Misrepresented

David Stevenson’s 4 January allegation that my earlier letter suggested Scotland was “too wee, poor and stupid” to be independent was wide of the mark.

My contention was that an independent Scotland would find it very difficult to fund the universal benefits now on offer. Perhaps my claim is borne out by the recent comments of Douglas Hamilton, chairman of the Poverty and Inequality Commission, who was appointed by none other than Nicola Sturgeon.

The adoption of 11 new social security powers is, in his view, a “game-changer”. “No longer,” he tells us, “will we be able to blame poverty in Scotland on Westminster’s benefit policies”. A refreshingly honest assessment from an SNP source. But how will our presumably more generous policies be funded? Mr Hamilton again points to new powers on tax “which will enable us to raise income tax to fund people’s benefit payments”.

The tax rises proposed in the current budget will raise perhaps £180 million. The recent GERS figures indicated that an independent Scotland would have to find an additonal £15 billion simply to keep us treading water, never mind make things better. That would require eye-watering tax rises, drastic reductions in spending – or both. Or maybe salvation is at hand in the form of the report of the Growth Commission due out in March after only ten years of SNP government. I would advise Mr Stevenson not to hold his breath.

COLIN HAMILTON Braid Hills Avenue, Edinburgh

James Duncan (Letters, 8 January) quotes me as writing about wealth and equality in Denmark and Norway. My letter did not address these things at all. It restricted itself to commenting on politics in these countries and the care that has to be taken when comparing ours in Scotland with theirs without taking history and geography into account.

Big examples I had in mind were Norway’s rejection by referendums of joining the EU (it is a reasonable guess that anti-teutonic feelings played a part) but its foundation membership of Nato – and the very opposite and continued feeling in Finland because of a desire not to rock the boat with its nearest neighbour, Russia.

HUGH PENNINGTON Carlton Place, Aberdeen

False logic is a common feature of the Nationalist narrative. If one country is doing well, it means that another country with a similar population must do just as well. Disregard unfortunate differences, as James Duncan does.

Thus, highly taxed nations with one main claim to wealth, like Norway, are pulled like white rabbits from the hat because they have an oil industry. Let’s forget, however, the unfortunate truth that about 75 per cent of Scotland’s oil wealth remains trapped beneaththenorthseabecause we simple don’t have the technology to extract it and, where we do, it is sometimes uneconomic to pump it out.

Ignore the squandering of our existing wealth on Chinese-built wind turbines which disfigure the very landscape that tourists come here to see. No industrial gain there for Scotland in employment or power generation.

When an option exists to tap the wealth offered by fracking, the Green lobby is the tail that wags the SNP administration’s dog. If oil had not already been discovered, the SNP would never allow it to be extracted.

The common theme to all such Nationalist ruminations is that neither Denmark nor Norway would enjoy their wealth without the contribution made by our muchmaligned United Kingdom, which defeated the country which conquered both of them in a few short weeks in 1940. We remained unconquered because we were one, united nation. We still are.

ANDREW HN GRAY Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh

I thank James Duncan [letter, 9 January] for his reply to the response by Hugh Pennington (letter 6 January) to my letter (5 January). Indeed the Northern European countries mentioned have overcome the setbacks of past foreign aggression and built the sort of prosperity which an independent Scotland could reasonably aim for.

One Scottish link with Scandinavia which is not well known is that in 1939 a unit of volunteer Scottish ski troops was being organised to go to help Finland against Soviet attack. The start of World War Two in that year ended that plan as most potential Scottish volunteers joined the UK armed forces. (My late father, a consultant physician in Glasgow, was asked to examine the intended commander of the proposed unit for fitness.)

DAVID STEVENSON Blacket Place, Edinburgh