If you could turn back time. That is precisely where the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon find themselves. Stuck in a rut of independence and unpopular policies, manly courtesy of the Greens. Meantime in the real world the chaos mounts (“Nurses vote to strike for the first time in their history”, 10 November). The relentless focus upon “Independence” has highlighted just how difficult it is to run a country without adequate finances. Humza Yousaf has said there is no more money and gone cap in hand to Westminster to ask for more. This is just one aspect of a crisis that might have been avoided if SNP finances were being carefully nurtured but “free” hand-outs have created a monster that is beginning to bite back. Independence is rooted in the 1980s and “Scotland’s Oil”. It might just have worked then, but not now. The public’s eyes are being opened to the realities of what actually happens when the government’s money runs out and it is not a pretty sight. Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.