WITH a “lame-duck” president to be replaced in a couple of months by a “wheeler-dealer” with few principles and little in the way of human compassion, it’s time for Keir Starmer to step up and do everything within his authority and within the power of the UK Government to end the obscene suffering in Gaza.

A year ago Starmer failed to join the SNP in calling for an immediate ceasefire, and tens of thousands of innocent women and children have been slaughtered since, with hundreds of thousands more on the verge of drawing their final breaths.

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If the Labour Party retains even a shred of Keir Hardie’s pacifist principles, all weapons-related UK sales to Israel must cease immediately, and with the release of hostages on both sides he must lead demands for the UN to be allowed to freely (save for customary border checks), safely and rapidly deliver the volume of aid desperately needed by those still living amongst Gaza’s bloody ruins.

More vacuous words will not end the catastrophic devastation and unimaginable suffering of millions of Palestinian citizens currently condemned to die, or, if they are “lucky” enough to escape the carnage, to be added to the statistics of refugees fleeing conflict and perhaps seeking to make the hazardous journey to a relatively safe haven in the UK.

Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian

US Democrats and democrats across the globe can stop the hand-wringing and the ridiculous who-is-to-blame game right now.

What’s brutally obvious as the mist clears is that MAGA and Musk just handed the globe to Putin.

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This is the successful conclusion of Putin’s campaign that actually began at the start of this century and has been played out in full view of us all.

While Starmer, having bent the knee to Trump, is working out how to grovel to Musk, the rest of us need to catch up. Fast.

Amanda Baker
Edinburgh

IT seems that the UK Government is totally out of touch with reality. I heard that bundle of joy and eternally effervescent Labour stalwart Pat McFadden on the wireless saying that it did not matter what anyone said in detriment to Donald Trump, that the special relationship between the two countries would, and pardon the pun, Trump everything!

I don’t know what planet he is living on but I’m sure we all know that The Donald is a vindictive and totally petty individual and will seek retribution by putting the boot into anyone who upsets him. Like lots of other leaders, Sir Keir knows that they are all going to be shafted by making America great again.

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Meanwhile, up here in the frozen north, our FM is getting it in the neck for congratulating President Trump on his victory. I am most certainly not a fan of the FM, but I realise that he has got to do the same as other parliament leaders and show some respect. It is very shallow of anyone castigating John Swinney for this. Actually, he was just doing his job.

On that front, it is becoming clearer every day in the letters pages of The National that there is general unhappiness at the total unwillingness of the SNP to try and get a grip on things. They do not seem to understand the importance of 2026. Why is it we are not upping the tempo and getting the message out that the SNP are back in business and are going for glory in the Scottish election?

We need a bit of oomph and we need it fast. Where are some of the excellent MPs from the carnage of the General Election? We need some of these people to be asked to stand in 2026 and get everything sorted out well in advance. I hope we are not going to just trundle along and leave everything to the last minute.

If we need someone to put all this together and take the pressure off the FM then do it now! Over to you, Mhairi. I am sure you could do this and find a seat for yourself in 2026 while you’re at it!

Old John
Ayrshire

THOM Cross (Letters, Nov 9) is correct. The 2026 Scottish Parliament elections will profoundly determine the future of Scotland. Sadly it will not be as easy as Mr Cross suggests to double the membership of the SNP between now and then. I suspect the SNP would consider it a victory if it can even retain its membership close to its current levels. I see nothing on the political horizon that would see a return to the mass membership numbers of 2015.

The SNP seem to have decided that their message for 2026 is to try and portray themselves as the best colonial administrators of Donald Dewar’s devolution dream.

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Mr Cross is also correct to say that candidates should be in place by May 2025. The sooner the better. However my political heart sank when he talked of “powerful former MPs available to be recruited now”. While there is certainly a degree of political talent currently seeking gainful re-employment, I cannot help but recall these were the very people who spent many years sitting on the green benches of Westminster apparently blissfully unaware that back home their support was collapsing.

Given the results of the many recent by-elections, there is absolutely nothing to suggest there has been an SNP revival since their July 4 electoral disaster. Sadly for the SNP, in the year and a half left to rescue the situation, there is very little being done to convince me that a large section of the Scottish electorate can be persuaded to rush out and vote SNP. If the SNP cannot lift their political game, John Swinney will be their 2026 funeral director.

Sandra West
Dundee