Feel no shame

Recent correspondents have declared themselves “ashamed to be Scottish” and rightly deplored antienglish behaviour as expressed by drunken idiots. They then usually go on

to blame the SNP for such unacceptable behaviour (and pretty well everything else).

This is grossly unfair. Many of Scotland’s societal and economic ills are directly attributable to being part of the United Kingdom, and the

governing SNP is doing its best to improve the quality of life of all Scots while having to fend off constant sniping and obstructionism of diehard Unionists. The remarkable electoral success of the SNP over the last 20 years tells

me that the Scottish people understand they are doing their best for the country.

Odd, then, that so few people admit to being “ashamed to be British”, when the evidence – from potholed, littered roads and pitiful train services to the thuggery of England fans trashing an IKEA store and an ambulance, let alone the chaotic efforts of Westminster to take Britain out of the EU – that the UK is a failing state is embarrassingly abundant.

Douglas Cowe (Letters 9 July) is wrong to claim the 2014 referendum was a “once in a lifetime” event. Alex Salmond did provide a hostage to fortune by calling it a “once in a generation opportunity” – a figure of speech – but all bets were off when the con of The Vow and the phony promise that voting No would keep Scotland in the EU were peddled, and clearly swung the result to No. We’ll know better next time.

DAVID ROCHE Conachar Court, Perth