Hooray Holyrood

Jane Ball is very much in the minority if she believes our

Scottish Parliament is a mistake (Letters, 11 September).

It has led the way with many progressive policies, including free personal care, the smoking ban and minimum pricing for alcohol, while Westminster tries to play catch up.

Looking at the civil war within the UK Tory and Labour parties, no serious person would claim that the quality of politicians at Westminster – with its £4 billion cost to bring it into the 21st century– is better than Holyrood, where Nicola Sturgeon remains head and shoulders above the opposition alternatives.

Labour’s Richard Leonard still can’ t differentiate between devolved and reserved powers while Ruth Davidson has no consistent policies, as her 2016 manifesto advocated Primary One testing and remaining in the EU.

While Westminster is causing untold Brexit damage, then used the Supreme Court to try to defeat democratic decisions of the Scottish Parliament, the SNP, with Westminster cuts to our limited powers, is getting on with the day job by providing far better public services than elsewhere in these islands.

MARY THOMAS

Watson Crescent , Edinburgh

An interesting letter from Jane Ball, on the reasons for devolution – ie, she fears it was introduced in response to nationalism, and not better government.

Some of us remember the immortal words of Labour politician George Robertson: “Devolution will kill nationalism stone dead.”

Other Labour politicians, for example Tam Dalyell, perhaps were more prescient. All it has done is give the SNP another platform and are we any better governed?

Given the centralising tendencies of Holyrood, it would appear not.

WILLIAM BALLANTINE

Bo’ness, West Lothian