DAVID SW Williamson (Letters, May 8) in his polemic on Kevin McKenna’s criticism of the Conservative Party ("Why Sajid Javid is proud to be used by Tory party is beyond me", The Herald, May 5) misses the point completely. The struggle between rich and poor is as old as time itself and is present in every society. Capitalists and the workers; in reality it does not matter what title one uses to identify the groups in society but for Mr Williamson to suggest that there is no longer a struggle between the few who monopolise wealth and power and the rest of society is absolutely farcical.

The fact that we live in a post financial-crash age directly caused by the greed of the rich and are currently subject to a climate of austerity imposed by the same elite is all the proof we need that the struggle continues. Surely Mr Williamson must be aware of the incontrovertible evidence of increasing levels of relative poverty and the polarisation of wealth towards a tiny section of society. Who does he think causes it?

Are the Tories the “Nasty Party”? Well if they are not they are good actors. Their grubby deal with the DUP to retain power and the Windrush scandal being but two recent examples of party morality or lack of it. The fact that a minority of the electorate votes Conservative for reasons of self-interest or basic ignorance does not change the abysmal track record of the Tory Government. Was “New Labour” any different? No and its supporters used the same criteria when voting red as did those who voted for the donkey with the blue rosette. Will Jeremy Corbyn herald in a new egalitarian age? In your dreams. Those such as JFK who propose radical change always seem to die young.

As Mark Twain so elegantly encapsulated politics “If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it”. Our system of democracy is specifically designed to create division among the great unwashed and the ongoing pantomimes in Westminster and Holyrood give the illusion of self-determination while concealing who actually wields the real power. As such the anti-Tory crusade is doing just exactly what it is designed to do. Whatever happened to the Panama files?

David J Crawford,

85 Whittingehame Court, 1300 Great Western Road, Glasgow.

I FOUND David SW Williamson's letter about the modern Conservative Party extremely interesting. I don't know how old he is but I suspect he doesn't remember the Toryism of Rab Butler and Harold Macmillan. I may be wrong but if he is, I cannot see how he can correlate that kind of Conservatism with the modern variety.

I never supported or voted for that old-fashioned Conservatism because I found it patronising and stuffy rather than modern and outward-looking as was required to drag us out of the gloomy, run-down country we suffered after the Second World War.

Looking back, however I recognise that those Conservatives were of the officer class, used to looking out for the welfare of the man under their command, even if only to prepare them to shed their life's blood for King and Country.

They were also heavily influenced by the social changes brought in by Clement Attlee's Labour government, recognising that it would be a mistake to turn the clock back to the days of inadequate health provision and slum dwelling.

I adored and hugely respected my late father-in-law who was a kirk elder and middle manager and thoroughly honourable and decent. He was also an instinctive Tory.

Then came Margaret Thatcher, whose reactionary views on society were anathema to my kindly Tory father-in-law, as they were to me. She set about dismantling as much of the welfare state as he could get away with. The current Conservative Government is continuing down this calamitous path and under its rule, we are reverting to the pre-war injustice and deprivation that is inevitable under Tory philosophy

We are left with a country that has reverted to private landlordism due to the sale of council houses and is well on the way to reverting to private medical provision. These, I submit, are the fruits of Conservatism ancient and modern.

Since England shows no sign of turning away from this disaster, the best solution is for an independent Scotland to show them the way.

David C Purdie,

12 Mayburn Vale, Loanhead.