Letters: Simply Yes or No

It would be difficult to devise a more loaded referendum question than the one proposed by Professor Adam Tomkins (your report, 18 May).

His shorter version, “Should Scotland leave the United Kingdom and become an independent state?”, is based on the false premise that the UK will continue in being in the event of Scotland leaving. It won’t.

In his longer version, he states: “At present, Scotland is one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom…” More to the point is that Scotland is one of the two kingdoms that constitute the United Kingdom.

Wales is a principality and Northern Ireland is but two thirds of the ancient province of Ulster in the former Kingdom of Ireland.

Unionists have asked for a simple Yes/No question on independence and that is what the Scottish Government has provided.

What I find intriguing is the lack of confidence in the Unionist camp in their grass root supporters who might apparently be so confused after a two-year campaign that they inadvertently vote Yes when they mean No. How patronising is that?

(REV) ARCHIE BLACK

Elm Park

Inverness

I am profoundly disappointed in your leading article in which you appear to be urging the Scottish Government to rush into a hasty conclusion on the issue of whether or not there should be a “second” referendum question (18 May).

In reaching this view you seem to attach enormous significance to the submission of the Weir Group to the UK government’s referendum consultation.

Back in 1979 I seem to recall that a certain Viscount Weir was a vociferous opponent of even the sadly limited devolutionary package then on offer in the ill-fated referendum of that year.

Accordingly, when the Weir Group now declares that “moves towards greater fiscal powers for Scotland should be determined through debate outside the referendum process…” the only meaningful response from anyone who is genuinely concerned with improving the 21st-century governance of Scotland is the heavily ironic comment, “Aye, right.”

In any event the Scottish Government has not yet had an opportunity to analyse the 20,000 or so responses to its own referendum consultation, and it would surely be more courteous to these respondents to await that analysis before rushing into a premature judgment on the issue.

It is essential, after all, that the referendum question or questions should have the maximum possible confidence of the Scottish electorate who are to vote on the matter, and should not be seen to have been imposed on us either by Westminster or by a tightly knit group of entrepreneurs, ideologically opposed to any further Scottish self-government.

IAN O BAYNE

Clarence Drive

Glasgow

Your editorial in favour of a single referendum question presents a simplistic account of what are complex issues.

“Business warns two questions create uncertainty” is a debatable premise for deciding on only one question, even if there was evidence that such a singular view was widely held.

I have heard many business voices argue the opposite. Additionally, a number of political parties, which don’t favour independence, support further devolution of powers, including potential fiscal powers.

Surely this gives lie to the premise that a straight Yes/No to independence will bring certainty? We need to start from first principles: what kind of Scotland do we want to live in and where are powers best placed to deliver that?

To try and narrow debate before addressing this fundamental question does little justice to the case for a more thorough examination of the many options for the future governance of Scotland.

There is a whole host of issues and questions beyond fiscal powers which matter a great deal to people in Scotland, including welfare, the future of broadcasting, employability and energy generation and regulation.

Recent experience suggests that leaving debate about such matters to politicians in such a febrile and highly charged environment will not lead to the best outcomes.

The future of Scotland deserves a wider perspective, beyond business and politics. We are urging both governments to keep all options open for the referendum in order to facilitate a genuine process that addresses what really matters to the people of Scotland.

Martin Sime

Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations

Mansfield Place

Edinburgh