IT CAME as a bit of a shock to read in The National of August 18, given the current political situation, that the SNP’s membership is actually in decline. It seems it has fallen from a peak of 125,000 in December 2019 to 105,393 in December 2020 and was down to 103,884 in December 2021.

The SNP suggested the Covid pandemic was to blame and that a “further hit” was due to the “cost of living crisis gripping the UK.” A quick visit to the SNP’s website will confirm you can join the party for as little as £1 a month and only £5 a year if you are unwaged, over 60 years old or a student – less than 10p a week.

I understand as well as anyone that money is tight and household budgets are stretched, but to simply brush off the loss of roughly a fifth of your members to Covid is to stick your head in the political sand. To put this into perspective, 25,000 people is approximately half the seats in Hampden Park or more than the population of a town the size of Arbroath.

You do have to ask the question are these lost members, like some I have met in the past few years, just a wee bit disappointed with the SNP’s progress or rather the distinct lack of it. If there is no referendum in October of next year and the next UK General Election results in another majority for the SNP without any further clear moves to independence, many more may begin to wonder if the SNP is the vehicle to lead us.

Iain Wilson

Stirling

AN interesting point emerges from the last paragraph of the article about Labour Party membership (“Labour sees sharp fall in members and income”, August 18) – that of the actual membership of the Conservative Party in the UK.

It states that a Tory income surplus in 2021 “was supported by a relatively stable membership income of £1,989,000, a £10,000 drop on the previous year.” The basic annual membership fee for the party is £25 per year, which – if all members pay at this rate – would amount to a total of 79,560 members.

The other subscription rates available on its website are £5 for those under 26 and £15 for members of the armed forces. Others may be able to permutate the possible proportion of members availing themselves of these options, but it takes quite an arithmetical jump in to believe the total membership of the Conservative Party could be as much as 100,000, never mind the unquestioned estimates suggested in the press during the Tory leadership contest that its paid-up supporters vary in number between 130,000 and 200,000.

That this minuscule group should be in the position to wield exclusive voting choice over the whole of the UK’s adult population suggests “taking back control” has an altogether different meaning than that previously associated with this phrase. Britain, it seems, is now nothing more than an enlarged “rotten borough”.

Peter Wilson

Edinburgh

TASMINA Ahmed-Sheikh has difficulty disguising her disdain and undermining of Nicola Sturgeon in her attempts to achieve independence/a referendum. Let’s look at what she wrote in her column of August 3 (It’s time to stop playing the rigged Westminster game).

She says it is time to “take the gloves off in how we deal with Westminster” (with no proposals for how this can be done). She then compares Sturgeon’s Supreme Court strategy to the Charge of the Light Brigade (readers will have read the complete opinion). As for plans being laid for popular action, parliamentary and diplomatic initiatives, she does not tell us the form or type they should take.

She makes the snide remark that “honest” John Swinney’s, in her view, “whining” claim in reference to Liz Truss was hardly cutting.

Ahmed-Sheikh even manages to insult the Lord Advocate by quoting “insufficient confidence”, which she conveniently selects from the Lord Advocate’s honest legal opinion about Holyrood’s right to hold a consultative referendum, not a ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter. But to Ahmed-Sheikh it’s a fool’s errand anyway.

On Scotland’s claim of right, ask the majority of people in my community what they think of it and your answer will be a puzzled look. This is in no way diminishing the validity or dismissing the claim of right as an avenue in our campaign.

A campaign (especially ours) works in stage and there are periods when things are embarked upon or introduced as part of the ongoing campaign within the collective whole.

Ahmed-Sheikh’s final words are “now is the time for Scotland to make its move.” Perhaps she could enlighten up as to the details of the move.

Bobby Brennan

Glasgow

ANAS, who ya gonnae call??

Remember how you hounded Glasgow City Council when there was a rubbish collection strike – now the shoe is on the other foot, so I ask again “Who ya gonnae call?”

It is very easy to criticise when you are in opposition but now Labour is in power in Edinburgh, I ask again “Who ya gonnae call?”

Or is this just another of your hypocritical actions which are so typical of Labour both here and in England?

Winifred McCartney

Paisley

SO, according to the BBC,secondary school exam results dropping to above pre-pandemic levels was effectively a failure of the SNP Scottish Government –in Scotland but a planned success of the Tory UK Government. in England.

Even more disturbingly, neither the North-South divide in England increased with students in the South East gaining nearly 30% more A Levels than students in the North East, but neither this nor the overall increase in the attainment gap in England was remarked upon across BBC News programmes.

Should we not expect a public broadcaster to apply professional, impartial and consistent reporting standards? throughout its news network?

Stan Grodynski

Longniddry, East Lothian