AS political debates go, the STV one was quite a reasonable though predictable performance. Alex Cole-Hamilton is memorable for saying nothing memorable in a series of monologues, as usual Douglas Ross did not answer the questions put to him and interrupted everybody else, and John Swinney handled the usual three against one calmly and raised salient points when putting questions to the other three.

Why did Anas Sarwar keep repeating that the only way to get rid of the Tories was by voting Labour in Scotland? Given the predictions of an overall Labour majority of between 130 and 194 seats, Labour do not need any of Scotland’s 57 seats to win this election.

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Perhaps Labour canvassers have found support in Scotland is not as strong as in England. That may explain why Anas Sarwar appeared to be more interested in winning LibDem support for a future coalition than attacking their record in their five-year long coalition with the Tories.

It is becoming clearer by the day that Anglo-centric Labour has nothing to offer Scotland, and a Labour government means at best an extension of the present government’s policies.

This election is for a Westminster government. A large vote for the SNP now will put down a marker for the Holyrood election in 2026.

That is why Anas Sarwar is desperately trying to woo Tories and LibDems for their support.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry

IT does not matter what the question is, Sarwar parrots his script. It is obvious who he is worried about since he constantly interrupted John Swinney (who is too nice), not letting him finish a sentence.

Sarwar did say a lot but answered no questions – we did not learn anything at all from his scripted answers. We are certainly not seeing the man, we are seeing the rehearsed-to-death robot. He constantly interrupted John Swinney, and Colin Mackay did nothing to prevent this.

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He claims Labour have already committed more money for public services and they will provide more capital investment (through borrowing), and then he insults John Swinney: “I thought as a former finance secretary you would understand that”. And all this from a man who have never held any office in any government, and who will have to defer to Starmer.

He states GB Energy will generate energy despite Starmer clearly stating that it is “an investment vehicle, not an energy company”. It will be headquartered in Scotland – so we get a brass plate if we are lucky. As John Swinney told him, he had just rewritten Labour’s economic programme.

Poor D Ross just spent the hour apologising and saying he did not know Truss had not done the sums. Cole-Hamilton has such narrow focus, he goes down rabbit holes.

If the SNP do not return MPs there will be no-one to speak up for Scotland. Remember McCrone – Labour hid Scotland’s wealth, they stole it from us, and now they are coming for our wind and water energy – whilst only giving Scotland what she does not want: nuclear submarines and nuclear power.

Winifred McCartney
Paisley

I DIDN’T watch the great debate as I was sure it would only raise my blood pressure and give me indigestion, however I’m fairly certain John Swinney, our illustrious leader, didn’t tell the viewers that he was the ONLY party LEADER appearing in the programme, as none of the other participants represented an actual political party as registered with the electoral boffins.

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Why oh why is it never publicised that there is no such entity in law as the “SCOTTISH” Labour/Conservative/LibDem party, but just extensions of their English-headquartered parties? Once upon a time Labour described themselves (HONESTLY!) as The Labour Party in Scotland. High time these chancers returned to being truthful about their titles.

Barry Stewart
Blantyre

HERE we go again! Kemi Badenoch tells us the Tories – if they win the election!! – will not only alter the Equality Act to add one word – biological – but will also take away from Holyrood the devolved power that the Scotland Act gave it to pass bills such as the gender recognition one, and make it reserved.

This follows the block on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) bill, passed with votes from ALL parties, which exactly replicates the Tories’ own plan in their last manifesto, promised within the parliament just gone but never delivered. Will this devolved power also be made reserved? And will they try to make both these powers reserved without recourse to the Act which gave them to Holyrood?

READ MORE: Confusion as Tories plan to unpick equality laws with new single-sex protections

Perhaps folk have forgotten, but I seem to remember that they also initially blocked Holyrood’s UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) Bill.

I myself have a few misgivings about the GRR bill, but will defend to my last breath the powers devolved to Holyrood by an Act which specifically says that Westminster has control only of those powers designated as reserved. I also believe that the Scottish Government should have gone ahead with the DRS, excluding glass bottles in the meantime.

However frustrated and even disillusioned I may be, I will still vote SNP at the election, as neither of the two parties fighting for control at Westminster can be trusted to protect the powers of Holyrood, while the Tories would love to disband our Scottish Parliament altogether.

READ MORE: John Swinney blasts Tory 'strategy to undermine Scottish Parliament'

A vote for any other party will simply increase the Unionist strength and delay independence even further by decreasing the strength of the only party currently able to bring it nearer.

Let us honour the common people of Scotland who fought in the streets to try to block the Union, when a “parcel of rogues” was bribed to sell out our country and nation, by standing up to this proposed theft of powers.

L McGregor
Falkirk