ALISON Rowat's column should be mandatory reading for every voter in Scotland prior to December 12 (“One Nation Conservative Party lies dead in a ditch”, The Herald, November 7). Boris Johnson's Conservative Party is at present openly modelled on Donald Trump's Republican presidency in the United States. His chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, aspires to follow the lead of Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Trump, who embraces a philosophy of political confrontation to establish a new societal order. The poor, homeless or unemployed are viewed as simply collateral to the overriding rapacious needs of the wealthy and privileged as a form of Victorian libertarian economics becomes the order of the day.

Ms Rowat is correct to note that Mr Johnson's Conservative Party cannot simply be seen as the “nasty party” of the immediate past but now openly rejoices in its role as the compassionless party, the party that lacks empathy, common decency and any pretence at equality.

From Jacob Rees-Mogg's arrogant, insensitive and dispassionate remarks about the Grenfell tragedy to the malicious habitual lying of the Prime Minister, we are now witnessing the party of the Establishment without its mask or veneer of decorum. Traditional Conservatives must carefully reflect on what kind of country they wish to live in before exercising their right to vote next month. As Alison Rowat so adroitly states, supporting a party that perpetuates unfairness lacks all common sense and, it is clear, any pretence of egalitarianism or democratic ideal.

Owen Kelly, Stirling.

IN 1945, I was too young to vote but interested.

The result caused universal joy. Now I am 90 and have watched a lot of elections, and this time I am struck by one thing especially, and that is the treatment of Jeremy Corbyn by television and press. What has he done to deserve this?

Television presenters introducing him change their tone, sounding patronising and superior. Newspapers, between the lines, put him down all the time.

Our urgent concern is to get the Conservatives out of Westminster. I am repeating myself but here goes: Tories remain in power because we have a split opposition. Whatever the attractions of Lib Dem or SNP, neither can shift the Tories from Westminster. Vote for either, you might as well vote Tory. Voting Labour is our only hope.

Whatever our other preoccupations, we should shelve them. With Tories out, we could turn our attention to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Europe and the Planet.

One thing at a time.

Moyna Gardner, Glasgow G12.

NICOLA Sturgeon has refused to rule out a pact with Jeremy Corbyn to meet her misguided, immature aim of destroying the United Kingdom if he is elected Prime Minister. What a desperate situation for the UK and Scotland in particular. Mr Corbyn is near to communist as one could be, John McDonnell, who would be his Chancellor, is a self-confessed Marxist. They would drag the UK back to pre-1979 days and worse with their avowed intention to redistribute wealth and penalise creators of wealth.

Ms Sturgeon is running a regime in Scotland which is as near to communist as we could get, witnessed by political control over the police force, regime control over families with the Named Person Scheme, nationalisation of businesses, interference in education with drastic consequences and on and on and on.

“The people of Scotland” – the SNP's favourite phrase – should consider very carefully how they vote. Apart from Andrew Wilson’s Report, rubbished of course by the majority of SNP supporters, there is no and probably will never be a detailed economic prospectus from Ms Sturgeon for an independent Scotland. It’s independence first and foremost, then they will consider everything else: how morally unscrupulous.

So, we could end up with the most extreme socialist government in England ever, a physical border between Scotland and England and an economically incompetent, financially depressed independent Scotland – what an utterly abysmal prospect for the precious United Kingdom. Beware how you vote and what you wish for.

Douglas Cowe, Newmachar.

THANK you very much to Neil Mackay for his timely and thoughtful article ("Jaded supporters of independence need a bright new vision", The Herald, November 7). An independent country will be of people of all views, not just those of the SNP and hearing those views about that future is, as he says, what is needed now. Voting SNP is not an endorsement of all the policies, but a hope that in a new country complacency will have no place and the challenges we face will be creatively and constructively addressed to reduce inequality and build on the strengths of all the people who live in Scotland.

Sarah Sinclair, Biggar.

ALL credit should go to Nicola Sturgeon for the honesty that she is showing in telling us before the General Election that every SNP vote is a vote for independence. The only problem is that it begs the question as to what level of support should count as a mandate to hold a further independence referendum.

I would like to offer a reasonable solution. In 2104, the No vote was very slightly over 2 million, and it is wholly reasonable that the threshold for a new independence referendum should be set at that level.

If the SNP is confident that it speaks for Scotland, it will welcome this proposal. I commend it to it, and to all parties including my own, Scottish Labour, for inclusion in their manifestos.

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.

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