Sir, Labour, the UK’s largest political party, has elected a left wing leader by a landslide.
This is not a revolution but a giant evolutionary step forward.
Even those on the right recognise that Jeremy Corbyn has offered many hope where there was none and that policies such as reducing student debt and nationalising the railways are hugely popular right across the UK’s political spectrum.
Kezia Dugdale was one of the first people to meet Mr Corbyn after hiselection and he has made it clear that he willsupport her in her efforts to rebuild Scottish Labour.
When he visitsScotland in the coming days I fully expect that he will call on the SNP to work with him inWestminster to oppose the Tories by winning arguments, not playing games, in parliament.
However, I very much doubt he will have much time for the SNP’s woeful Holyrood record oneducation, policing and the NHS.
To distract the SNP’s core support from Mr Corbyn’s positive agenda, Nicola Sturgeon has been forced to play her referendum card early.
By talking up the chances of a secondreferendum in the near future, she simultaneously reassures hard-core nationalists while keeping on side those on the left who reluctantly see the SNP as the necessary means to deliver a socialist Scotland once independence is gained.
While the SNP may have been successful in moving the agenda back on to the ground theyare comfortable with, I am hopeful that the rebalancing of politics across the UK will expose their record in government to forensic scrutiny by the Scottish public.
Dr Scott Arthur. Buckstone Gardens, Edinburgh.
FM needs to learn what ‘no’ means
Sir, I was appalled, but not unduly surprised, by Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that there will be another independence referendum only when she feels that she can win it.
I am, however,interested at the timing of the announcement just when JeremyCorbyn has been elected leader of the Labour Party.
Surely the SNP are not running scared that Labour will expose them for what they are, a left wing talking shop but acting right wing.
Desperate to appease hard-liners, they come out with this rhetoric?
If it wasn’t so dishonest and pathetic it would be laughable when Nicola says: “This is driven and decided by the people of Scotland”.
Yes, it was, last September, Scotland voted No.
Can we afford another £13.5 million on a second referendum, with the police, education and health service in chaos after eight years of SNP leadership? Could the money not be spent on those failing services?
I think Ms Sturgeon needs to go back to school to learn what the word ‘no’ means.
However, given the failings in education under her leadership, perhaps not.
Gordon Kennedy. Simpson Square, Perth.
Time to wake up to independence
Sir, The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader has just brought the prospect of Scottish independence that little bit closer.
It will, of course, be great to see him work with the SNP and other like-minded parties in a progressive alliance against Tory austerity and to hopefully join in voting against the£100 billion renewal of Trident.
But he leads a bitterly divided Labour Party at a time when what is vitally needed is strongopposition to the Tories.
Elections are won from the centre ground and unless there is somedramatic transformation, Labour underMr Corbyn is simplyunelectable.
We need to wake up to the fact that we either take decisions into our own hands throughindependence or face the prospect of years of deeply damaging Tory rule.
Alex Orr. Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.
Resign and let voters decide
Sir, Jeremy Corbyn’s policies include some we would like to see in place and others we would not.
I’m sure the vast majority of the population would prefer to see water, gas, electricity and transport in the control of the British peopleand not in the handsof foreign-ownedcompanies.
On the other hand, the defence of these islands needs to be sustained.
As for the shadowcabinet ministers who have decided “this is not for me”, they are demonstrating exactly why New Labour is being rejected en masse.
In refusing to accept what the people aresaying, in this case the near 60% who chose the party’s new leader, surely the honourable thing would be for each of them to resign theirParliamentary seats and let the voters decide again if they, and theattitude they have adopted, is what their constituents want.
Colin Cookson. Stenton, Glenrothes.
Start of another Greek tragedy?
Sir, With the election of Jeremy Corbyn and the imminence of the Scottish general election, the scene is set for a grand staging of political theatrics as the party conference season approaches.
We can expectagreement between the socialists and nationalists on their hatred of “vile Tories”, Trident, austerity, wealth, immigration controls, inequality, low taxation and capitalism generally.
What they won’t be in agreement about is who can out-hate the Tories most, who can reduce defence more, who can give more in benefits, who can tax more, who can be more compassionate and who can be more anti-capitalist.
The desire to outdo the other on all this will be irresistible.
We can expect angst, concern and perturbation on the dreadful social and economicsituation that allegedly affects tens of millions of our fellow citizens, to which, of course, they will be committed to eradicate by printing money, increasing benefits and taxing to the hilt anyone they consider “rich” or successful.
In fact, I think we can look forward to apolitically correct beanfeast of biblical proportions from the chattering classes.
The details of theirpolicies will naturally be vague and convoluted, their solutions owing more to emotion rather than reality.
Hard decisions will be non-existent and the path to a utopian society promised without much effort ( based on what historical evidence is not clear, but that’s a minor point).
Whether this brand of idealistic student politics will be taken up by the electorate is anyone’s guess but a stark example of the nationaleconomics that MrCorbyn and Ms Sturgeon seem to want to follow is clear for all to see in the economic farce that is Greece.
Political theatrics are expected from all sides but when our nation’s security, wealth and future is threatened by ideologies that have been proved useless over and over again, we may indeed be looking at the political stage being set for a Greek tragedy.
Iain Richmond. Guildy House, Monikie.
Balancing act for Sturgeon
Sir, Has NicolaSturgeon overplayed her hand?
As Jeremy Corbyntriumphs, Ms Sturgeon tries to hold mediaattention, keeping her core supporters on side with more secondreferendum rhetoric.
As ever, the FirstMinister must perform a balancing act not lose the radical left to MrCorbyn’s genuinesocialism while keeping the rest of us happy with vacuous claims that the SNP is the only true party to stand up for Scotland.
By speaking out in a tone more strongly than before in favour of an early referendum, Ms Sturgeon must becareful not to put at risk the decisive Holyrood majority she craves next year.
Finding your way through the SNP’s slick media spin is often challenging but arguably the one significant point made in Ms Sturgeon’s recent TV documentary is that she will demand a referendum only when she strongly believes she will win.
Then the Edinburgh Agreement and all those “once in a lifetime or even a generation” promises will beconveniently forgotten.
Martin Redfern. Royal Circus, Edinburgh.
Citizen Smithreincarnated
Sir, The bestdocumentaries are our comedies.
Yes Minister really is Whitehall, while life in occupied Franceresembled Allo Allo and Glasgow is captured in Rab C Nesbitt.
The sitcom which best reflected the lunacies of the 1970s was Citizen Smith and I had not thought to see his like again then JeremyCorbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party.
Rev Dr John Cameron. Howard Place, St Andrews.
Sturgeon criticism unfair
Sir, In fairness to Nicola Sturgeon I don’t think that she is so much shocked by the fierce criticism of her appearance (Peter Stuart,Letters, September 14) as by the fact that even in the 21st Century it is so much fiercer because she is female.
I must say I tend to agree with her.
Laurie Richards, Crail Road Cellardyke.