Hearts-felt plea

in Wales and Northern Ireland, making Scotland the only devolved nation in the UK where MPS can hold additional mandates in their local devolved legislatures.

Dual mandates are inefficient at ensuring fair and effective representation. Douglas Ross should choose one parliament and dual mandates be consigned to history. RICHARD WOOD Cammo, Edinburgh

As a lifetime supporter of Hearts, I must express my deep concern about the malaise which is gripping our great club.

Theresultontuesdayatbrora is (I hope) the nadir of the current crisis. As a number of commentators more qualified than me have said, it is something which has been coming for some time.

Although the season started brightly, the quality of the team’s performances and results have progressively deteriorated.

Indeed, it has been painful to watch games in the more recent past, although until Tuesday we have scraped by.

On the pitch, there is a lack of confidence, of ideas and in some cases a lack of talent and effort. With a few notable exceptions, we have a surfeit of players at the end of their careers, or who have not made it elsewhere.

Also, where are the players from our much vaunted academy whom we have been told on countless occasions are to form our lifeblood going forward?

If they exist, we need them at Tynecastle, not wasting away in even lower Leagues. The buck has to stop at those responsible for the football side of the club

By Ann Budge’s own admission, she took too long to remove Craig Levein. She must not make the same mistake again.

Although well on the way to winning the Championship, our position is illusory bearing

in mind the decline in performance and the way that other teams’ results have favoured us.

Thus the board should act now or tell Robbie Neilson that he must win the league by at least 12 points to save his job.

BILL CAW New Row, Boroughbridge

North Yorkshire