I am in my late 70s and have been active in UK politics for over 60 years, since I first went to work in a coal mine at 15.

My wife is slightly older than me, she is from Kent and although she has been aware of politics during our long married life (56 years), she has never joined a political party until recently when she joined the SNP.

We both have the greatest respect for Nicola Sturgeon, who is the most effective political leader I have ever known, however I was not able to describe why we were both so attracted to Ms Sturgeon. Reading Ian Bell's column has cleared that up for me (Why Sturgeon's ahead of the game, Comment, April 26). As Mr Bell writes: "Sturgeon does ordinary to an extraordinary degree."

That's it in a nutshell. That is exactly Nicola Sturgeon's political attraction, people, my wife and included, find her believable in a way we do not find other political leaders believable. She is so lacking in the usual arrogance and aggressive assertion which we have come to expect from politicians that we find it hard to believe that she is a politician at all, never mind a highly successful one. I'm grateful to Ian Bell for this insight.

Andy Anderson

Dunoon