NICOLA Sturgeon launched the SNP election manifesto with a series of damming statements about the other political parties, their track records and promises slip ("Every vote for SNP is a vote for Indyref2 – Sturgeon", The Herald, November 28).

As I listened I thought I had slipped into an alternate reality.

The SNP brands itself as the party to stop Brexit. If the UK were to stay in the EU, what does it think would happen to Scotland’s status in Europe if we were to become independent? We would automatically be out of the EU. Does this make the SNP as much of a liar and hypocrite as the other parties it castigates? I believe it does.

It says that Scotland did not vote in favour of Brexit, but conveniently forget that we didn’t vote in favour of independence either. So, one rule for it and a different rule for others. Hypocrisy again.

It says say that Scotland didn’t vote for a Conservative government in Westminster. However, although it won a majority of seats at the last Scottish Parliament election more people voted against the SNP than for it (46.5 per cent SNP vs 53.5 per cent others). So Scotland didn’t vote for an SNP government either.

It says that it is doing a better job for Scotland than Westminster is managing for the rest of the UK. Even if that is true, it’s hardly something to boast about when we have children dying of hospital-acquired infections, new hospitals not even fit to accept patients, the number of people being seen within the 12-week target declining from 72.9 to 71.3 per cent and we have a Health Secretary who refuses to resign. Is that something to be proud of?

What about the environment? It makes all sorts of boasts there. Look deeper though and you’ll see that its ill-advised support for fracking has backfired, and now it is proposing carbon capture and storage. This is another technology for which the risks have not been full explored and the SNP wants it in our back yard.

How about taxation? It seems that between personal and property taxes the SNP is doing all it can to discourage those who are able to create employment and wealth from living in Scotland.

It’s time the SNP stopped trying to further its own cause and concentrate on the job in hand, governing and doing what is actually best for the people of Scotland.

Dr Elizabeth Galbraith, Milngavie.

THE SNP launched its General Election manifesto with much fanfare and the odd memory.

Although most of the document was about what others have not done it was good to see that it has acknowledged the growing crisis of drug-related deaths in Scotland. The figures for last year – 1,187 – have increased by more than 150 per cent since the SNP took control in Holyrood.

While vaunting the promise of £20 million over two years it omits the fact that this hardly makes up for the cuts in funding it has made in the last decade.

While calling repeatedly for more powers (what a surprise) they fail to note that the rest of the UK is doing significantly better than Scotland with these issues.

What is more worrying though is that the only solution it has to suggest is the introduction of "consumption rooms" – an unproven strategy which is certainly worth investigating but isn’t going to solve the problems we have.

Each of the times this is mentioned in the manifesto it is in the context of needing more powers or blaming Westminster for blocking changes the SNP has suggested

What looks at first glance as real concern over the horrific death toll among drug users turns out to be another cynical strategy to blame Westminster for Scotland’s troubles. It has even included "Pushing for a new approach on drugs" under "Our Achievements at Westminster". Quite an odd claim considering the fact that the rest of the UK is doing considerably better than Scotland in this area.

There are more than seven drug-related deaths in Scotland for every death in a road accident. By failing to properly fund the services these people desperately need and trying to blame others for their mistakes the SNP is effectively sacrificing these people in its single-minded pursuit of constitutional change.

Michael Kent, Giffnock.

IN preparing for its wish for an Indyref2, the Scottish Government is attempting to pochle the question to be asked in its favour (“Scottish Government accused of rigging Indyref2 rules", The Herald, November 28). It is simply an outrage against democracy that it is proposing to legislate to force a repeat of the Yes/No question used in the 2014 referendum, despite the Electoral Commission advising that such a question has an inherent bias in favour of the positivity of Yes against the negativity of No, which I understand was why Leave/Remain was used in the Brexit referendum. To justify not using a Remain/Leave question by saying it would confuse voters is to insult their intelligence.

If the Scottish Government succeeds with this ploy its lawfulness should be challenged in the courts in the light of the advice of the Electoral Commission as to inherent and now deliberate bias.

Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.

YOUR correspondent Gordon Bannatyne (Letters, November 26) rejects voting SNP because “if ever the SNP won an independence referendum that would be forever”. He recommends voting Conservative. Voting Tory could result in Brexit, which would also “be forever”. Does he see the irony in his views?

John Palfreyman, Coupar Angus.

Read more: New poll puts support for Scottish independence at 50 per cent