Can centre hold?

As an eighth Labour MP and three Tory MPS join the Independent Group, what could be the impact of a new centrist party here in Scotland?

Representing Edinburgh South, Ian Murray was the Labour MP most likely to join the new group but he has said he will remain with the Labour Party. But what if Labour, or indeed, Tory MSPS, were to join the Independent Group?

Regrettably, politics in Scotland is about the constitution – whether you’re for or against independence principally determines how we vote. In the 2016 and 2017 elections, the Tories arguably performed well not because of a shift to the right by the electorate but as a consequence of Ruth Davidson’s unwavering antiindependence stance. Conversely Westminster Labour’s messaging on indyref2 is sadly inconsistent.

The SNP’S current success in Holyrood owes much to the fact they were the only nationalist party fully contesting the 2016 Holyrood election – the Greens avoided diluting the nationalist vote by not standing for constituency seats. The pro-uk vote is, of course, divided between three parties so the SNP very effectively divides and rules. Would a fourth pro-uk party therefore further strengthen the SNP’S Holyrood dominance? Or could votes coalesce around a credible new centre-left grouping – the part of the political spectrum the SNP claims to occupy?

While independence dominates Scottish politics, the SNP’S lacklustre management of our public services could be the reason a nationalist majority may not be returned in the 2021 Holyrood election. Does the SNP’S Achilles’ heel – its obsession with the constitution to the detriment of its public services remit – present an opportunity for the Independent Group? Interesting times...

MARTIN REDFERN Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh

Now that three Remain Extory MPS have now joined the eight ex-labour MPS, are we to assume anti-brexit will be the main focus of this new alliance, with anti-semitism taking a back seat? It was significant that Chuka Umunna, who has been acknowledged as the group’s leading light, in his post-resignation address talked more about Brexit than anti-semitism.

I also wonder, as this group will campaign for a second referendum on the basis that the original circumstances that the electorate voted on has changed, if they will now put themselves forward for by-elections on the basis that the original circumstances that the electorate voted for in each of their constituencies has changed. I won’t hold my breath on that option.

PAUL LEWIS Guardwell Crescent, Edinburgh