Letter I had in the Herald last week.

(Part in italics edited out by the Herald. For some reason.)

MAGGIE Chetty’s letter (November 27) shows just how much the SNP is trying to sell us a pig in a poke. In effect she is saying: “Don’t worry about Nicola Sturgeon getting eviscerated by Andrew Neil because Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission has got currency all wrong and we don’t know how much of the UK’s debt would be apportioned to an independent Scotland.”

In contrast, most people will have seen Ms Sturgeon skewered on her own figures and her own proposals, and know that airy assurances by the likes of Ms Chetty are nothing but wishful thinking.

The best evidence we have remains that independent Scotland would need to endure at least a decade of ultra-austerity before being allowed to rejoin the EU so that the deficit can be reduced to the level demanded by the Acquis. There would also be the tricky business of creating a central bank and accruing the reserves required to support the country’s currency. (Personally, I would prefer the money required for these requirements to be spent on health, education, economic development and the like.)

Ms Sturgeon and her acolytes like Ms Chetty (an ex-communist who is used to believing in political fairy tales) should be reminded of that prospect on every possible occasion.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.