SNP siding with Margaret Thatcher ushered in 18 years of Tory government

James Duncan (Letters, 25 March) accuses columnist Brian Wilson of selective amnesia in claiming the fall of the Callaghan government was the fault of the SNP.

I wonder if Mr Duncan is selective in his own recall of events. Two rather salient facts seem to have escaped his memory – or certainly his account. The vote to bring down Callaghan was carried by 311 to 310. Of the 311 Aye votes – or should we call them Yes votes? – 11 were cast by the SNP members.

I think most people would, therefore, conclude that the SNP played a significant part in the episode.

We are constantly being told that the SNP puts Scotland first. Was that the case in 1979? Did these 11 SNP MPS really believe they were serving Scotland’s interests best by voting with the Tories to bring down a Labour government?

Looking back, would they be pleased with themselves at the role they played in ushering in 18 years of Tory rule as they trooped through the lobby shoulder to shoulder with Margaret Thatcher?

COLIN HAMILTON Braid Hills Avenue, Edinburgh There were two contributions in Monday’s Scotsman relating to the recent article in which Brian Wilson revisited the history over the fall of the 1979 James Callaghan government.

One, from James Duncan (Letters, 25 March), was spot on and really only missed the famous Callaghan quip that when Margaret Thatcher hijacked the SNP and Liberal no-confidence motion, she had “discovered the courage of their convictions”. Alexander Mckay (Letters, same day) seeks to perpetuate the myth that the SNP alone were responsible for bringing Margaret Thatcher to power.

However, Mr Mckay also says that the SNP wish to see the worst possible Brexit in order to further their aim to “break up Britain”. I have a genuine question which I would very much like to hear Mr Mckay answer.

If the SNP desire the worst possible Brexit, why are they actively campaigning for a second EU referendum and the revocation of Article 50?

The first option raises the distinct possibility of the whole of the UK staying in the EU and the second makes it a certainty.

GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh

James Duncan prompts me to return to an issue I have previously raised in your columns. Mr Duncan rails against the Cunningham amendment on which the first devolution referendum failed.

I have always argued that, in such a vote, the majority required should be of the electorate, not the turnout. In simple terms, those not voting should be seen as content with the status quo and added to those, arguably, with less faith in their peers who turned out to vote against change.

The Cunningham amendment was aimed at preventing the sort of bitterly divided community which this damnable Brexit vote has created. Mr Duncan is right, though, to claim the SNP is not to blame for this Westminster mess.

However, there are plenty of things they are responsible for – such as the farming subsidy chaos, detailed in another letter in your columns.

KIT FRASER Belhaven High Street, Dunbar