IAN McConnell reflects on the numerous potholes in the road that have given Theresa May such a bumpy ride in trying to get Brexit over the line. At times the Prime Minister has seemed to have as many against her within her own party as outside of it (“May could go in just a few weeks as Boris enters the race”, The Herald, May 17). Now that talk is turning to who will replace her in Downing Street, many in the SNP will feel that they must act to exploit an assumed bounce in popularity on the back of EU uncertainty and Tory party divisions.
Yet there are growing signs of similar divisions in the independence movement that Nicola Sturgeon could find equally troublesome over the coming months. Various leading figures, from ex-leader Alex Salmond, through various on-line blogger activists like Stuart Campbell of Wings over Scotland, and now on to SNP MP Joanna Cherry, seem keen to encourage dissent within the SNP. Two of those examples have demonstrated an ability to dip into crowd-funding resources, with a core of support willing to put their money where their heart is, whatever the rights and wrongs of the situations they are effectively funding as a consequence. Just as Mrs May has found the more ardent Brexit supporters in her own party impossible to manage, Ms Sturgeon might find that positive polling could prove a double-edged sword for her, as leading opinion-formers in the independence movement jockey to take the reins.
Keith Howell, West Linton.
I THINK it needs pointing out to Ian Blackford and the rest of the SNP politicians that they only polled 36.9 per cent of the vote at the last general election, which was less than the 38 per cent who voted Leave at the EU Referendum. So, in percentage terms, if the Scottish electorate didn’t vote to Leave, it didn’t vote for an SNP government either.
Angus Macmillan,
Dunbartonshire G83.
ON one page of The Herald we had not only a significant part of David Cameron’s legacy detailed, but also publicity about his book of memoirs (“Cameron’s book to be published in the autumn”, The Herald, May 17), which will include his thoughts on the EU referendum, which has generated lasting division in the country, and his resignation.
I cannot wait to read about the hospital pass received by Theresa May following Mr Cameron’s departure from Downing Street. One occasionally hears sympathy being expressed for Mrs May. It has to be borne in mind that it was a job she was not compelled to take, especially when it has become clear that she is not up to). In addition, what will the former Prime Minister have to say about the ambition and style of Boris Johnson, his erstwhile colleague, who has confirmed his intention to run for the top job and hot seat If Mr Johnson is successful in his candidature, the likelihood of a No Deal Brexit will loom larger. After all, it has been reported that senior figures within the EU, when asked “who would you like to see as the next UK Prime Minister?”, have responded: “Anyone but Boris.”
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
THE Letters Pages are awash with long and earnest detailed arguments quoting various statistics in search of answers to the Brexit dilemma which allegedly divides the UK “down the middle”. The simple truth is that the UK is divided, not “down the middle”, but along the Border. England voted to leave the EU; Scotland voted to remain.
Training courses on negotiating skills always highlight the importance of a “win-win” outcome in which both parties are happy with the result. The obvious answer – obvious to me at any rate – is for England to leave and Scotland to remain. It doesn’t need the help of the TV Eggheads or proverbial rocket scientists to figure out how that might be achieved. The people of Scotland, regardless of party allegiances, need to accept the fact that at this point in the 21st century, measures adopted to solve problems in the 18th century are past their “use by” date.
Willie Maclean, Milngavie.
HOW should we vote in this mad single-issue election? The results will be widely analysed as a referendum on Brexit, so it makes sense to lend support to the party which reflects our position on this is-sue, irrespective of party loyalty.
All Scotland constitutes a single EU constituency with six seats, allocated roughly in proportion to the vote share for each party. At the 2014 election Scotland returned two SNP, two Labour, one Conservative and one Ukip candidate. Neither the LibDems nor the Greens did well enough to secure a seat.
The four parties – LibDems, SNP, Greens and Change UK – which are clearly against Brexit will split the anti-Brexit vote and ensure that across the UK the charlatan Nigel Farage gains extra seats. However, we have tactics to concentrate the anti-Brexit vote in Scotland.
In the ComRes poll of voting intentions conducted on May 9-10, the percentages were: SNP 32; Brexit 17; LibDem17; Labour14; Tory 11; Green 5; Change 3. This would yield two seats to SNP and one each to Brexit, LibDem, Labour and Tory parties. The Greens and Change would be squeezed out.
A two-point increase in the SNP vote share would gain it an extra seat at the expense of the Tories. Only the LibDems are well placed to compete with the Brexit Party for a second seat. However, the threshold for either to do so will be raised if SNP knock out the Tories, for then the LibDem and Brexit parties would have to target the higher Labour vote share. In fact, SNP may be polling already at 40 per cent.
Each vote for the Brexit Party will be counted as a vote for hard Brexit. Leavers should be very careful about whether they really wish to go so far as to cast a vote for English nationalism; a vote for wide-ranging decline in living standards; and a vote to enrich Mr Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg and their like through deregulation and investment in Britain’s decline.
Neither the Tory nor Labour party has articulated a coherent position. A vote for either is a vote for more deadlock. We have now learned that the only coherent option which respects the Good Friday Agreement must be based around continued membership of both the customs union and single market. It may be coherent, but this really is the cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face option. It delivers no meaningful change other than loss of national influence.
The EU needs reform, the UK desperately needs radical change, folk are losing patience with Brexit and with politics. But Brexit will not bring the right kind of radical change to the UK. Now is not the time to lose patience, when the country is facing the slippery slope of fascist populism. Scotland understands the value of the EU. Let us turn out to vote on May 23 to deliver a resounding message: “Revoke article 50, stay in the EU and reform it from within.” The poisonous, avuncular Farage must be resisted.
Bill Stout, Kirkwall.
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