WITH one day to go till the election the polls look pretty bleak, and the thought of a hard-right Tory government is enough to depress anyone. However, there is some hope that tactical voting by only a few thousand people in 40 or 50 constituencies could prevent this horrible prospect.

In Scotland it is clear that there is only one tactical vote required in Tory constituencies and that is to vote SNP. As a former Labour member and MEP I would appeal to Labour voters in Scotland to vote SNP and get rid of the 13 Scottish Tory MPs who gave the Tories a majority at the last election.

READ MORE: Former Rise activists campaign to oust SNP in Lanarkshire

In England I would definitely vote Labour and many of my friends in England have joined or rejoined the Labour Party in order to stop a Tory victory. Also I have known Jeremy Corbyn for more than 40 years and he is a socialist and a man of integrity and someone who can be trusted, unlike Boris Johnson. I also believe that he will cooperate with the SNP to allow them to support a minority Labour government and to allow a referendum on Scottish independence.

Finally, on the question of Brexit, although I support remaining in the EU, as do the majority of people in Scotland, I can see a logic in Labour’s position to allow a second vote for people on a clear agreement with the EU. I do recall the first referendum on Europe in 1975 called by Harold Wilson to deal with the divisions in both Labour and the Tories. Indeed I persuaded my constituency Labour Party in England to adopt an abstentionist position on the referendum. I also recall that Harold Wilson who was a very canny operator took an abstentionist position and allowed his cabinet ministers to argue for and against membership. The result was a clear vote in favour of membership of the EU and unity in both the country and the parties for a generation.

Of course the difference today is that we have a virulent right-wing press owned by foreign billionaires who are campaigning against the EU not least because it threatens to regulate them.I have been an active participant in every election since 1959 and never seen such vicious right wing press coverage. So let’s surprise them on Thursday by voting tactically and maybe we can wake up on Friday morning with some hope for the future.

Hugh Kerr (MEP 1994-99)
Edinburgh

ARE you a pro-independence voter but considering voting Labour for its radical policies, like some Rise activists (Former Rise activists aim to oust SNP, 10 November)? That would be a big mistake.

The last time the English electorate voted for anything like a radical left Labour government was in 1979. The fact is that for more than 30 of the last 50 years, seven Conservative and one Conservative/LibDem coalition government have ruled over Scotland despite Scottish voters voting Labour or SNP majorities. In every case, if every SNP MP had been Labour, Scotland would still have been ruled by Conservative, Conservative/LibDem UK governments.

This history indicates that whatever the Labour vote is in Scotland, we are highly likely to end up being ruled by a Conservative government voted in by the English electorate. The only way Scotland will get the types of government we vote for is by first getting independence and then voting in the type of government that we want.

So it is more important than ever that you vote and that your priority is to vote for your pro-independence candidate, in this election the SNP candidate, to strengthen the case for Scottish independence.

Anything except a strong pro-independence vote and a large number of SNP MPs will be used as an excuse to disrespect the views of Scottish people and legitimise a UK Government’s refusal to approve a second independence referendum, retaining this extreme democratic deficit for Scotland’s people.

Jim Stamper
Bearsden

I WAS very disappointed, but not over surprised, to learn about the Rise activists who intend to vote Labour on Thursday.

Although I am very much a socialist myself, with a fairly high regard for Jeremy Corbyn, I have no doubt whatever, that voting SNP is really essential for those seeking an independent Scotland.

Norrie Paton
Campbeltown

NOO it seems tae me, gin ye belie in the supremacy o England, see naithin rang wi children in poverty, food banks, austerity, an want £300,000m+ spent on Trident, vote Conservative an sleep fu o yer ain selrichtiness. Gin austerity worries ye a wee bittie, nae muckle like, but ye want ae steelie leader faa wuid zap several million sowls waeoot a blink o the ee, vote LibDem an sleep conscience-free. Gin ye dinnae like austerity, an really, really, dinnae like WMDs but cannae see ony ither wey forrard, vote Labour fur London Labour says it’s guid, an sleep fitfu like. Gin ye dinnae belie in ony o yon, an jalouse Scots shuid hae the same autonomy o ilk ither nationality in Europe, cept the Welsh, syne ye maun vote SNP or Green. But can ye really expect the Scottish Greens tae deliver ocht? Their wabsteid front page attacks the Scottish Parliament and Nicola Sturgeon, nae the Unionists.

George T Watt
Arbroath

I THOUGHT I could no longer be shocked by reports of poverty resulting from ten years of Tory austerity. I was wrong.Yesterday I read a newspaper article which literally brought tears to my eyes. In the Springburn area of Glasgow they have had to open a separate food bank for babies. Poverty is so acute that delays in welfare payments are leaving newborns and infants lacking the very basics of survival. Charity is once again needed to fill the gaps of this Tory government’s savage ideology.

Terry Keegans
Beith, North Ayrshire