I WAS one of the 500 or so people who attended the memorial service for Alex Salmond. As one of the generation of Scots who were brought up not to show emotion, I spent most of the service in tears.

I also saw and heard the reception John Swinney got when he arrived.

Do I condone it? No. Do I understand it? Yes. The people who lined the street were not all Alba, they were a range of people deeply committed to independence. Not for them paying for a membership card and if the weather’s good getting out to vote. They were the working foot soldiers. What you got was a spilling over of frustration, anger and despair at the lack of drive from our government to get to nationhood.

READ MORE: Jeering of John Swinney at memorial service was deeply disrespectful

433 people own half of Scotland. The pace of land reform is glacial. Where is the movement on a land tax? SSEN are going to disfigure out most beautiful landscapes in the Highlands and despoil some of our best farmland down the east coast. Let them have their transmission to the south. But will our Scottish Government tell them “underground or undersea or you are not on”? Doubt it. Many years ago I approached John Swinney about the pylons running from Beauly to Denny. He gave me a fair hearing but stated he couldn’t oppose the line due to Cabinet solidarity on the issue. Well he’s the boss now.

A few months ago we had Starmer’s wheeze on bringing about a council of the nations and the English mayors. Should never have allowed Scotland to be involved in such an exercise. At the photo opportunity at the end of their meeting, there was Starmer in our capital city centre stage, surrounded with all his English mayors and our First Minister allowing himself to be placed on the periphery. What kind of message did that send?

READ MORE: With an election on the horizon, it’s time to put the past behind us

Those are just some of the reasons John Swinney was jeered. When I joined the SNP we had politicians like Margo McDonald, Gordon Wilson and feisty women like Christine Grahame. People who had no fear of the Daily Mail, the Record or the BBC. Where are their likes today? Don’t see them.

That’s the reason for the disquiet. Don’t knock it. Analyse and understand. Those people are crying out for leadership and vision. Get to that. The jeers will turn to cheers. They have just had enough of “Some day, Thomas. Some day”.

David Smart
via email

THE excellent memorial service for Alex Salmond highlighted what we’re really missing in the independence movement – a leader who could inspire others as well as having tactical nous to outsmart his opponents. Thinking back to Mr Salmond’s period as Scotland’s First Minister, you realise that while maintaining his focus on regaining our independence he boosted the morale of all indy supporters and brought in welcome policies like free prescriptions and free tuition fees.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond would have wiped the floor with Nigel Farage – so we need a strategy

In contrast, we’re now into his third successor as SNP First Minister and we face a divided independence movement. What was built up in 2014, focussing on independence, has been replaced by divisive policies such as gender recognition. From a dream of independence we’re now – ten years later – arguing on what is, and is not, a woman!

We need a new political leader for the independence movement – I can’t see the current SNP Cabinet as capable of uniting the independence movement or achieving anything that can bring us closer to independence – but where is the next leader to come from?

Alex Beckett
Paisley

TRUMP’S TT (transition team) is looking very SS (I presume I don’t need to explain that one) but minus the organisational ability.

However, those who so miscalculated last time this lunatic was in the Whitehouse (Democrats in the US, or world leaders elsewhere) should be wary of relying on incompetence to save the democratic credentials of, currently, the most powerful country.

Much was made post-election of how the Musk/Trump relationship would instantly fail due to the competing narcissisms of both. That is to miscalculate that each of these men only ever do what is best for themselves, and for now that means staying cosy.

READ MORE: Brian Cox hits out at Boris Johnson in Channel 4 US election face off

Musk is already doxing federal workers by the thousand while Trump includes a cast of horrors in his top team that would make the devil blush.

It has long been noticed that right-wing politics goes hand in hand with violent misogyny. Trump – a convicted rapist and serial adulterer – seems to have elevated sexual misconduct to a necessary qualification for high office.

The scariest miscalculation is evident in the responses of the few remaining functioning democracies, most easily be summed up as “continue to play normal”. Or “keep fiddling while the Titanic sinks”.

Famously, in the The Godfather, Michael Corleone sacks the faithful and competent Tom Haigen because The Family needs a “wartime consiglieri”. I see no competent wartime consiglieri or other key figures in any Western democracy up to the current task of dealing with out-of-control fascism in the world today.

Amanda Baker
Edinburgh

WITH all recent comments on the assisted dying legislation, one factor does not seem to have been mentioned: suicide. Suicide usually invalidates life assurance policies and assisted dying is assisted suicide by a different name.

What provision has been made for clarification on this point in the legislation for England and Wales and the proposed legislation for elsewhere in the UK?

In none of the discussions on TV or radio have I heard mention of this important factor. Clarification on this is more needed for dependents than questions about compliance with religious standpoints.

Drew Reid
Falkirk