If Scots want to quit UK it’s time to let them go
Peter Hitchens is right to say that, as Brexiteers, we cannot adopt a policy of blocking Scottish independence if the people vote to go. But, as he suggests, if the Scots vote Yes we should make the parting amicable and leave the door open for a return in the future. We could then show the EU how to manage such a process with courtesy, dignity, kindness and friendship.
Mick Ferrie, Mawnan Smith, Cornwall
Last week’s piece by Dan Hodges on a Scottish referendum should be compulsory Government reading. Is the Scottish situation so different from Northern Ireland, Gibraltar or the Falklands which remain British because that is what the majority want?
Rob Lewis, Lincoln
Scotland and England have been diverging politically for decades and there have been material changes since the last referendum, such as Brexit, so it is time to put it to the test again.
V. Smith, Edinburgh
May I remind Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford that, according to recent Government figures, £9,604 was the amount of public spending per person in England last year (three per cent below the UK average) and £11,566 was spent per person in Scotland (17 per cent above the UK average). Give us all a vote – Sturgeon and Blackford would get their wish for an independent Scotland and that extra cash could be shared out with the rest of the UK.
G. Evans, Oldbury, West Midlands
Nobody I know wants another referendum. I wouldn’t trust the SNP to run a bath, much less an independent Scotland.
L. Brown, Aberdeen
If Scotland were to have a vote on independence, this could be the start of breaking up the United Kingdom. As I am a citizen of that kingdom, then surely I should be entitled to a vote in this matter, even though I was born and still reside in England. It is not just a matter concerning Scotland.
David Wigzell, Worcester
If the Scottish people voted again to stay in the UK, how long would it be before the SNP started agitating for a third referendum, and then a fourth, and then a fifth? Would they ever accept a No vote?
Brian Ginnity, Colchester
Scotland had a vote in 2014. David Cameron had already made his statement that he would commit to the EU referendum, so a UK exit from the EU was a known possibility. Boris Johnson should stand his ground and maybe compromise with a 2025 vote, so at least ten years would have passed since the first referendum and the Scots would have had four years of the reality of Brexit.
Ross Anderson, Slough