Letters: New PM must grant second EU referendum

There is however a greater affront to democracy. The new Prime Minister may try to negotiate a revised deal with the EU, however unlikely that is given its non-negotiable stance and solidarity of the member states. More likely the new PM may allow departure from the EU with no deal. Where did WTO rules appear on the 2016 ballot paper and even if this had, what percentage of the electorate could define it or its consequences? His or her mandate will be based on an election by some 124,000 people all from a single political party and representing about 0.4 per cent of the electorate. This is not democracy, this is an affront and a new PM with any morals, any sense of honour must realise this and defend democracy by supporting a second referendum allowing all of the people to decide between the revised/no deal and remaining in the EU.

Millions have died defending democracy yet we do not appear to have a leader, of either of the major parties, with the morals and sense of honour to forgo political expediency and allow the will of the people to prevail. And politicians wonder why respect for them is in decline. Democracy means democracy.

Dr Russell Miller, Bishopbriggs.

ON her recent visit to Brussels, the First Minister was denied Foreign Office support, on the grounds that the FO wished to “avoid supporting activities intended to campaign for policies contrary to Her Majesties Government position” ("Sturgeon brands Hunt pathetic for denying foreign visit support", The Herald, July 12). On the face of it, fair enough. But would that also apply to denying support to the Leader of the Opposition going to Brussels to speak to the EU if they had a different Brexit policy?

What has also been reported is that the Diplomatic Service was asked to request foreign governments to intervene on the side of Her Majesty's Government during the 2014 referendum. Only a few did so, but given the fuss about Russia intervening in western democracy, wasn’t that stance hypocritical and a democratic disgrace?

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

MARK Smith raises a good point, but Nicola Sturgeon will not heed his call, particularly when speaking on the international stage as she recently did in Brussels ("Nicola Sturgeon, could you please stop talking about 'Scottish values'. There is no such thing", The Herald, June 14).

The SNP leadership regularly misrepresent their point of view as being that of Scotland as a whole. The First Minister loves to mix this with a claiming of the moral high ground, with a pretence that we care more here in Scotland than, by inference, people just across the Border. Given some of these people are our families, friends and valued colleagues, many of us naturally recoil from falling for this SNP propaganda.

I have lived in Scotland for long enough to form the impression that the people of Scotland are strong-willed, and as such do not take kindly to being told how they think or feel on any given issue. If the people of Scotland were in any way oppressed, I have no doubt we would have left the UK long ago. Instead of course the majority of us continue to value our positive interdependence with the rest of the UK, which runs as deep as any political and social union anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon’s attempts to hijack our “values” and use them to divide us from those we truly care for, will surely be destined to fail.

Keith Howell, West Linton.

MARK Smith asserts that it is wrong to promote one set of values over another. I beg to differ. Surely most people would agree, for instance, that Western democratic values were better than those of the Third Reich, or the Soviet Union, or several autocratic states of the present day.

Kenneth Fraser, St Andrews.

IT is, obviously, hard to believe that everyone in the same country has the same values. However, Scottish students from our four or five universities often went abroad to continue their studies, while English students from their two universities did not do so frequently. We have a legal system, an education system and a religious system, that are different to the rest of the UK. Mark Smith is blethering.

Keith Proborszcz-Maloney, Dumfries.

IN his response to my letter of June 11, Charles Gillon gives a grudging approval to free prescriptions but points out that this has to be paid for by the Scottish (and UK) taxpayer. I am not sure where the UK taxpayer comes into it – this money comes from the block grant.

When he referred to a billion-pound black hole it reminded me of the more than £1bn the Prime Minister was able to conjure up to bribe the DUP. That went well, didn’t it?

Jim Lynch,

Edinburgh EH12.

CHUKA Umunna appears to have taken to heart Harold Wilson's infamous words that "in politics a week can be a long time"; but even so, being a member of three political parties in just over as many months must surely see Mr Umunna enter the Guinness Book of Records. He left the Labour Party in February this year, helped form the Independent Group, later Change UK, and with it crashing into obscurity at the Euro elections, Mr Umunna has now decided to throw in his lot with the Liberal Democrats; whether Mr Umunna had a road to Damascus moment or came to the conclusion that any port in a storm would do, we may never know ("MP Umunna joins LibDems", The Herald, June 14).

However, while the LibDems seem to be thrilled with their new recruit and happy to accept all who drift onto their doorstep – after all, they managed to stomach the Tories for five years – one can only wonder what the good people of Mr Umunna's Streatham constituency make of all this whirligig politics, given that at the 2017 General Election only 6.5 per cent of them voted LibDem.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.