in Scotland

THE fact that UK Cabinet ministers are looking to move the goalposts and push Boris Johnson to allow Scots living anywhere in the UK to vote in a second independence referendum (“Sturgeon warning over attempt to ‘rig the rules’ for second indy vote”, The Herald, June 22) should come as no surprise.

What this desperate gerrymandering illustrates at least is an acceptability that there will be another vote.

It is of course for those living in Scotland to dictate its direction of travel, not for there to be some form of eligibility test to define how supposedly “Scottish” individuals in the rest of the UK are and if they manage to achieve a list of defined criteria. There is no such thing as a “Scottish national”, which opens up a whole debate as to what defines an individual as “a Scot” – someone born here? Someone born elsewhere but whose parents/grandparents are “Scots”? The ethnic nationalism the Tories are clearly demonstrating here has no place in modern Scotland.

The move to base the franchise on the electoral register is consistent with the internationally accepted principle that constitutional referendums should have a right to vote determined by residency. We also have the precedents set by the 2014 independence referendum, and indeed the 1997 devolution referendum for this.

Those individuals born in Scotland who live elsewhere but want to dictate the nation’s future have the simple solution of returning to Scotland and registering to vote here.

Alex Orr,

Edinburgh.

Rigging the ballot rules

NICOLA Sturgeon accusing unionists of “trying to rig the rules” of any indyref2 is a wonderful example of a pot calling a kettle black. She wishes the question in any Indyref2 to call for, as before, a Yes or No answer despite the Electoral Commission’s view that that carries an inherent apparent bias in favour of Yes. Has she forgotten already (selective amnesia again?) the debacle of her pursuit of Alex Salmond which had to be abandoned at great cost when the court ruled it was unlawful as “tainted with apparent bias”?

Also, apparently she believes that the suggestion that Scots living in the rest of the UK should be allowed to vote in any Indyref2 is simply another attempt at unionists trying to rig the rules.

She wants, as before, to limit the right to vote to only residents in Scotland. I can think of no more compelling argument against her blinkered view than Steven Cantley’s masterful cartoon in The Herald today (June 22).

Alan Fitzpatrick,

Dunlop.

IN response to Steven Camley’s cartoon, referring to Scotland players living outside Scotland and their right to a referendum vote, may I make the following points?

At least three of the likely starting 11 against Croatia (at the time of writing) qualify through a parent or grandparent and were born outside of Scotland: should they really have a vote? On the wider subject of birthright to a referendum vote, should someone who has lived most of his life outside of Scotland qualify for a vote even if they have no intention of ever living here? And we must remember that anyone who lives outside of Scotland can have a vote if they really want it, all they have to do is come and live here.

John Jamieson,

Ayr.