Readers' letters: SNP will be hoping Boris can hold on

Losing two by elections in one day will have come as a bitter. if hardly unexpected blow to the Tory party.

The wailing and gnashing of teeth will, however, be even greater among the ranks of the SNP.

Another chime in the death knell of Boris Johnson is good for the country, but not for the SNP.

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As their campaign in the recent local elections showed, he is certainly their best if not their only weapon in their separation crusade.

Whoever succeeds him will, of course, become the new bête noire, but none of the likely candidates will create anything like as much stigma as Boris Johnson.

Nor will the SNP be relishing the resurgence of the Labour and Liberal parties. Indeed the return of a Labour government at the next UK election - or even a Labour/Liberal coalition - would make the SNP very wary of demanding a referendum and would put paid to any hopes of independence for, well, maybe a generation.

Colin Hamilton, Edinburgh.

The uninformed versus the delusional

Anti-independence voices are growing increasingly shrill each day and appear to fall mainly into two camps, (a) the poorly informed and (b) the plain delusional.

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They include the usual North Briton politicians like Ian Murray (Labour) and the Murdo Fraser (Tory), who largely ignore Scotland in favour of ‘Britain’, although in fact no such country exists.

To be fair to the former group, it is difficult not to be poorly informed, given that Scotland’s mainstream media default pro-union position doesn’t reflect either (a) the sustained support for independence from half of Scottish voters over the last six years, nor (b) the extreme danger posed to Scotland’s economic wellbeing from its status as a GB region within in the post-Brexit economic future that awaits us, tied to the ailing British economy.

Both the OECD and IMF recently forecast zero growth for the GB economy over the next year (the lowest for any developed nation) and the highest inflation.

In contrast, the strong economic performance of Scotland’s equivalent size neighbours, Denmark and Ireland, both with a per-capita GDP at least 30 per cent higher that the UK’s, demonstrates the resilience of medium size economies that connect, adapt and grow within the wider single EU market.

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Scotland is potentially an energy powerhouse and our broader wealth and resources at least match those of our equivalent-sized and prosperous neighbours.

But crucially, without independence and our place alongside our peers in our regional single market, we lack the wherewithal to manage them for our economic security.

The post-Brexit GB economy is in long-term decline; there is no US trade agreement in sight to save it.

Scotland is neither small nor poor, but trapped inside the GB economy, we are isolated and in long-term economic danger, in sharp contrast to our near neighbours across the North and Irish seas.

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The only route to a successful and prosperous Scotland is independence and membership of our regional/European single market.

Mr D Jamieson, Dunbar.

Time for Tory reset

So, the Tories have lost vital by-elections and Sir Oliver Dowden has resigned as chairman. Tory MPs have shown some sympathy, calling him an honourable man, but have to face reality. Those who supported Boris Johnson can not now come across as honourable. That bird has flown.

Conservative MPs have to realign with the Tory voters who have sent the message the party needs a reset.

Andrew Vass, Edinburgh.

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