Iain Macwhirter critiques the struggles of Scottish Labour as personified in Kezia Dugdale’s party conference speech (Moving away from the political centre, Comment November 1). Ms Dugdale set out not only how she would differ from the SNP but also how she would offer a contrast to the Scottish Labour of recent years. There is no doubt her party has a long way to climb back from, and an opposition party in a weakened position offers plenty of material for a sceptical commentator.

Nevertheless, there was an honesty about Ms Dugdale’s position that was sorely lacking from the equivalent SNP exercise. Their conference was a masterclass in choreographed self-congratulation, with no issue of potential discord allowed anywhere near the main conference hall.

The SNP have been very successful in convincing many on the left wing of the Labour party to join them during and after the referendum, by re-imagining nationalism with a socialist cloak. But how long will the SNP keep this fiction believable as Scottish Labour insist on showing people the real thing?

Keith Howell

West Linton