JULIA Pannell obviously encountered an irony by-pass when she described legitimate criticisms of the recent emergence of a rainbow range of fringe political parties as an outpouring of “venom” (Venomous responses to new parties won’t stop us campaigning, October 28).
Ms Pannell challenged critics to explain to her “how ‘Both Votes SNP’ is not a complete waste of time”. At the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2011 the SNP won all 10 of the first-past-the-post constituency seats in the North East of Scotland region. In addition – and in a situation described at the time by polling gurus as “breaking the d’Hondt system” – the party also gained a further seat on the regional list, having achieved 52.7% share of the list vote. That is fact!
READ MORE: Venomous responses to new parties won’t stop us campaigning
Recent polling surveys suggest that the SNP may attract somewhere between 55-58% of the popular support in the first-past-the-post contests in 2021 (in 2011 the eventual all-Scotland total was 45.4%). My contention is that if all of those potential supporters can be persuaded of the case to also vote SNP for the list seats then the party would most probably gain at least one further seat in each regional area irrespective of how many seats it won in the respective constituencies. That situation would produce a good working majority government.
Now I readily concede that that scenario might not play out accordingly in 2021, but I do believe that it has a far more likely chance of success than relying on the prospect of a plethora of unknown parties and individuals, all competing with one another, delivering anything of significance.
Brian McGarry
Inverkeithing, Fife
WITH no apparent irony, Julia Pannell makes reference to deja vu before subjecting us to the same set of opinions which have now appeared in The National several times.
Among the risible comments in the latest letter we hear that “there will be no independence if it is left to the SNP”. Followed by: “New parties put independence to the forefront as the SNP used to do”. And these new parties will “keep the SNP’s feet to the fire firstly on independence, then on other major issues when the SNP have lost their way”. Then we hear that “the SNP have kicked the independence can down the road”. And finally: “The SNP can win a majority on their own. Ironically though their inaction in independence and concentration on boutique policies are the biggest threats to them winning”.
By now I think we have all gathered that somewhere along the road, the SNP have done something which has led to this slightly obsessive antipathy. However, with nine successive opinion polls showing support for independence growing and high personal ratings for the SNP leader, we can be grateful that policy and strategy is not in the hands of Julia Pannell.
Douglas Turner
Edinburgh
I SEE that Scotland’s latest pop-up political party, the strangely named Scotia Future (more like Scotland Past), have indicated that they may well stand in first-past-the-post constituency seats as well as the regional lists. Imagine if they managed to persuade enough anti-EU SNP voters to vote for them and as a result the SNP candidates in a number of constituency seats were beaten by Unionists.
Even worse, what if the loss of these seats resulted in a failure of the SNP to gain an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament? Mr Doig and Mr Brodie could between them set the independence movement back many years, perhaps for many lifetimes.
Mr Doig may well have his own long-standing personal reasons for attacking the SNP and I do not know Mr Brodie’s recent political background, but I hope they both might see sense and realise the very dangerous game they are playing.
John Baird
Paisley
YE gods – not another bloody pro-indy party! This one is worse as they say they are going to fight for constituency seats as well. At least the others are only going to tackle the list section which is slightly better, but not much.
Having been in the party for more than 70 years, I have seen several such groups come and go over and guess what? They all lost their deposits, as this one surely will as well. How can they organise a new party in seven months? Oh I know – they’ll use magic!
Hamish MacQueen
Glasgow
IN response to J Pannell’s letter, my strictures of these inconsequential splinter parties stand. The various “we are more nationalist than anyone else” parties are nothing more than an irritation.
I am a 50 year long member of the SNP and like Ms Pannell, I have no time for a number of the SNP policies. I recognise the SNP is the tool Scotland needs to gain independence with international recognition. I also realise the SNP as the government Scotland must try to govern in what they see as the interests of the country, not just rabid independistas such as I. What I have to say to these very small, irritating parties is "go away and stop being a nuisance".
R Mill Irving
Gifford
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