MARIANNE Taylor declares in her Herald article that she is nostalgic for the Blair years, suggesting, completely illogically, that there is no connection between the politics of this period and the conduct of British politics today ("Here's why I'm increasingly nostalgic for the Blair years", The Herald, August 13). The current state of our politics is characterised by a complete absence of trust in politicians and a powerful sense of disillusionment with the political process. This feeling carries great dangers as it presents the space for extreme views and parties to grow and develop.

The errors and misjudgements of the Blair period in domestic and foreign policy are well known and it is not necessary to state what they were. The real stain on Tony Blair's government however was the culture of "spin" with which it was so closely associated. Ultimately this consisted of treating voters with contempt and, eventually, they came to realise this. This is the continuity between Mr Blair's years and the present; the seeds of contempt for political institutions were sown then.

It would be completely misleading to imply that in the 1970s or 1980s people held politicians in high esteem. What we have now however is a situation where politics and political debate has sunk to a quite deplorable level, a situation where political figures are viewed with deep distrust. Contrary to what Ms Taylor thinks, Mr Blair's government contributed to this state of affairs.

Brian Harvey,

57 The Paddock, Bothwell Road, Hamilton.

JEREMY Corbyn's memory seems to be letting him down ("Corbyn: I was present at ceremony for Palestinian terror group", The Herald, August 14). Is he really a fit and proper person to lead the United Kingdom? It is not just Israel he constantly criticises. The United States and Saudi Arabia come high up his list too. Syria, Iran, Russia and Venezuela rarely feature at all.

Mr Corbyn's bias is clear. This would create huge problems notwithstanding his terribly one-sided views as it is also diametrically opposite to the UK's current foreign policy. Post-Brexit, the UK will need all the trading partners we can find. Mr Corbyn's tunnel vision would ostracise many countries with some stability and real trading opportunities to befriend those that are either unstable and/or have huge financial problems. The turmoil in the financial, commercial and employment sectors would be massive. Mr Corbyn says he wants peace but you do not achieve that by only negotiating with one side.

Dr Gerald Edwards,

Broom Road, Glasgow.

IN yet another example of the diminishing impact of the UK’s standing in the world due to Brexit, the European Council has confirmed the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) will move its headquarters following the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

The Operational Headquarters will be transferred from Northwood, London, to Rota in Spain, while the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) will move to Brest, France, as of March 29, 2019. The EU Navfor Operation Atalanta protects vessels of the World Food Programme and other vulnerable shipping, monitors fishing activities off the coast of Somalia and supports other EU missions and programmes in the region.

This latest relocation of functions follows on from the decisions made last November to move the European Banking Authority from London to Paris and the European Medicines Agency to Amsterdam.

Little by little, the UK’s role in the world is being diminished, and we haven’t event left the European Union yet.

Alex Orr,

Flat 2, 77 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.

IT seems clear that the world is involved in war, essentially financial, with national politics unable to steer a way forward because it is so divided. Against this background you publish a thought-provoking letter (John Milne, August 14) suggesting that the powers of national government should be reduced. Pool financial sovereignty? This certainly counters the rhetoric of the UK taking back control – in global finance such control never existed.

But who to pool with? The European political project is ultimately doomed because each member state refuses to give up its pretence of financial sovereignty and act together as one, contrary to the original intention. Moreover the biggest players in the deadly game refuse to abide by international rules. In fact former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, wrote of this problem decades ago: empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system – "that is how the United States has conducted its foreign policy in the Americas, and China through most of its history in Asia".

Last man standing or is there enough will for a political solution?

Ian Jenkins,

7 Spruce Avenue, Hamilton.

IT is perhaps surprising if Iain AD Mann (Letters, August 13) has not noticed marked political similarities between Nicola Sturgeon and the justly much-criticised Theresa May.

Like the Prime Minister, dependent on a minority of Tory MPs, Scotland's First Minister is dependent, for remaining in power, on a minority of MSPs, the Greens, whom she must keep happy on policies and, perhaps accordingly, has not been able fully to benefit her supporters or our nation. Like the PM, she is a Remainer whose prospects in that desire are dubious indeed, since an independent Scotland would be unlikely to gain favourable terms for admission to the EU, especially now without our previously huge oil wealth. Like Mrs May, she and her party cannot fairly be said to have brought great benefits to the nation, in terms of, say, commerce, health and education.

Mr Mann complains of a xenophobic basis of the Brexit referendum but Ms Sturgeon leads a party not short of xenophobes, though of anti-English opinion.

Ms Sturgeon has also followed "the will of the people", though not as that expressed in the earlier referendum in 2014 and by the former FM after it.

(Dr) Charles Wardrop,

111 Viewlands Road West, Perth.

ALAN Fitzpatrick (Letters, August 14) complains about "yet another" letter from Iain AD Mann on the subject of Theresa May, Brexit and support for an independent Scotland. Mr Fitzpatrick has himself written a fair number of letters to The Herald, and I have strongly disagreed with most of them, but I would never suggest that Mr Fitzpatrick should be denied space in this newspaper to put forward his Unionist opinions

Mr Mann's letters are always elegantly crafted, his contributions consistently bangs the nails on the heads of various subjects, and he writes without rancour towards other correspondents who do not hold his views. Unlike Mr Fitzpatrick, I very much hope that rather than "rest his case", Mr Mann will continue to argue his case; the Letters Pages of The Herald would undoubtedly be the poorer without him.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road, Stirling.