A single issue

AS ONE of the writers (though by no means one of the most prolific) of those anti-SNP letters which regularly appear in your columns, I must endorse the view of Martin Caldow (letters, 25 April) that a single-issue party should simply not be in government, but more especially I would say, not one whose sole purpose is to break up our nation state. Government by any single-issue party must give rise to the conflicts of interest which Mr Caldow identifies, but in the case of the SNP there is always a determination to put party constitutional aspirations before good governance.

Unfortunately, it seems likely that a large number of voters will have been duped into believing the dishonest rhetoric of the SNP, but I’d go further than Mr Caldow’s exhortation to voters to vote them out; I would favour the excommunication of the SNP from the political landscape on the basis that any political party should, as a prerequisite to engagement in elections to government, subscribe to the basic principle of protecting the nation state. That principle is incompatible with the aims of the SNP.

Alan Thomson

Strontian

Martin Caldow (letters 25 April) opines that the SNP, as a single-purpose party, should not be in government when one considers the conflicts of interest that this creates.

Indeed. As we all know, independence is the raison d’etre of the SNP, no more, no less. Hence, the threat of another “once in a lifetime” referendum will always be a live one as it is now with Nicola Sturgeon stating that a UK vote for Brexit, in the absence of a majority vote in Scotland for same, will almost inevitably propel Scotland to another referendum .

Unlikely as a Brexit vote seems, and I suspect Ms Sturgeon knows this, the “in, out” argument can be used to breathe continued life into the independence movement and keep it a live topic in the public ken. Scottish independence No voters shouldn’t heave a sigh of relief in the event of the UK remaining in the EU because assuredly the SNP will simply manufacture one more excuse to pursue another independence referendum. It has no other choice, but the Scottish electorate does.

Ian McElroy

Heathfield Road, Thurso

Like Martin Callow (letters, 25 April), I hope the 5 May election produces a responsible government. Unlike him, I hope it will be a SNP majority government. He does not like a “single-purpose” party to be in government.

When I joined the SNP in 1950 my membership card stated the aims of the SNP to be: 1) “Independence” – described at length – and 2) “The furtherance of all Scottish interests”.

These remain the aims of the SNP and the second one includes constructive contributions to the furtherance of the interests of all nations and of the world as a whole.

David Stevenson

Blacket Place, Edinburgh

Election policies

This election for a new Scottish Parliament at Holyrood seems dominated more by photo opportunities for party leaders than practical policies on how public services are better delivered. It’s all very well seeing politicians playing with animals or at games but what about the issues?

Why when Scotland has an above 10 per cent of the UK unemployment total and the figures in Scotland are rising and will get higher with job losses to come at BHS, is there not more discussion of employment policy? After all people have to be in jobs to pay the taxes party leaders are taking for granted.

Jim Craigen

Downie Grove, Edinburgh

SNP arrogance

I found it almost laughable, if it was not so bizarre, that Nicola Sturgeon announced that she would listen to the No Voters for independence with a lot of patience and humility.

I think she needs to look up the word humility, the dictionary definition is a “Quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance”. That is not a definition I would associate with Nicola Sturgeon.

She is an exceptionally arrogant leader who only has independence in mind and refuses to take responsibility for any of the SNP’s many mistakes. The true definition of humility would be accepting that 55 per cent of the electorate voted No in 2014 and keeping to her obviously now false promise then of it being a once in a generation decision opportunity. We do not need or want another referendum.

Gordon Kennedy

Simpson Square Perth

Bleak prospect

In your report on Nicola Sturgeon’s suggestion that a Brexit vote could trigger a second independence referendum, Willie Rennie said that the ongoing debate over a second referendum was “depressing”. He’s right, but it is not nearly as depressing as the blankness of the mind of the SNP’s dear leader, and the vacuousness of her continual bleating.

Are Miss Sturgeon’s supporters really happy with this obsession over a second referendum? Would they not prefer – as the rest of us would – that she bent her mind to the construction of policies that made Scotland an attractive place in which to invest, start businesses and create real jobs – not ersatz ones on the public payroll.

Instead of hassling landowners and constantly threatening tax payers with higher rates, why does she not turn Scotland into the Dubai or Singapore of the west: an enterprise zone with low, if not non-existent corporation tax, personal tax, and business rates; simplified planning regulations; science parks and centres of excellence.

Instead, all we hear is constant carping about Westminster, and impossible-to-fulfil promises of more hand-outs and more public spending, to continue the transformation of Scotland into a one-party state, socialist paradise. What a bleak prospect!

Anthony Tucker

Leslie Place, Edinburgh

Tories and polls

Should we really be giving so much credence to opinion polls? Nicola Sturgeon has just said that she is ready to instigate yet another independence campaign based on an opinion poll which puts the Leave and Remain EU referendum campaigns neck and neck. And Ruth Davidson’s Conservatives, the nasty party of David Cameron, have been boosted by polls which can be interpreted as saying her party might come a distant second to the SNP.

Ruth Davidson thinks that by putting her name on the ballot paper, below the words “Scottish Conservative and Unionist”, this will make people think they are voting for her and not the dreaded Conservatives. Dream on. David Cameron is not coming to Scotland because he is “slightly busy” but because he is toxic.

She should remember that at the general election, less than 12 months ago, Labour secured 707,000 votes in Scotland, the nasty Conservatives only 434,000, less than 15 per cent of the total. To change that round within 12 months would be a miracle, polls or no polls.

Phil Tate

Craiglockhart Road, Edinburgh

Bemusing attacks

I am quite bemused by the continual diatribe against the SNP by columnists and letter writers in some sections of the media.

The SNP is about to gain another outright majority in the forthcoming election, via a PR system where no party is supposed to gain an outright majority, and has been in power now for almost a decade. With a First Minister who is the most popular party leader across the UK, and a party that is about to secure over half the vote, it would clearly be appropriate for those criticising to get their own house in order rather than continue to carp from the sidelines.

This is a party that must be doing something right and, to use the much-used line, I often think that had the SNP invented the electric light, those opposing would be critical of it as having created an anti-candle device.

Alex Orr

Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

Honouring Nan

It is wonderful to hear that Nan Shepherd is to be honoured at long last, by appearing on the new Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note.

As Nan’s nearest neighbour in Cults, my wife spent many happy hours playing in her garden as a small child. It seems only yesterday that we shared a quiet lunch, at home with an elderly Nan who still spoke eloquently and passionately of her love for the mountains.

It fills me with horror and sadness, therefore, to imagine what Nan would have thought about the hundreds of giant industrial wind turbines encroaching on her beloved Cairngorms. Remember, wind farms are now visible from 60 per cent of Scotland (Wildland Research Institute 2014).

In a new survey conducted in the Loch Ness area, more than 500 people responded, with more than 80 per cent of them citing unspoilt countryside as what attracted them to the Highlands.

More than 70 per cent of respondents said the presence of wind turbines would affect their decision to stay in the Highlands while more than 80 per cent said they would not choose accommodation with a view of a wind farm.

Let us honour and cherish Nan’s spiritual memory by defending what little remains of our finest landscapes.

I would encourage all of your readers to immerse themselves in Nan’s legendary book – The Living Mountain.

George Herraghty,

Lhanbryde Mora

Cycling licence

The fifth annual “Pedal on Parliament” bike ride took place on Saturday. (Your report, 23 April)

Politicians Kezia Dugdale, Willie Rennie, Patrick Harvie and Derek Mackay were in evidence to either show they cared or needed the votes.

The purpose was to demand that the Scottish Government increases expenditure on “active travel” from 2 per cent to 10 per cent of its transport budget.

Over the last two financial years, more than £70 million has been spent specifically on cycle-related projects by the government and local authorities. Is it not time for an annual cycling licence to pay towards the existing and proposed facilities that cyclists demand?

Cyclists cannot plead poverty since a bicycle, helmet, and clothing cost a lot of money.

If cyclists paid a licence then motorists – and pedestrians – might be more tolerant of cyclists and those who regularly break the Highway Code, ignore red traffic lights, cycle on pavements, cycle in packs and refuse to use the cycle paths constructed at great expense.

Clark Cross

Springfield Road, Linlithgow

New yet old

How redolent of images of the cantilevers of the original bridge growing out from their respective piers is your offering in yesterday’s Picture Gallery.

Ian Grant

Auchterhouse, Angus