Letters: why do we put up with bats?

Scottish hearts and heads

Sir: Alex Massie ignores the evidence when he espouses the assumption that economic concerns no longer matter in great political decisions (‘Scottish horror’, 15 August). Compare, as he does, a future Scottish referendum with the 2016 Brexit vote. Then, around two thirds of the British electorate held ‘Eurosceptic views’ (so Sir John Curtice of Strathclyde University tells us). But the barest majority voted to Leave. The cause is plain: the largest single motive for Remain voters was that ‘the risks of voting to leave the EU looked too great when it came to things like the economy, jobs and prices’. A Eurosceptic two thirds was whittled down by ‘hearts vs heads’ considerations. The residents of Scotland would have to be uniquely indifferent to their future livelihoods to ignore the economic costs of separation. If and when two thirds say they want independence, it becomes more serious.

But if Mr Massie is right, and another referendum is inevitable, who should decide? Scottish nationalists’ claims are based, by definition, on the fact that Scotland is a nation, not merely a region like East Anglia or Greater Manchester.