Difference with Northern Ireland
DAVID Howie (Letters, November 24) asks why “the electorate in Northern Ireland have a legal right to a referendum every seven years after the initial referendum”?
The answer is that they do not have any such right. In fact, the power to call a referendum is exclusively in the hands of the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who can use it when he or she personally considers it likely there would be a majority in favour of reunification. And then seven years is the minimum period after which such a poll (if unsuccessful) may be repeated. If we were to have the same provision in Scotland, it would put the holding of Indyref2 in the sole hands of (currently) Alister Jack, and we would need to accept his judgment as to whether Yes would win. I cannot imagine that this arrangement is what Scottish nationalists would want.
My own view is that the various parts of the UK should have the unilateral right to secede, provided that the bars are set high enough for both calling a referendum and for it to carry. In the first case, two-thirds of MSPs are currently needed to vote to amend representation issues in the Scottish Parliament (voting system, boundaries and so on), so it seems logical that a referendum which abandons representative democracy entirely should require the same threshold.
In the second case, it has been interesting to hear both the First Minister and her SNP deputy tell us that they believe Scottish independence should only come about if supported by “a majority of Scottish voters” (Ms Sturgeon in her Supreme Court concession speech) or “50%+1 of the Scottish electorate” (Keith Brown on BBC Newsnight). I could not agree more – 50%+1 of the turnout alone would not represent a majority unless that turnout was an impossible 100%.
In any event, following the decision of the Supreme Court it is now clear that the only way for the nationalists to advance their case is through amendment of the Scotland Acts. If they were to campaign for the above provisions, I would support them – and I know that I am not alone amongst that majority that opposes independence.
Peter A Russell, Glasgow
Planet Pedro! 
As of December 2021 there were 4,028,700 registered voters eligible to vote in a UK GE, so the separatist parties would need 2,014,351 votes…or thereabouts.