I DON’T know about you, but I’m sick and tired of the badly-scripted pantomime that passes for contemporary politics.

I’m tired of second, no, third-rate numpties arguing over inconsequential minutiae such as transphobia when the UK is plummeting into the abyss. Any rational analysis of the UK as an entity would come to the conclusion that as a result of decades of mismanagement our economy is wrecked, dependent on the service sector, poverty and unemployment are on the increase, public services are underfunded and deteriorating, the national debt created by Westminster has never been worse even before the costs of the pandemic and our idiotic departure from the EU are added to the pile of debt.

The only thing we appear to be world leaders at is how to kill innocent citizens by mishandling the Covid-19 epidemic. A year into the pandemic we still have no effective way of preventing viral mutations arriving in the UK or, as Portugal has found out, leaving here to cause problems elsewhere. The lid is about to blow off Northern Ireland because, despite the promises made by Boris Johnson, there is a de facto border in the Irish Sea and it can’t be moved from there without dire consequences.

Politicians stand and lie to the public, they must know they are lying, those of us with more than half a brain know they are lying, but absolutely nothing is done about it. As far as I can see the public are deliberately fed conflicting information to confuse them or lies are repeated often enough that they are accepted as fact.

What is the solution? This is a classic situation where the tail is wagging the dog; the country is being run by and for the few rather than the many and if you can’t see that you are part of the problem, not the solution.

David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.

DOUGLAS ROSS ON THE SIDELINES

WHILE acknowledging the SNP’s current difficulties, GR Weir (Letters, February 5) addresses the qualities of its opposition in Scotland. Ruth Davidson, the Conservative leader is characterised as "one-dimensional" and soon, it is expected, she will be replaced by Douglas Ross, whose "net satisfaction rating on the Conservative Home blog is under 30 per cent and falling".

I had the dubious pleasure last week of receiving a glossy four-page brochure from these two, and a more vacuous document it is hard to imagine. Beyond the "stop independence" mantra, there is nothing but empty platitudes.

Of course, Douglas Ross is not "one-dimensional" – he has a job as an assistant football referee, a post previously known as a "linesman". I wonder if he ever pauses to reflect on the metaphorical significance of this role for his political life?

Here he is, endlessly running up and down on the sidelines, forever on the periphery of the main action, now and again waving a little flag, and at times completely ignored by the main man, the referee. In "normal" times, with crowds in attendance, he would be roundly and colourfully abused for many of his decisions. His running the line on the football field is, in all likelihood, a role that presages his future with the Scottish Conservatives.

Dr Angus Macmillan, Dumfries.

BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR SNP

UNTIL Neil Mackay told me, I didn't know that I was in hell ("SNP is in hell and has nobody to blame but itself", The Herald, February 4). I also have Mr Mackay to thank for informing me that I'm in a civil war. It is not so long ago that political commentators were complaining that there wasn't enough dissent in the SNP, now they are complaining that there is too much. However, the news from the front is that it is business as usual in my branch and constituency association, with members fully occupied in planning the campaign for the upcoming May elections, and not a devil or cavalier in sight.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

I FEAR FOR OUR DEMOCRACY

WHEN Scotland is told "no" on the matter of holding another independence referendum, it makes me very afraid for the future of democracy in this country. Yes, we had a referendum more than six years ago and the No vote won, however, the main strategy for winning the No vote was to spread scare stories – for example losing membership of the EU – rather than actually discuss any benefits of the union.

The polls recently have turned towards Yes being in the lead, which should mean something in a democratic society and yet we keep being told we cannot have another vote. Do unionists really support a Government that will deny a democratic vote on a topic when there is evidence that a significant proportion of the electorate potentially supports it?

Democracy is defined as the will of the people. Denying a vote on a topic (any topic) that goes against the will of the people changes the UK into something that the UK Government would not support if the same situation arose in another country. Whether you support or oppose Scottish independence, we deserve another chance to vote. Otherwise, the UK is no longer a democracy; or at least, it ceases to be a democracy whenever Scotland comes into the equation.

Christine Loney, Glasgow G72.

WIND UP THE SALMOND INQUIRY

EUROPEAN friends of mine have often expressed amazement that the Scottish people stood tacitly by and watched as their national flag was hijacked by a political party. The flag that so proudly forms a third of the Union Jack has now become inextricably linked to the SNP.

It seems to me that this tacit obeisance is in danger of extending to the coming elections to the Scottish Parliament. At every turn the SNP is attempting to hijack this and inexorably turn it into the "independence election" which it is manifestly not. The supine opposition parties appear once again to be oblivious to this chicanery so one can only hope that the Scottish press is going to be more proactive in asserting that it is simply the MSP elections to Holyrood as take place every five years.

Fortunately the press appears to have belatedly woken up to the fact that the Alex Salmond inquiry is turning into the farce that the SNP always intended it should. Why else would it have spent £50,000 on "coaching" those witnesses who actually bother to turn up on the odd Tuesday afternoon? This toothless, pathetic committee should be wound up as soon as possible and a proper judicial inquiry, enjoying the full power of the law, must be demanded, so that I can at least look my European friends in the face and be proud of Scottish democracy.

A Trombala, Stirling.

IS THERE A MAGIC MONEY TREE?

HERE in Scotland we are fortunate to be awash with money, with our public funds brimming over – during an unprecedented crisis. That, at any rate, is the impression anyone would get from the proposal by interested parties for the Scottish Government to provide a subsidy to enable them to introduce a four-day working week with no loss of pay ("Coalition appeal to Sturgeon for a ‘Corbynesque’ four-day week", The Herald, February 5). This proposal was, unsurprisingly, passed at the SNP conference and is being supported by the STUC as well as a "charities hub" and a think tank. It is claimed that the initiative could create up to 60,000 new jobs. And, no doubt, it would also create plenty of opportunities for overtime working with pay at overtime rates.

The country with the highest deficit in Europe and low levels of productivity can somehow, from somewhere, find the money to subsidise this initiative? Is this all part of the SNP’s new MMT strategy, known to its proponents as Modern Monetary Theory and to the sane and numerate among us as the Magic Money Tree?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh EH14.

UNIFIED IRELAND IS INEVITABLE

WITH Ireland, both north and south, and the effect of Brexit on both countries rarely out of the news, it is interesting to look back on history, since Eire became an independent country some 100 years ago.

For many years the south, particularly outside Dublin, was considerably poorer than the industrious British north. The situation has now changed dramatically and the population of the south is now estimated to have a GNI (gross national income) 1.9 times that of the north. How has this change happened?

My contention is based on the following:

* The dramatic drop in the political influence of the Catholic Church in the south, combined with the state emphasis on education.

* The confidence in the south created by being a full member of the EU. Many Irish people are bilingual, as evidenced by the number of Irish pubs in Europe.

* The massive investment by American tech, aerospace, financial and pharmaceutical companies in the south creating a modern highly-paid industrial base, helped by the common language, historical roots and low taxes.

So what has changed in the north?

The most important physical change is the M1 motorway from Belfast to Dublin. The two cities, always linked by railway, had a torturous road journey through Newry and Dundalk to connect. Now business people communicate from north to south like one country. This has created a massive perception of unity.

I feel that, given time, it is inevitable that Ireland will eventually unite as one country.

John Ewing, Ayr.

Read more: The SNP has its troubles, but just look at the alternatives