VOTING on the Scottish referendum approaches. Our nation is in danger of being ripped apart. This is a national issue on which the rest of us have no say.

All we have heard are politicians from both sides wittering over bits and pieces of the issue. Nobody has shown the big picture. In fact the “Better Together” gang has been as useful as a chocolate fireguard, practically handing the floor to the “Yes” people.

I view myself as British before English. I have loved the historical mix which our islands have produced. I belong to the British Isles, not a Tory/London-dominated club south of Scotland and east of Wales.

We have rarely heard good arguments for shared unity. Instead we hear chunnering over oil, shares, NHS and so on, a typical politicians’ bun fight. We are not vastly different. The world’s future is deeply worrying and we desperately need each other. A horror vision separates British countries, outside the EU, drifting towards Third World anonymity.

Together, we still face immense problems. Separate, we may become tiny blips in a world which sucks wealth and culture forever East.

David Sharples Tarbet Drive Breightmet