SNP are erring far too much on the side of caution in indy fight

The National

05-06-2025

Of course, it is also informative to read the different arguments around independence and to read the views of various columnists on this core topic of the newspaper, especially when columnists such as Tommy Sheppard are prepared to engage with critics.
Most without a personal gripe against the SNP sensibly realise that there are often good reasons why the SNP and the Scottish Government cannot reveal every step that is undertaken to further Scotland's self-determination, but while I personally accept much of Tommy's reasoning, it still appears that overall the SNP are erring on the side of caution rather than seeking to exploit every opportunity, no matter how seemingly tenuous.
Moving ahead on all possible fronts, from progressing the ICCPR petition to advancing a Scottish constitution, the SNP have much to gain in mobilising support for the party and independence while those who do not see that real reform of the UK is necessary to address the many problems of broken Brexit Britain will simply vote in a mistaken attempt to delay the inevitable anyway.
It seems a no-brainer that the Scottish Parliament should have the right to represent the people of Scotland 'on how they should be governed', including on UK constitutional matters, but the question remains that even if the SNP succeed in winning a majority of the seats in the next Holyrood election, or better still a majority of the votes are gained by pro-independence parties, what actions will follow to ensure that this time such a mandate is exercised?
My personal view is that a timescale must be set from day one that makes it clear to the UK Government that refusal to respect the views of the people of Scotland will have significant consequences. If within the set period – perhaps a maximum of one year – the UK Government has not enacted legislation to effectively enable the Scottish Parliament to exercise its mandate, including the legal right to conduct a constitutional referendum, then MPs should be withdrawn from Westminster.
And it should be made crystal clear to all that the next General Election will be a de facto referendum on the basis that the views of the people of Scotland will only be truly respected and represented when Scotland regains its independence.
In the meantime, the common cause of independence would be aided if frustrated individuals could resist falling into the trap of repeating the slanted partial framing of BBC Scotland and the grossly misleading soundbites of scurrilous commentators in newspapers such as the Daily Mail.
Kenny MacAskill's crude attempt to use John Swinney's condemnation of alleged calls to kill MPs in order to justify his criticism of John not doing more to end the slaughter in Gaza reeks of political opportunism that does not reflect well on a politician seeking to replace Scotland's First Minister.
Iain Wilson's misguided attempt (Letters, June 2) to imply that the SNP Scottish Government is more concerned with the parliament's toilet arrangements than with those struggling to obtain NHS appointments is straight out of the Daily Mail and Nigel Farage playbooks.
We can and must do better to achieve our common goal.
Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian