Sir, At last Nicola Sturgeon has conceded, albeit reluctantly, that Scotland will have to negotiate the terms of its proposed membership with the EU.
Currently Scots are both citizens of the United Kingdom and the EU.It seems logical, therefore, that if the Nationalists take us out of the UK they must also be taking us out of the EU.At that point we would become a completely new sovereign state no matter how much Mr Salmond asserts otherwise with regard to the EU.Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, is undoubtedly correct about Scotland having to apply to join the EU.There would be a period when Scotland would be in a state of limbo until all the complexities of treaties, currency matters, border controls, fishing rights etc, were agreed and accepted by all 27 nations, some of whom would see the break up of the UK as a good thing as it would terminally weaken all of us in these islands.If Nicola Sturgeon thinks she can dictate the terms of our membership within the EU then I suggest she gets a draft agreement before the independence referendum in 2014 to prevent us voting like turkeys for Christmas.Iain G Richmond.Guildy House,Monikie, Broughty Ferry.Help them move southSir, I was interested to read Allan MacDougall’s reply to the letter by George K McMillan. So it occurred to me that a Scottish government might feel that it could make interest-free loans available to those who feel being Scottish would be beneath them and want “to up sticks and move south”.There may not even need to be a reason given for going. Such a scheme would create even more opportunities for Jock Tamson’s bairns. There are plenty homesick Scots across the world who could take Mr McMillan’s place.Ian Lumsden.53 Ravenscraig,Kirkcaldy.Burns wouldn’t have liked itSir, I read the letter from Mr George K McMillan (Courier, December 11) and like Mr McMillan I am also sick fed up listening to all the whingeing and grumbling of Scottish Nationalists.I am 76 now, but back in the 1950s when I was a young man, I served my two years National Service in the Royal Air Force. I was stationed at Innsworth Camp and employed at the Royal Air Force Records office in Gloucester and during my two years there I always found the people to be respectful, friendly and kindly disposed towards me. I also, therefore, believe in the UK and do not wish to see it broken up.I also do not think our National Bard Robert Burns would have liked a divided Britain. I seem to remember some of his words were:For a’ that, an’ a’ that,It’s comin’ yet for a’ thatThat man to man, theworld, o’erShall brothers be for a’ thatRobert Addison.11 Forthill Place,Broughty Ferry.Anti-farmer rhetoricSir, In Sad end awaiting festive birds? by Jack McKeown in Monday’s Courier, about the decline in partridges and turtle dove numbers, we were again subjected to the biased anti-farmer rhetoric from the RSPB.Their advisory manager states that modern farming practices have been a major contributor to the sharp decline in grey partridge numbers.In the last couple of decades there has been compulsory and voluntary set-aside, schemes to promote uncultivated areas where insects can thrive and I cannot remember when an insecticide was last used on this farm. There has, however, still been a dramatic decrease in small birds and partridges. There has also been a sharp increase in the number of buzzards, magpies and other corvids.Why do the RSPB always conveniently ignore this fact?John Johnston.Annfield Farm,Dunfermline.Not a true definitionSir, In a recent Courier quick crossword one clue asked for the answer to “Practice of social equality” which I correctly answered as “democracy”. This being the case there are very few countries in a position to claim the status of a true democracy including the UK and the USA where social inequality between rich and poor is at an all time high.In the USA the Republicans regard any reference to social equality as communism, even though it only means giving human beings dignity without poverty.The present UK government is using the current budget deficit, caused by the actions of international bankers, to heap more poverty on the most disadvantaged on the pretext of reducing the deficit quickly. The vehicle for this is the benefit reform programme fashioned by Ian Duncan Smith which purports to make work pay by penalising those who are obliged to live on benefit.The government boasts the private sector has created over a million jobs but forgets to add these are just replacing public sector posts that have been made redundant or deliberately outsourced.So until there are enough decent jobs to offer people the only conclusion that you can draw from Ian Duncan Smith’s activities is the creation of a pool of cheap labour expected to take any job on offer, no matter how poorly paid, or face an increase in their poverty level.Nothing could be further from the practice of social equality or the paper’s own crossword definition “democracy”.Allan MacDougall.37 Forth Park,Bridge of Allan.