ALISON Rowat's excellent opinion piece ("Democratic deficit in nation turning a sea of SNP yellow", The Herald, May 1) set out many of the dangers for Scotland if the opinion polls landslide becomes reality.

Tactical voting holds out the only means to hold back the tide.

Those still wavering as to where to put their cross, might like to reflect on how often during the referendum campaign, the SNP leadership stressed the importance of recognising the democratic will of the people of Scotland. A democratic will that was ignored within hours of the result being known, as that same leadership started to speculate how despite the talk of once in a generation during that campaign, another referendum could still come sooner rather than later. Then as the Smith Commission's findings were published, it was the SNP who undermined the cross-party agreement within minutes, dismissing the proposals as being inadequate despite fully participating in the process, revealing not only how they cannot be trusted but also how they will never be satisfied. Nothing short of full separation will do for them.

How soon after Thursday before Nicola Sturgeon divines that the "people of Scotland' - that is her supporters - want another Referendum? You still have a vote, no matter what the polls might say, so please use it with great care.

Keith Howell,

White Moss, West Linton, Peeblesshire.

ALISON Rowat reminds us that goverments are there to do the job they are elected to do, but in questioning the amount of time and energy spent on the referendum she seems to forget that the pledge to hold a referendum was included in the 2011 SNP manifesto which received the support and votes of the electorate.

Ms Rowat raises concerns that there will be a democratic deficit if Scotland votes overwhelmingly yellow on May 7, but for years Scotland voted overwhelmingly red but got blue Westminster governments, and for the past five years Scots were expected to put up and shut up at being governed by a Tory Prime Minister who had only one MP in Scotland. I fully agree with Ms Rowat that "healthy democracies need strong opposition to keep governments in check but it isn't the fault of the SNP if Labour in Scotland can't offer credible opposition at Holyrood and vanish off the map at Westminster.

The Labour Party in Scotland is disintegrating before our eyes, and the reason for that lies firmly at the door of their own branch office. For decades they took Scottish votes for granted and stopped listening to Scottish voices. If they are indeed obliterated on Thursday, they will have nobody to blame but themselves.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road,

Stirling.

I FEEL so angry with the SNP. I shouldn't because it is clear that their leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is a focused, driven, clever operator who has shown her considerable political skills over the past few weeks, outperforming many of the national party leaders.

My anger is caused by the apparent reluctance of the SNP to accept the will of the majority of the people of Scotland in rejecting their call for independence. They wish to be given the right to ask the same question over and over until they get the answer they want. Those of us who oppose independence do not have that luxury; once we're out, we're out and it is grossly unfair to the majority of Scots who voted against to be faced with such uncertainty again and again.

As a result, the SNP have effectively stolen my vote. Not that it will go to them, it will go to anyone I think might have a chance of beating them. This is not how I wish to vote but the stakes are so high that other considerations must come second. Of course, the SNP will be delighted if the Tories get in with a majority because they can then say that, once again, Scotland did not get the party it voted for and that the only alternative for change is independence. If they would only honour their pledge that the independence issue is over for at least a generation we could vote freely and we could see the SNP as a voice for Scotland in Westminster without all the other divisive issues casting such a black shadow over this election.

Iain S MacDonald,

Herdsmanshill, Knockbuckle Lane, Kilmacolm.

THE forthcoming General Election has taken a number of turns and has thrown up some interesting responses, not least of which has been the brouhaha on the threat/promise of a so-called second independence referendum

People should really relax on this matter. Apart from the issue having been settled for once in a generation, we also have a formal document signed by both the First Minister and her predecessor which changes things. Clause 30 of the Edinburgh Agreement is explicit: "The two governments are committed to continue to work together constructively in the light of the outcome, whatever it is, in the best interests of the people of Scotland and of the rest of the United Kingdom."

Not only do we now know "the outcome" but there is the added dimension that the "best" interests of the people of the rest of the United Kingdom must be taken into account.

Indyref 2 is a long, long way away.

William Forbes,

23 Greenlees Park,

Cambuslang.

UNLIKE the Commemoration of the First World War coming before the independence referendum, in which the SNP underestimated the "'pull" for a United Kingdom it had, I wonder if the VE Day commemoration will be an equally poignant omen, even if it is the day after polling day.

For those of us who feel the sacrifice of servicemen and women in both world wars in a united front should not be dismantled, is our hand being forced to consider a federal Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales for the the sake of a United Kingdom? Westminster has proved to be out of touch and London cocooned from the rest of the country; it can only be good for the nation to be federal instead of Scotland being independent.

John Burleigh,

14 Grey Place, Greenock.