Ruth’s qualities as a leader will really be missed

WHAT a pity that Ruth Davidson felt she had to go. She made voting Tory possible and without shame for even old, once dyed-inthe-wool, Labour voters.

She was the only Scottish party leader that was patently honest and up front. No scheming or nastiness or bloated ego that have been the hallmarks of the past two First Ministers.

She would have been an outstanding First Minister and very possibly a Prime Minister that could have pulled the UK back together after the Brexit nightmare. She will be sorely missed.

ALExANDER MCKAY, Edinburgh. I WATCHED the excellent BBC documentary Yes No – Inside the Referendum. I cannot see Indyref 2 happening till well after 2021, and that’s assuming the SNP wins the Holyrood election.

If there is a referendum and a Better Together 2, I hope that Jim Murphy, Ramsay Jones, Douglas Alexander and Gordon Brown are willing to get back in the saddle, young Finn Davidson might be at school and perhaps his mum Ruth could be coaxed into leading the campaign. I’m feeling Better Already. ALLAN SUTHERLAND, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire.

Nation divided

IT’S pathetic that Remain MPs are threatening to barricade themselves in Parliament to defend democracy.

If they had accepted the democratic vote to leave the EU, Boris would never have had to suspend Parliament.

It’s not sensible for MPs to call on people to take to the streets when they are the ones responsible for the bad feeling and division in the country. Just let Boris get on with delivering the result the majority voted for.

SALLY MOSS, Reading, Berks. HOW ironic to see the protesters against Parliament being prorogued flourishing their ‘No Democracy’ placards, whilst wearing EU-starred berets, and carrying EU flags.

There is no democracy in our governance by the EU, they dictate and we are obliged to obey.

ROBERT D KNOx, Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire.

Power-driven Remainers

WELL done, Boris: you realise you are in a position of power because of the people of this country. John Bercow, who only uses constitutional law when it suits his personal agenda, and Jeremy Corbyn, who thinks he’s the next saviour, should listen to the majority who voted to leave the EU.

If it wasn’t for power-driven Remainers, Brexit could have been a done deal a year ago.

MPs need to realise they are in Parliament to represent their constituents, not themselves. I’m sick of hearing the statement: ‘My conscience won’t allow me...’ We didn’t vote for your conscience, only your ability to represent us, which isn’t happening.

GINA SCOTTING, Lancing, W. Sussex.

Dearth of information

I FOUND Jonathan Brocklebank’s article (Mail) quite amusing at times and – yes – some of the qualities we had perhaps assumed as being attributes seem to have been discarded today.

However, I am sure there are many well-meaning, hard-working, honest and intellectually bright politicians who go about representing their constituency and doing what they honestly believe to be right.

The real problem with Brexit, whatever way one’s thinking, is that we ever had a referendum in the first instance with so little ‘real information’.

Politicians have fought for years to establish peace and good trading relationships throughout Europe and specifically either side of the Irish Border.

All the talk about ‘the backstop’ and how North and South of Ireland will coexist should have been on the table before any referendum.

For all the arguments, it really does seem like we are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole – there is no good solution. So long as we have the Irish problem there will continue to be more opinions that there are politicians.

Peace in Northern Ireland has existed substantially because of an almost border free co-existence with the South – with free movement of people, goods etc.

By Brexiting we will have to create some sort of border for people and goods which can only damage all concerned on the island of Ireland. The Irish will ‘have to’ abide by the rules of the EU to preserve their own status within the EU. Many of the Irish exports are either to the UK or through the UK (ferry to UK, followed by transport to the Channel ports and subsequently ferry to the countries of the EU.

I fail to understand why our politicians can’t grasp why the EU want a backstop – i.e. it’s substantially because they too can’t see an obvious resolution to the Irish border situation. PETER H WILLIAMS, Skelmorlie, Ayrshire.

Who’s undemocratic?

SO, BORIS Johnson is undemocratic? The MPs who ignore the wishes of their constituents and pursue their own personal views — they are undemocratic.

Politicians who plan to form a splinter group to thwart Brexit — they are undemocratic.

Speaker John Bercow, who is supposed to be impartial but openly supports Remain MPs — he is undemocratic.

Boris Johnson is within his democratic rights to prorogue Parliament and request a Queen’s Speech, which is months overdue. This is normal procedure for any new prime minister and has rightly been granted by the Queen. CAROLE RUSSELL,

Droitwich, Worcs.

Brilliant Blyton

SARAH VINE is right: my best classroom assistants in 32 years of teaching children to read have been the books of Enid Blyton.

They provide the greatest motivation: learning to read requires wanting to read.

True, she was an author of her time, but when the children requested yet another of her books at storytime, it was easy to adapt the stories for today. I had Anne of the Famous Five saying: ‘Come on, George, let’s explore while the boys wash the dishes.’

I treasure a thank-you card from a child moving up to junior school: ‘I will miss you and all the adventures we have had together.’ JANET ENTWISTLE,

Chelmsford, Essex.

Perils of plastic

PEOPLE who only drink tap water may ingest as few as 4,000 pieces of microplastic a year, while those who drink a lot of water in plastic bottles may take in up to 90,000 pieces, according to research.

Ingestion of microplastics from food and packaging is in the range of 40,000 to 50,000 pieces a year.

There are claims such ingestion is likely to be a major cause of some forms of cancer as well as lung disease, yet little serious research has been done into this. In my view, this is a more pressing challenge than ocean garbage and its impact on marine life, or the evils of single-use plastic bags. Professor MICHAEL JEFFERSON,

Melchbourne, Beds.

Hello, darling

I AM surprised that people object to being called ‘darling’, ‘love’ and ‘guys’ (Letters).

As long as you are addressed in a friendly and civil way, what does it matter which form of greeting is used? Is being overfamiliar really a bad thing?

In an age in which face-to-face interaction is in decline, we should be thankful that people are taking the time to acknowledge us.

ADAM OAKLEY, Derby.

One is not amused

THE ‘HELCH’ graffiti that upset the Queen is being removed from a railway bridge near Windsor Castle (Mail).

Hideous graffiti has been daubed on all the other rail bridges in my borough for years.

Network Rail used to clean it off when it was reported, but now that happens only if it is deemed to be obscene.

Not even our councillor and MP have been able to persuade Network Rail to deal with it. WENDY PARKER, Shirley, W. Mids.

Out of step on pensions

IN France, President Macron proposed upping the pension age from 62 to 64. The populace donned their yellow vests and Macron dropped the proposals.

Compare that to the UK. When faced with crazy suggestions the populace moan but shrug their shoulders and say: ‘That’s what politicians say must happen so hey-ho.’ The funny thing is the same rules don’t apply to MPs.

Here’s a suggestion: instead of getting their pensions when they leave office, regardless of age, why don’t they trial a 75 pension age first? At the same time they could bring in a law which abolishes their resettlement grant when they stop being an MP.

One final thought. Why is the UK so out of step with the rest of the world on pension age?

BOB PROCTOR, Cupar, Fife.