Don't forget the SNP membership voted for alternative to the Growth Report

Since this is the most recent such policy decision, it must supersede Andrew Wilson’s Growth Report, which was passed some time previously, only with amendments, when it was the only plan on offer.

READ MORE: Andrew Wilson: Sticking with UK is 'high risk' for Scotland

If the SNP is still truly a member-led party, this must now be the accepted policy on this issue. Moreover, Dr Rideout is always willing to talk about and demonstrate how his plans can work.

While mentioning Dr Rideout, I am at a loss to understand how someone who opposed apartheid so strongly that South Africa deported him can possibly be accused of racism and suspended from the party.

I hope he is or will very soon be re-admitted, as we need his skills and dedication to our cause.

L McGregor
Falkirk

WHAT can I say about the letter from Cliff Purvis on May 10? There are no words to express how sad I feel that Cliff cannot see how thoughtless and hurtful his expression of loathing is for the people who, for nearly 50 years, worked hard, and in some cases, anonymously, to bring a minority party to government, most of whom are not interested in holding positions. He calls them “a wretched gathering of has-beens , wannabes and never-have-beens” – deplorable. I would be just as annoyed if this was an Alba member who was saying the same thing about SNP members.

The rhetoric around the Yes movement should be about how we can achieve indy as soon as possible, but going cap-in-hand to Westminster is not the answer.

We’ve had enough of austerity and we are going into a winter where some people, unnecessarily, will not be able to afford heating or food. We have to be radical and stand up to Westminster. No other country asked for independence, they all decided it was time to go, and if the present administration had been working on indy – they had years to do it – we would now be ready to go. Wake up and smell the coffee, Cliff.

Rosemary Smith
East Kilbride

A NUMBER of moons ago, George Kerevan wrote in his column that he hoped Alex Salmond would set up his own party, with Alex dictating his policy and ideas to the membership. When the above happened, George then told us he had predicted it. (He quickly joined). It is easy to make predictions about something when you have probably been involved in creating the event.

Now to his latest column. George appears to blame indy supporters for not voting for Alba, saying they had good policies and put independence to the forefront (Big changes are Alba’s only hope of survival, May 9).

The now highly politically aware citizens of our nation know why they are voting for a political party, which is why the SNP increased their councillor tally and Alba achieved none. (I’m old enough to remember a time when a slogan, a few soundbites and a red or blue rosette was enough to get people’s vote. Not now!)

What George cannot disguise in his piece is both the bitterness of Alba’s underachievement and his disdain for the SNP, their government and their leader Nicola Sturgeon. In expressing such a feeling, it is also by extension the ordinary membership of the SNP party you include.

The only positives in what he writes is his drawing to our attention some truths and failings of Alba.

I’m not usually given to making predictions, but my view is that Alex Salmond and Alba are dead in the water. They may continue as a small element within the Yes movement, but I think that is all they will be should they have a political survival.

Bobby Brennan
Glasgow

IT was extremely disturbing to read the reports of the killing of a journalist by the Israeli occupation army. Whilst they have no qualms about shooting unarmed civilians it is alarming that they feel they can kill journalists with impunity. Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank early on Wednesday Abu Akleh, a Palestinian with US citizenship, was wearing a press vest and a helmet when she was killed. She was 51 years old.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh shot dead by Israeli forces during Jenin raid

A second journalist, Ali Samoudi, was shot in the back during the same incident and was reported to be in stable condition. Samoudi insisted that the journalists had been deliberately targeted by Israeli forces. The journalists were in an open area and would have been clearly visible to the soldiers. “We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” Samoudi said. “The first bullet hit me and the second bullet hit Shireen. She was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and was shot near the ear – an extremely accurate sniper shot. The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”

In 2016, the renowned Israeli human rights group B’Tselem announced it would stop cooperating with Israeli military investigations, which it termed a “whitewash mechanism.” It added that 25 years of fruitlessly filing complaints on behalf of Palestinians “brought us to the realisation that there is no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to successfully cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators.”

B McKenna
Dumbarton