Letters: What political friends are for

FOR once I'm almost in agreement with Kenny Farquharson (Insight, 10 October). Undoubtedly Donald Dewar was a fine man and, although Labour, was a decent politician whose "place in Scottish history is secure". As Mr Farquharson indicates, Mr Dewar had his "weaknesses".

I wonder what he would have made of the behaviour of the current crop of Labour politicians, whether at Holyrood or performing at Westminster. Unfortunately Mr Dewar's concern for Scotland is not, and was not, always shared by his fellow Labour politicians. Why would MSPs, like Cathy Jamieson and Margaret Curran, take themselves off to Westminster if their concern was for our welfare. Kenny Farquharson writes "we know fine who our friends are" - No! Mr Farquharson, only some of us do and many are finding out. Ms Jamieson and Ms Curran are at Westminster to further their own ambitions, possibly even as far as peerages - well if George Foulkes can do it...

Ms Curran, of course, may think Westminster is in the east of end of Glasgow. Labour is no friend of Scotland.

Bill McLean, Dunfermline

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Kenny Farquharson's column last week, about Donald Dewar. Given the fate of his successor and the Scots' apparent disenchantment with Holyrood, especially in the wake of the parliamentary building fiasco, I've often felt that Mr Dewar's reputation was immortalised by his untimely death and his credit would be much lower now had he lived, cruel though it is to say so.

Mr Farquharson's recollection cannot fail to remind us of another "formidable intellect" with a passionate regard for the welfare of the most unfortunate, who nonetheless came across as self-absorbed, maladroit and socially inept, not to mention ill-tempered. I mean, of course, former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Irene Soames, via e-mail