Letters: Is it time for SNP to ditch the ‘national’ part?

It’s not helpful to our cause to hang on to the nationalist word for sentiment’s or for history’s sake. Our opponents love us having that word there; it can be twisted woefully and can very easily be misunderstood.

I remember speaking to some Dutch people at an overseas airport before the 2014 referendum. When I told them that I was a nationalist they were visibly alarmed.

I also watched an STV sixth-form debate on independence before the referendum. The boy speaking against independence said he had looked up nationalism on the internet and it was all about Hitler and you can imagine the rest. The opposition won and all the contenders were told that they were “absolutely brilliant”, the usual way of saying “well tried”. Not one of the teachers and of course not one of the STV staff corrected the boy nor hinted that he had been at all mistaken about the core thinking of the SNP. For the Unionist cause he had indeed been brilliant.

We have to get the explanation of the differences contained in the word nationalist made crystal clear and avoid any possibility of malicious misinterpretation. These differences must be writ large in the windows of our hubs and distributed in leaflets.

When we have won then we can call the party anything you like. Let us not play into the hands of the twister anymore.

Hilary Christie
Glenlivet

WITH major internal reform in progress, the SNP also needs to review its candidate vetting procedures. These should be transparent, objective and thorough at all stages, with the party’s headquarters well enough resourced to fully analyse applications and carry out background checks. That operation needs to be professional and consistent, with chief executive Peter Murrell held directly responsible.

The second, interview stage of vetting should be decentralised and handed over to constituency associations. They are by far the best placed to select candidates that are suited to their patch and to take gender considerations into account along with other factors. Candidates need to be locally based for campaigning and surely no-one knows better what is needed for their constituency than the people who actually live there?

The 2014 indyref campaign was spearheaded by Alex Salmond as SNP leader and First Minister, but its momentum came from the grassroots. That grew into a unique and liberating time for many Scots in developing their ambitions for our country and what that could mean for their own lives. In modern, progressive societies, decisions are best made as locally as possible, but decentralisation has to come from the top.

Bryan Stuart
Insch

MORE power to the elbow of Ian Blackford in keeping up the pressure on the government over the missing millions of farming support cash which did not come to Scotland after being supplied by the European Union (Blackford calls for probe into the EU farming cash, June 30).

The comments made by Michael Gove about “grievance-mongering separatists” are offensive in the extreme and are evidence, as if any more were needed, of the disgusting mindset of the present incumbents of Downing Street.

It is then quite alright for mistakes to be made which give away vast amounts of cash to the wrong recipients, and we are expected to accept that this was a genuine administrative error for which no-one will be blamed, and those responsible will continue to be supported in their employment with no knuckles being rapped! Aye right!

Try telling this to a member of the ordinary public – for instance someone applying to have their visa renewed after having corrected a genuine mistake on their tax return and for which they are then ordered out of the country.

This whole saga is a huge wake-up call to everyone, particularly the farming community around the country, as to the dishonesty and mindset with which future negotiators with Westminster post-Brexit will have to deal. These people are not to be trusted.

I hope that when the time comes to once again cast a vote, the huge agricultural vote will get itself into the correct box, and once and for all help get rid of this disease-ridden Tory mindset.

George M Mitchell
Dunblane

ALEX Salmond and Murray Foote are equally to blame for the No vote in the 2014 referendum (Salmond: The Vow DID have impact on result of indyref, June 30).

Foote’s Vow was a superb piece of showmanship at the perfect moment to influence the vote – just two or three days before the poll. I waited for the Yes campaign’s response, completely convinced that our showman of a First Minister would have an equally brilliant coup de grace up his sleeve. A big-name endorsement, or better. What happened? Absolutely nothing. Which left the Vow as the only headline in town.

I hope the Yes side – Alex himself, perhaps? – will make sure this mistake isn’t made next time.

Ronnie Black
Peebles

THE Vow had nothing to do with winning or losing the indyref. Postal votes were already in. People had made their minds up before that. And on the day, one avid independence supporter told he voted No. He was very angry at the Yes campaign. He told me “they are keeping the pound and the Queen so what’s the point?” That’s why he voted No. Sad thing is he died not long after.

David Ritchie
North Ayrshire