Sir, – I hope Ted O’Keeffe’s letter (August 7th) was tongue in cheek, for it contained far too many simplistic statements to avoid serious rebuttal. The break-up of the union is too monumental an event, in political, social and economic terms, to turn on cheap, and factually unsound, stereotypes. I would like to know upon what evidence Mr O’Keeffe bases his strange assertion that the English “have frittered away their inventive and productive talents”. His comment regarding the City’s alleged disdain for trade might be a reasonable inference from a Jane Austen novel but seems bizarre in a 21st century economic debate. Finally, his statement about “handing the queen back” is frightfully silly. Elizabeth II is constitutionally queen of the United Kingdom, and her close relationship to all her realms, not just England, is evidenced in the fact that even the diehard Scottish nationalists have stated they would retain her as head of state. – Yours, etc,
Dr SEAN
ALEXANDER SMITH,
Calahonda,
Spain