False claims from SNP’ s followers

SIR, – Peter Macari’s letter (Press and Journal, November 9) seems to confirm the boastful and hubristic nature of the SNP with a clearly false claim and a series of non-sequiturs in the arguments provided.

For a start the SNP do not as claimed “have the largest membership of any political party in the UK”. They are currently in second place with only about a fifth of the Labour membership.

Does the current size of the SNP membership have particular merit or is it just a relic of a lost referendum campaign, or a nostalgic inability to recognise failure, or an ongoing obsession with independence?

It should be noted that SNP membership has risen and fallen quite dramatically over the years. It was reported as high as 127,000 in 1969 but had fallen to about 25,000 by 2012.

It has currently increased to about 125,500 (of historical interest Conservative membership peaked at about three million in 1955. Populist fashions and political interests change not always for the better).

As for hypocrisy, Alex Salmond’s use of a Russian propaganda television station to produce a weekly show takes the complete biscuit as far as I’m concerned.

Finally, the number of letters and subject matter undoubtedly reflects the amount of interest and the editor’s judgement on all subject matters.

This might not reflect Mr Macari’s particular tastes or interests but there seems to be sufficient overall variety without pandering to the obsessives.