IT is very disappointing, if not surprising, that Jim Murphy has chosen a fellow Blairite, John McTernan, to be chief of staff of the Scottish Labour Party ("Murphy gives Blair aide top job in election campaign, The Herald, January 9).
The new branch manager and his chief clerk are both staunch supporters of Trident. Like Mr Murphy, Mr McTernan has never flinched in his willingness to defend the Bush-Blair war in Iraq.
In February 2011 Mr McTernan told BBC Scotland: "If we didn't have Trident we'd be Belgium. Some people would find that a comfortable place to be. I wouldn't. If Britain is going to be a major power, Britain should have the kinds of weapons a major power has."
During the election campaign we can expect Mr Murphy and Mr McTernan to magic-up populist proposals. These will disguise the dark message at the heart of their philosophy - that the Great in Great Britain rests not on culture, social values or support for international development, but on our possession of indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction.
John Ainslie,
26 Cecil Street,
Glasgow.
HOW big is Jim Murphy's office at Holyrood? Where does he intend to house his growing band of staff ?
John McTiernan has been recruited ("Murphy gives Blair aide top job in election campaign", The Herald, January 9) as has Kieron Higgins, and Blair McDougall is expected to get a permanent post . And this does not take into account his existing staff nor the Yes voters whom Mr Murphy vowed to employ after his election as party leader .
If nothing else, Mr Murphy's elevation to leader must be making quite a dent in Scotland's unemployment figures .
James Mills,
29 Armour Square, Johnstone.
NO-ONE is a more ardent supporter of self-determination for the people of Scotland, but we have to accept the reality of the powers that Holyrood actually possesses. Foreign affairs is a reserved matter under the control of Westminster and as a result it is only reasonable that MPs with special interests may group together to attempt to influence government policy.
Why then do we have umpteen special interest groups in Holyrood for topics such as Japan and Tibet? Why is Holyrood being petitioned on matters directly relating to foreign affairs especially when we are expected to endorse a view of the world based on US corporate interests (MSP adds voice to Scottish concerns over Confucius Institutes", The Herald, January 9)?
I would be much happier if Holyrood had cross-party groups of MSPs desperate to improve living standards in Maryhill and Wester Hailes which they have the mandate to become involved in rather than worrying about China's evil view of the world perhaps being a spin-off from genuine cultural exchange. It is time government at all levels forgot the ego trips and got on with the job we pay them to do.
David J Crawford,
Flat 3/3 131 Shuna Street,
Glasgow.
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