Letter sent to the Scotsman. They emailed me back asking me to cut it to 250 words, which I did,painfully, and then never published it. To be fair they did publish another from somebody else specifically answering the same person.
Sir,
In response to EL LLoyd's 6 part denunciation of a previous letter as wrong, may I point out where he is wrong?
1 - Independence did not keep many countries out of WW2 - Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, Yugoslavia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia all noticed it. Switzerland kept out because they had a fiercely effective militia in which the entire population is armed. If this is SNP policy I have not noticed it.
2 - For many years the bank of England was controlled by Gordon Brown. If he was "ineffective"
can we expect any other Scots socialist politician to make use of power in a more constructive way?
3 - It is arguable that the "fair" taxation system he demands, in which less of people's earning remains with them, would not be beneficial to Scotland. Despite the claims of many separatists, the laws of economics would not be suspended for Scotland/
4 - The question is not whether England would refuse to buy our "renewable" electricity - nobody ever denied that - but whether they would elect pay several times the market price for it and guaranteeing us a supply, at commercial rates, when, being "100% renewable by 2020" we find, some winter night, that they are, again, producing under 1% of their nominal power. I find the SNP's guarantee that England would continue to elect a government willing to subsidise us unbelievable.
5 - He may be right that any likely SNP &/or Labour government would abandon capitalism as he hopes. Indeed it seems likely they would enshrine that abandonment in a new Constitution to prevent us voting in an alternative. That would not affect the proven fact that, worldwide, their is an overwhelming link between the existence and extent of market freedom and economic success. Indeed the probability that any likely initial Scottish government would destroy our economy (as the Greens have said they want) is a very strong argument against giving them the chance.
6 - He agrees that we would not be part of the Security Council or a powerful member of the EU. I am afraid I cannot see how this is beneficial.
He also points out the possibility that a UKIP influenced referendum would take the UK out of the EU. Granted that the SNP are eager to ensure the scots are not bothered by any such democratic choice - we go in on basic terms that would cost us billions and no nonsense about an independence referendum under the SNP. Granted also that the other traditional parties feel the same. Nonetheless if one of the main arguments from Europhiles is that "we must stay in the EU because 40% of our trade is with them" is there not some incongruity that nobody in these parties is concerned that 80% of our trade is with a remaining UK their argument depends on the assumption will vote to quit the EU?
Neil Craig
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