Grabbed by SNP

THERE have been references to “the SNP power grab” post-election. Although I am not in favour of separation, I find this attitude offensive.

If the Scottish people do indeed return a large number of MPs to Westminster – which remains to be seen – it will be because they have been voted for and, in the event of a hung parliament, which also remains to be seen, if the SNP is invited to support another party in order to form a government it will be perfectly democratic.

It seems to me that few people south of the Border understand Scottish politics. I believe the surge of support for the SNP post-referendum is because post-Blair New Labour is irrelevant to most people in Scotland who want a more radical party who will look after the poor and try to create a more equal and a fairer society.

It is, in my view, only the minority parties that will help to bring this about.

The SNP has been clear that this general election is not about independence but about ending austerity and helping the poor both north and south of the Border.
The Scottish people voted to stay with the Union and therefore the SNP is a perfectly legitimate political party within the UK. Talk of “power grabs” shows little respect to us voters.

Elizabeth Grey

Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire

WHAT is Nicola Sturgeon up to? The media insists the SNP and Labour are committed to removing David Cameron from Downing Street. That’s true of Labour, but not the SNP. The very last thing Sturgeon and the SNP want is Cameron’s removal from leading the UK government.

What she wants is a Tory UK government. If anything will inflame support for independence that is it. Only a Tory government will bring in a referendum on the European Union and if the No votes win Scotland would have the right to demand another independence referendum.

What is happening down here in England is there is a real groundswell of resentment at the thought that the Tories are putting about, that if Labour gets a big enough number of its own MPs elected, it will look to the SNP bloc for issue-by-issue support, even to form a coalition.

Tory propaganda has become viciously anti-SNP. It is fomenting anger and resentment in England with its imagery of the tail wagging the dog of a UK parliament. And that is working by consolidating the Tory vote and drawing Tories back from deserting to Ukip.

However, the danger for the SNP is if this strategy is exposed for what it really is. If the SNP can be exposed as supporting the Tories for Westminster, then SNP support in Scotland’s Labour heartlands will crumble like a sand castle before the incoming tide.

Michael Knowles

Congleton, Cheshire