Facts or figures?

Sixty-four per cent of Kenny Macaskill’s new constituents who voted last month chose

Unionist parties. Undeterred by this or the fact that they clearly outnumbered separatists in 34 other seats out of 59, the East Lothian MP still preaches at length about the inevitability of Indyref2 and independence (Perspective, 2 January).

Space is devoted to personally abu sing the pm and to sneering

at free market economics in a tirade of name-calling that Bojo himself would be unlikely to stoop to.

Apparently, “polling shows that a small minority now wants a referendum”. Where exactly does this statistic come from? December’s Panelbase

survey showed a small minority against another “once in a generation” vote.

Ireland is (not for the first time) showcased as a model of what the Scottish Republic can aspire to be. No mention, though, of the economic stagnation and mass emigration which blighted the first four decades of the new state’s existence. Nor, of course, any reference to the truly vicious post-partition civil war of 192223.

“It’s the poor who are most desperate for independence,” the columnist thunders, hinting at the kind of enforced wealth redistribution which will surely make Indy Scotland a magnet for business investment.

In conclusion, Mr Macaskill concedes that “the economic case for independence needs making,” but sadly by this stage he has run out of space.

MARTIN O’GORMAN Littlejohn Road, Edinburgh