Misreading the mood on Scottish independence | Letters

Roger Read, Val Machin, Fiona Raffaelli and Alastair McLeish respond to an article by Rafael Behr

Rafael Behr asserts that the case for Scottish independence is as “flaky and dishonest” as the Tory Brexit prospectus once was (Sturgeon and Johnson have made Scottish independence seem inevitable. It isn’t, 9 February). By flaky, he seems to refer to issues of currency, national debt, a budget black hole, a customs border with England and how much it would all cost. By dishonest, he seems to mean that Scots are being deceived about these issues. If Covid has proved anything, it is that it is long-term, not short-term, economics that count.

Scotland’s future includes self-sufficiency in the essentials of renewable energy, water supply and food production at a time of climate crisis. It can become an exporter of products based on such resources, for example, of hydrogen as a key fuel of tomorrow. It has a green future, which has the potential to bring with it a way of life that is of the community and at a distance from the exploitative global economy. It is clear that automation will diminish the value of cheap-labour economies and that the future lies with human services and production at regional and local levels.