I WAS somewhat taken aback by the claim that "the SNP has done little or nothing to further the cause of Scottish self-government" by your Eileen McCartin (Herald Letters, October 24.)

I WAS somewhat taken aback by the claim that "the SNP has done little or nothing to further the cause of Scottish self-government" by your Eileen McCartin (Herald Letters, October 24.)

If The SNP had not promoted this cause for many years, there would be no Scottish Government.

The Liberal Party, styling itself as "the home rule party", has had home rule as a policy for a century, during which period it achieved nothing. Indeed, when an SNP government came to power, the first thing the Liberal Democrats did was to set up a committee, which took a year to define their 100-year-old policy.

As for persuading people to follow ideologies, at least the SNP policy of an independent Scotland is pretty clear.

Perhaps Eileen McCartin could write her party's definition of independence on a signed placard; or maybe not, as that is a strategy that backfired so spectacularly the last time the LibDems tried it with tuition fees.

David Hay,

458 Clarkston Road,

Glasgow.

EILEEN McCartin's assertion that the SNP has played no part in devolution is wrong. Devolution emerged to keep Scotland under Westminster's control and to frustrate the SNP -to kill independence, in the words of George Robertson "stone dead". Modern devolution owes its very existence to the SNP.

Colin Campbell,

Braeside,

Shuttle Street,

Kilbarchan.

ALISTAIR Carmichael is perfectly correct, at a personal level, in claiming that job security would be compromised by a Yes vote - his job would disappear ("Yes vote 'would lead to less job security'", The Herald, October 24).

W Graham Stark,

43 Fereneze Avenue,

Clarkston,

Glasgow.