YOU along with several other major UK newspapers have been inclined to overdose on the so-called civil war within the SNP and have hyperventilated on the alleged damage to the independence movement ("The SNP is in deep trouble, but it will be saved by Alex’s army", The Herald). But if the mainstream media spared just a moment of objectivity they would report the far greater and far more significant civil wars within the two major Unionist parties.

The Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party deeply embroiled in a dispute over anti-Semitism is imploding. Yet there is more. The old traditional divide in Labour between the social democrat centre and the radical activists on the left has developed with greater intensity as the leadership now supports the left while the Parliamentary party is quite firmly centrist. There is a genuine chance of the split becoming toxic to the point of seeing the formation of a new centrist Labour party. Now that is a genuine civil-war.

Within the ruling Conservative Party its own civil war has greater significance as the Tories form the Government. Yet the hostility within the Conservatives at the highest levels of Government is of such magnitude that it imperils the national interests of the entire UK. Brexit has produced so many factional movements within the Tory Party that Prime Minister Theresa May has only a tentative grasp of power within her Government. That is the political civil war that should be on every front page: it is dangerously close to breaking up both the Tory Party and indeed the United Kingdom.

The SNP family row around the Alex Salmond case pales in significance when placed alongside the horrendous implications of the dual civil wars within the two major Unionist parties.

Thom Cross,

18 Needle Green, Carluke.

MARK Smith is correct when he maintains that independence is a powerful force in maintaining and sustaining the Scottish National Party’s electoral vote. However, it must surely be also worth noting that the SNP would have absolutely nowhere to go in the event that independence is actually achieved.

SNP politicians are above all else professional politicians. Could any of their senior cabinet officers really hope to continue as successful, career politicians with windmills and power cuts, and turning us all into drunk drivers as we motor from Carlisle to Gretna Green? With their feet firmly under the table and their snouts deeply in the trough, is Ms Sturgeon et al really ready to relinquish their comfortable and lucrative political careers with independence? As Margaret Thatcher had maintained, why indeed did the Scottish Government not declare unilateral independence when a majority of SNP parliamentary seats were won at the 2015 General Election?

DH Telford,

11 Highfield Terrace, Fairlie.

TOM Gordon ("Concern over 'chilling effect' of Salmond case", The Herald, September 3) raises very important issues regarding Alex Salmond's use of crowdfunding, none the least of which is "the level playing field" to which his report refers.

If the same right of anonymity was given to the accused, as the laws allows for the accuser, then the opportunity to use such a method of funding would be self-defeating.

As it is, Mr Salmond has been pretty much found guilty by media exposure of all types and yet, he has not been arrested or charged with a crime of any description. If a crime has been committed, the fullness of time, I am sure, will take care of that, and if it doesn't this will all have been proved to be a futile waste of time.

I also have to raise the concern, that in such a serious and important report, why any legitimacy is given to an opinion that begins with "a Labour MSP also claimed". People who hide behind anonymity with their opinion have very little relevance when it comes to having that opinion. It is yet another example of people using their influence without any risk to their reputation. People offer their opinion daily in The Herald Letters Pages, and I feel certain that The Herald would never print a letter that was presented anonymously.

Of course we need to create a climate where women in all aspects of their lives feel safe and empowered, but the constant reference to equality doesn't have much legitimacy if the name of a male accused is immediately placed in the public domain, while the accusers' remain withheld.

Francis Deigman,

12 Broomlands Way, Erskine.

IT seems that the fanatical supporters of Brexit believe that if they just keep chanting their "will of the people" mantra then the populace will meekly accept their hair-brained predictions and self-serving trade deals.

However, with almost every day that passes the support for Brexit disappears like snow off the proverbial dyke. The latest YouGov poll indicates that 2.6 million voters who voted Leave have switched to Remain. As only 900,000 have moved the other way this gives a net total to remain of 1.5 million. As the majority in favour of Leave was on 1.3 million where now stands "the will of the people"?

It is no wonder that Theresa May and her Brexit puppeteers resist any opportunity for either the electorate or even their elected Westminster representatives to reassess the Brexit referendum, which it must be remembered was only advisory. Are we really willing to be duped by these charlatans who claim that to review the decision would undermine democracy? One can draw parallels with the poll tax and one wonders how much longer this deception can continue before civil disobedience raises its head among even the most acquiescent of voters?

David Stubley,

22 Templeton Crescent, Prestwick.

WHILE noting the Prime Minister‘s recent comments, I suggest that the 2016 referendum, with all its irregularities and blatant lies, was surely a “gross betrayal of our democracy” (Quotes of the Day, The Herald, September 3).

Has the electorate ever been so blatantly deceived?

Alistair Macleod,

39 Lodge Walk, Elie, Leven, Fife.

COULD all the people who have been urging Nicola Sturgeon to "get on with the day job" please stop, because judging by the feeble Programme for Government she thinks "day job" means Brexit, a second independence referendum, Alex Salmond and avoiding any meaningful debate at the upcoming SNP conference.

If we all ask her to "ignore the day job" she might focus on sorting out the NHS, education, housing and social care.

Allan Sutherland,

1 Willow Row, Stonehaven.