KEVIN McKenna went into Jackie Baillie mode in his article castigating the Greens and SNP (“This ban smacks of pandering to the middle-class dilettantes”, The Herald, October 21). I have been a Green Party member since the autumn of 2014, and I am as working class as you can get. Born and raised in a pit village? Check. A family history of coalface labour? Check. Comprehensive school educated with no mention that further education existed? Check. The Green Party is constantly working to raise the living standards and life chances of working people. The Green Party is also at the forefront of land reform in Scotland, the aim of which is to ensure that it produces benefits for the whole population, not just a very small fraction.

With regard to transport the party is not totally against air travel, but it is totally against giving it yet more financial advantage over other forms of transport, whilst encouraging more flights with no regard to the air and noise pollution which ensues. As to cars, personal transport is not the central problem, the problem again lies in the exhaust and noise pollution from internal combustion engines. The Green Party campaigns vigorously for the cheapest, most convenient and least polluting forms of transport, which would help those on the lowest incomes the most.

I think my previous comments counter the claims made by Mr McKenna that the Scottish Greens are pointless and inconsequential. As to never being democratically elected to Holyrood, Green Party candidates have been and, I believe, will continue to be, benefiting from the system designed for the parliament to allow smaller parties and their voters a democratic voice. In Orkney this year we have seen the first party-affiliated councillor since no one can quite remember elected. And to which party is he affiliated? Let’s just say it matches nicely the famously verdant Orkney grass. Would Mr McKenna prefer Holyrood to be solely populated by politicians from a party infested with xenophobia, a party whose Moray representative at Westminster prefers being a referee to debating the failures of the welfare state? Or how about a party that can turn any event into an internal cat fight, and thinks that weapons of mass destruction based near our largest city are fine because they create jobs?

Jonathan Southerington,

The Rocket Hoose, Toab, Deerness, Orkney.

PATRICK Harvie’s speech to the Scottish Greens (“Greens vow to push SNP on pay rises for public sector workers”, The Herald, October 23) was the most honest of this year’s conference season: the fracking, smacking and taxing Greens are not only crowing about their ability to dictate how the SNP operates, it’s true.

If the SNP wanted to deliver policies and budgets that would genuinely move Scotland forward, it should be working with the main parties,but that would involve compromising on independence.

Ms Sturgeon is still hell-bent on being in a position to hold a referendum before 2021, based on the flimsiest of “mandates”screwed out of a Holyrood vote and is dead scared she will lose Green support.

If I were Mr Harvie I’d be demanding a proper coalition deal, and I’d also be concerned that it’s not on the table because the last thing the SNP wants is a couple of Green ministers. Meanwhile the Scottish electorate are the Joe Soaps in all this. It’s not a referendum we need, it’s an election.

Allan Sutherland,

1 Willow Row, Stonehaven.

DR Gerald Edwards (Letters, October 21) makes an interesting point about the SNP Government lacking a mandate and being in thrall to the Greens. What puzzles me is why the SNP, the biggest party in a parliament that was deliberately designed to be run by coalitions (specifically to keep power out of Nationalist hands), is wrong to pursue policies the good doctor disapproves of when it’s all right for Theresa May’s party to be in thrall to the even-less representative DUP in a parliament designed to be run by a majority?

David C Purdie,

12 Mayburn Vale, Loanhead.

AS Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz calls for Scotland to have more influence over immigration after Brexit (“Stiglitz’s fears over citizen’s wage”, The Herald, October 23), some will wonder if the Scottish Government could have had more meaningful discussions with the UK over more flexibility on this issue. But that is not so easy after months of Nicola Sturgeon and her Brexit Minister, Michael Russell, making it so clear that they are intent on trying to be as divisive as possible over Brexit.

As a consequence the UK Government knows the SNP will use any lever it can to try to undermine the UK. This makes it much more difficult to have a positive dialogue on developing an adaptable approach to immigration across the UK, even if that is in Scotland’s best interests. The SNP’s political posturing once again threatens to do Scotland more harm than good.

Keith Howell,

White Moss,

West Linton, Peeblesshire.

I HOPE the SNP is closely watching developments in Catalonia (“Crucial days lie ahead as Catalans prepare to counter Madrid ‘coup’”, The Herald, October 23) because the Scottish devolved parliament only exists at the behest of central government at Westminster.

Should Nicola Sturgeon get too excited about independence and oversteps the authority of Westminster, she could also find herself and the Scottish Parliament being taken over and Scotland ruled by London.

Dr Don Campbell-Thomson,

60 Albert Road, Clydebank.

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine (Letters, October 21) seems to be using “sleight-of-hand” semantics when she writes about “our biggest trading partner, the European Single Market” with the seeming implication that this is Scotland’s most valuable destination for its trade, when in fact, the most valuable destination for Scotland’s trade is the so-called UK single market – by a factor of approximately four. I believe she knows this, but prefers to keep quiet about it in an attempt to preserve her faith in the ongoing but severely faltering SNP drive for Scottish independence.

She also keeps quiet about the probable trade tariffs that an independent Scotland would face to retain access – but not so “frictionless” – to its most valuable market, the UK.

Philip Adams,

7 Whirlie Road,

Crosslee,

Renfrewshire.