JEREMY Corbyn's proposal that he should be made a caretaker Prime Minister in order to prevent us crashing out of the EU without a deal strikes me as obviously unrealistic ("Corbyn cross-party plea to stop ‘deeply damaging’ no deal", The Herald, August 15). He must be aware that the various independent and Tory MPs who have already ruled out voting for him to become Prime Minister make it impossible for him to command the support of the current House of Commons. If he is in any way serious about preventing a No Deal Brexit then he must move on to a more credible position as quickly as possible. His current pose is a waste of the time we have left.

Jo Swinson's suggestion that either Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman could serve as a caretaker Prime Minister would stand a chance of success if the Labour leadership backed it. On the assumption that they won't be willing to do so, the best option must surely be to pass a bill that extends Article 50 in order to allow a People's Vote referendum. Then we can all go out and bring this sorry debacle to an end.

Andrew Chamberlain, Glasgow.

NICOLA Sturgeon accuses the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, of being "daft" ("FM: Swinson daft to reject idea of Corbyn as a caretaker leader", the Herald, August 16). Nothing could be further from the truth. Ms Swinson is being a genuine politician standing up for what her party believes in without resorting to fake attraction to others. She understands that this sudden "love", by the SNP, for Labour is only a ploy in regards to Labour's new position, it seems, vis a vis another Scottish independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon used to be seen as an astute politician. No longer. Such brazen attempts to obtain indyref2 by any means possible simply exposes the lack of a true ability to persuade a sceptical population of the merits of independence. In doing so, she has completely wrecked the careful build up of this idea by her predecessor, Alex Salmond. To go from around 25 per cent acceptance of independence to 45 per cent was the easy bit. Gaining more is an uphill struggle. Fake friendship with Labour will not do it, nor will getting other party leaders on board who will only destroy their own credibility.

Independence needs a firm foundation to be viable both in the short and long terms. Nothing the SNP has posited suggest this will be the case, hence the need to try to gain it by the back door.

Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow G77.

I THINK Ian Blackford is right. All parties should work together to stop Boris Johnson's No Deal. The "advisory" Brexit referendum was achieved through lies peddled by the Leave campaign.

Dominic Cummings, the Leave mastermind is now at the heart of government directing the UK leaving the EU without a deal, accelerating the UK's descent into economic and political decline. We cannot allow this to happen.

Stuart Baillie Strong, Edinburgh EH7.

I MUST admire Jo Swinson's barefaced political arrogance, trying to replace the leader of the official opposition with Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman, both wise enough to keep their own counsel, on the subject of an Emergency government.

May I remind Ms Swinson that Jeremy Corbyn was elected by more than 300,000 Labour members and supporters. Although it looks unlikely that Mr Corbyn will ever become Prime Minister, democratically he still should be given the opportunity.

Since recently becoming leader of the LibDems, Ms Swinson has stated that she is willing to form a coalition with the Tories, and that she would not work with the SNP, even though it is the third-largest party in Westminster.

As Ms Swinson parades in the media circus, claiming to be a Liberal and Democrat, let's examine her previous voting record 2010-2015: Voted for the bedroom tax, the trebling of tuition fees, supported housing benefit cuts, invalidity and benefit sanctions, cuts to youth employment funding, voted in favour of the mansion tax and finally. voted 849 times with the Tories.

After seeing this the electorate of her constituency, East Dunbartonshire, must surely conclude Ms Jo Swinson is neither liberal nor democratic, and that she is not representing their opinions and views, but is instead self promoting her own political agenda and making herself more electable to Southern Britain.

Robert McCaw, Renfrew.

I WOULD remind Peter A Russell (Letters, August 16) that the political landscape in Scotland, the UK and the EU is unrecognisable from that of five years ago, when Scotland was assured that only by remaining within the UK could we secure our place in Europe. Now, with Scotland dragged to the edge of the hard Brexit cliff, it is heartening that not one EU country has declared that they will oppose an independent Scotland's membership of the EU. Elma Brok, the former MEP, and considered to be one of the foremost authorities on the EU constitution has said "it would be easy to have membership negotiations because Scotland fulfils all the needs for membership", Spanish Minister Josep Borrell has said Scotland would be accepted into the EU if it voted for independence, Manfred Weber, leader of the European People Party's Group, Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group and Gunther Kirchbaum, head of the Bundestag Committee for EU affairs have all made supportive comments regarding Scotland becoming a member of the EU. And Ursula von der Leyen, elected as President of the EU Commission has expressed herself as a fan of Nicola Sturgeon, and stated that she knew "first hand how the debates in the UK are. So respect and good luck".

An independent Scotland would be, not a surly neighbour, but an enthusiastic friend to our fellow 27 EU nations. And in the sphere of practical politics, the EU would surely welcome as number 28, Scotland, a country rich in natural resources and a major oil producing nation.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

WE are told that Alf Smith (Herald Obituary, August 16) demanded a 10-year warranty for a washing machine when he was 100 years old. Anyone looking for similar reassurance for a long and comfortable future would be well advised not to buy anything at all from Messrs Johnson and Sturgeon, shameless peddlers both of uncertainty, immense economic risk and certain misery for those least able to cope with economic downturns. When will this season of political lemmings ever end?

John Dunlop, Ayr.

Read more: Sturgeon: Swinson daft for rejecting Corbyn PM bid