Is the position of SNP leader a poisoned chalice?

Surely one of the most interesting aspects of the SNP leadership contest is how many supposedly promising candidates simply aren’t joining the race?

Keith Brown, Angus Robertson, John Swinney, Neil Gray, and Mairi McAllan. Why?

Remember the primary objective of the SNP, as per its constitution, isn’t governing Scotland but separating us from the rest of the UK.

Nicola Sturgeon won multiple elections, yet Westminster stuck to its principles and insisted Sturgeon and her supporters respected democracy as clearly expressed in 2014. If Sturgeon, the canny political operator par excellence, failed so abjectly in her principal objective, then being her replacement is surely a poisoned chalice.

Martin Redfern

Roxburghshire

I was frankly appalled to read of opposition to the expansion of the ultra-low-emission zone in London. I have two grandchildren living in the capital and I support every one of Sadiq Khan’s measures to reduce pollution, which has been proven to be most harmful to young children.

I would also beg to differ with the suggestion that fares in London are particularly high. We frequently use public transport in the capital and found it efficient and relatively cheap compared with rural Cheshire where it is neither of those things. Travelling to London by rail can also be affordable when you travel off-peak and shop around for good deals.

David Felton

Wistaston

There is a line that runs through Tory ideology, from Margaret Thatcher to Jacob Rees-Mogg to David Cameron. A line that seemingly trumpets the abandonment of regulation. David Cameron in 2014 triumphantly announced a “bonfire of regulations” in which he gleefully assured the construction industry that they would save at least £500 per new house built.

Our system of rigorous building standards drove the post-war housing boom, but now we see the outcomes of the Tory obsession with removing these standards. Is it a coincidence that one year after Cameron’s announcement, the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in 2015 led to dangerous inflammable cladding being added to the building? Is it a coincidence that we have small children dying from inhalation of mould spores in substandard housing?

The government blamed the builders and landlords, but no one looked into the reason these buildings were allowed to be renovated and constructed with such inadequate protective standards in the first place. A decent society needs protective regulations in order to function. We need a general election now to stop this mad ideological pursuit of an imaginary “freedom” so loved by this government and many of its Tory sponsors looking only for higher profits.

Kate Hall

Leeds

Hugh P wonders when the “sensitivity readers” will get their hands on Shakespeare. My 1892 copies of his work as edited by Thomas Bowdler omit "those words and expressions... which cannot with propriety be read in a family".

Seems like changing language to suit changing times is nothing new.

Bill Goodall

Grove House

There is a massive housing crisis in the UK. There is no realistic way the Ukrainians seeking refuge in this country will be able to find an affordable place to live. It is a problem that is already affecting UK residents.

It should be a scandal that one of the wealthiest countries in the world cannot provide affordable, decent housing for its citizens. It only means that we are further unable to help refugees arriving in this country.

We need the government to accept and own up to the scale and severity of the housing crisis. The people of this country need to demand immediate action – whether through sufficient government funding to build more affordable housing or wider market regulation over investors and developers who focus on profit rather than need.

Helen Tremaine

Addressed Supplied