I AM struck by the Labour Party's posturing that it will not "do a deal" with the SNP should it fail to win an outright majority in the forthcoming election.
Both parties share many policies, including the imposition of a mansion tax, a tax on bankers' bonuses and re-introduction of the 50p top rate of tax.
The SNP lost the independence referendum, pledging that this will not be an issue during the current Westminster parliamentary term, and Ed Miliband liaised closely with SNP MPs when it came to the matter of military intervention in Syria.
In Scotland, Labour is in coalition with the SNP in three local authorities. And if the argument is that the SNP's constitutional position makes it persona non grata in dealing with it at Westminster, the case could similarly be put that being part of that very establishment would make independence harder.
Let us also not forget that the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the party the Labour Party associate with in Northern Ireland, is in favour of Irish unification. The Labour Party has been very quiet on ruling out doing a deal with it because of its constitutional position.
By saying that no deals will be done with the SNP, the Westminster parties are in effect saying that the votes of a large chunk of Scottish voters are illegitimate and unworthy of influence, clearly threatening the existence of the UK.
In this tawdry search for votes in a tiny number of key marginals, the threat of not doing a deal with the SNP is proving highly divisive and short-sighted. And given that no party looks like winning an overall majority come Friday, they will need to stop digging trenches and start building bridges.
Alex Orr,
Flat 2, 77 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.
THE Westminster Party leaders' last-minute dashes around the UK will not add much to their level of electoral support, I suspect.
Their claims of saving "the economy" need careful scrutiny in the light of their promises of £30 billion of further cuts. The growth in the use of food banks and the increased distance between rich and poor in the UK are clear signs of the mismanagement of the UK economy over the last five years.
If the Scottish National Party gain the number of seats predicted, and the Labour Party and others can attain a majority, some serious bargaining has to be on the political agenda.
I hope that Ed Miliband will not turn his back on the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party.
Lord Adonis's book Five Days in May about the negotiations after the last Westminster election, mentions that an alliance with the smaller parties including the SNP was scarcely considered. It might not have been a possibility, ultimately, but the fact that it was never seriously explored was a major error of judgment. This time round there is more of a possibility and would offer the population of the United Kingdom a kinder and more liberal set of options than those offered by old Etonian David Cameron.
It would be undemocratic if the leadership of the Labour Party ignored the wishes of the majority of Scots and refused to deal with the SNP who have put public services and anti-austerity at the heart of their agenda. It would also be less than strategic if the Labour leadership only listened to those MPs with deep-rooted sectarian attitudes to the SNP.
Lady Macbeth had good advice for Ed: "But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail."
Maggie Chetty,
36 Woodend Drive,
Glasgow.
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