What on earth did the Tories ever see in Douglas Ross?

Unfortunately he has form in this area. I distinctly recall him demanding that Boris Johnson should resign after the latter was caught repeatedly lying to Parliament. But then Mr Ross flipped and claimed that as there was a war going on in Ukraine the leader should not be jumping ship. Well there’s still a war going on in Ukraine and yet he now thinks that this is the appropriate time for him to quit as a leader. Well, there you go.

How much more evidence of political chicanery do his constituents require before deciding to stick their own knife in, albeit from the front this time?

Robert Menzies, Falkirk.

What's the deal with Farage?

I CONTINUE to be astonished by the amount of coverage Nigel Farage engenders in both Scottish and English media. He is a carpetbagger who has never won anything in any election and as big a narcissist as his buddy, Donald Trump, who appears to believe that drinking a pint of beer (just like a certain Boris Johnston) makes him a man of the people, and a loquacious con-man who appeals to the darker side of our psyche.

It is obviously too late to say that he should be completely ignored, but it is damning indictment on our media, and our society, that he has come this far.

John NE Rankin, Bridge of Allan.

Promises are worthless

POLITICIANS often take the public for fools. But at election time they go into overdrive.

They make promises with abandon, but they know and we should know that after July 4 most won't be kept.

It's a cynical game to win our vote.

Two of the latest from Sunday (June 9) were 20,000 more prison places (Labour) and £730 million more for mental health services (Tories).

You have to wonder why these pledges, if they are serious, weren't mentioned prior to the election campaign.

They are stage props in what is increasingly becoming a failed West(End)Minster play.

And then we have the never-ending repeat of these pathetic catchphrases that party leaders believe will garner support: change, growing the economy, long-term decisions for a brighter future, take back control, difficult decisions.

All of them worthless, meaningless.

Andy Stenton, Glasgow.

• ANOTHER day, another promise. Leaving aside finding the money to pay for these promises, where exactly are the various parties going to magic up thousands of doctors, dentists and police? Not surprisingly they all keep quiet about that. So far as wild promises are concerned, one I haven’t yet heard is “free beer for the workers”, but I suppose that there is still time.

Alan McGibbon, Paisley.

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Indy will not stop trade

IT seems a rather desperate argument to claim that because the Union survived for more than 300 years the consequences of Scotland’s withdrawal should be “many times worse” than the complete shambles and bitterly expensive debacle that has been Brexit. Northern Ireland’s "special status" in relation to trading with the EU demonstrates that alternative paths were open to the UK Government but a Tory Party, effectively driven by Nigel Farage into a Hard Brexit, greatly exacerbated the damage inflicted on the rest of the UK.

Martin Redfern (Letters, June 10) quotes Scotland’s “exports” to the rest of the UK as 61% (2021 figure) but what he doesn’t tell readers is that more than half of this figure relates to services and less than a quarter relates to manufactured goods (not necessarily remaining in the UK) which is less than half of the amount of Scotland’s manufactured goods exported internationally. Perhaps Mr Redfern is not a whisky connoisseur but it is doubtful that many in England will stop sampling their favourite dram even if the UK Government at the time Scotland withdraws from the Union is as incompetent as we have suffered under for the last decade. Interdependency works both ways and if Mr Redfern believes that the 300-year association remains truly meaningful and to be highly valued then even the most incompetent politicians should be able to find mutually beneficial ways to go forward.

As for Mr Redfern’s comment that a notional deficit level of 9% for Scotland would mean “a decade or more of austerity before there’s any chance at all of joining the EU” one has to laugh and wonder whether sunnier days have blinded him to the dismal reality of Broken Brexit Britain. The IFS has stated that both Tory and Labour parties “are effectively signed up to sharp spending cuts” amounting to an estimated £18 billion cut to public services, or put another way, “austerity on steroids”, and Keir Starmer has stated that it will probably take two parliamentary terms (10 years) to fix the “unmitigated disaster” caused by the Tories.

In the meantime Scotland might not only be significantly increasing trade with Europe via the EEA or EFTA but there are many good reasons to be confident that it will be granted "special status" to join the EU well within a decade of regaining its independence.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry.

• MARTIN Redfern reminds us that 61% of Scotland’s trade is with elsewhere in the UK and he suggests secession would be detrimental to this situation. Does he really expect companies who successfully trade with each other, no matter where they may be located, to suddenly stop because their political relationship changes? Companies trade with each other due to availability, costs and quality, nothing else, and that is why Scottish goods and services are in such high demand.

George Wright, Edinburgh.

Europe dream is surely dead

EUROPE has swung markedly to the right in the EU elections. Where does this leave the SNP's dream ticket of joining the EU? Europe will not want a left of centre government in Scotland and Scotland will not want a right of centre-leaning Europe.

Just when the "de facto referendum" election is about to take place, the first line of the SNP manifesto has finally been dealt a fatal blow. The dream really is dead.

Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.

Nigel Farage (Image: PA)

A hamstrung government

DURING this General Election it’s vital to remind the people of Scotland just what the devolved Scottish Parliament has done for them; and for those yet to be convinced, how very much more could be done with the full powers of independence.

However John Swinney, in tackling the disastrous effect of Brexit, the economic crisis and climate change and more, has named the eradication of child poverty as the top priority. Independent analysis has shown that, through the SNP Government’s Scottish Child Payment policy and its £1 billion investment, 100,000 children have already been taken out of poverty.

In truth however, the workings of any devolved government with its many restrictions is like a boxer fighting with one arm.

Grant Frazer, Newtonmore.

Why does child poverty exist?

SOON after his coronation as First Minister, John Swinney announced that his prime focus was the elimination of child poverty.

On the face of it this is a laudable aim but on reflection it beggars belief that child poverty should exist at all in a country as affluent as ours. The elimination of child poverty should be a natural consequence of actions taken elsewhere to improve or maintain general wellbeing in our society. It should not be an issue of itself.

Unfortunately, by eviscerating the public sector and failing to protect and maintain the three basic pillars of a civilised society (health, education and a robust criminal justice system) successive governments have created a situation where child poverty can flourish to the embarrassment of us all.

Get the big things right and the benefits will flow down and permeate the whole of society, improving the lot of all of us.

Keith Swinley, Ayr.