NICOLA Sturgeon is now beginning to realise her party's 10-year trial run is well and truly over. She may be great at talking over any opposition or decrying their views as in Sunday's TV debate but the pigeons have come home to roost (“Sturgeon hints at pay rise after grilling from nurse on TV”, The Herald, May 22. There is no escaping the failures of the SNP. Key areas are in turmoil like health, education and the economy.

Politicians are judged not by what they say but what they actually do. Ms Sturgeon is a great talker but a poor achiever. Voters are not fooled by fancy rhetoric or shouting matches when the reality is of non-delivery.

The public will shortly have to decide who is best to look after Scotland's interests at Westminster. The SNP having 56 of the 59 MPs in the last Parliament does not seem to have made the slightest bit of difference. Ruth Davidson is far more likely to influence positively the views of Downing Street to the advantage of Scotland if she gets enough support from the pro-Union lobby.

Dr Gerald Edwards,

Broom Road, Glasgow.

THE leaders' debate on BBC last night (May 21) was hardly an edifying spectacle. How any party could claim to have "won" is difficult to comprehend. The only "winner" of this show – for that is what these events have become – was the audience.

The most telling contributions were made by a nurse who has to resort to foodbanks and a teacher who provided first-hand insights into the state of the education service). It was interesting to see how these two ordinary citizens took the wind out of the sails of the politicians. Glib assertions of unrelated facts and figures simply fell flat.

It seemed, not surprisingly, to be of little consolation to a nurse relying on foodbanks to be told by Nicola Sturgeon that she is £300 better off than a nurse in England. Nor I suspect is it of consolation to a pupil or the parents of a pupil in S2 who can't read or write to a decent standard to be told of record numbers of passes at Higher grade; especially since – as the teacher in the audience pointed out – the standard of Higher exams has dropped significantly in recent years. Moreover, record numbers of pupils passing Highers may not be too meaningful if the exams have a "pass" rate of 34 per cent.

It was certainly refreshing to see politicians being put on the spot without being able to simply resort to shouting down their interlocutors or taking refuge in fudge and obfuscation.

Colin Hamilton,

3 Braid Hills Avenue, Edinburgh.

YOUR columnist David Torrance is, of course, correct in his assertion that election manifestos tend to go largely unread and under-appreciated (“Manifestos: Unread, unloved and peripheral to vote result”, The Herald, May 22). This does not mean, however, that they are totally unloved or have no democratic value.

A requirement to commit election pledges to paper is one of the important means by which prospective governments can be held to account by the electorate and this point was, in fact, illustrated by Mr Torrance himself when he cited the case of the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, and his ill-fated attempts to meddle with the National Insurance contributions of the self-employed.

It is not unheard of for politicians to adapt their thinking to the more pragmatic demands of power once elected and the obvious value of a clearly written commitment to a course of action is that politicians and their parties can be held accountable for their failure to deliver, as Nick Clegg and the Liberal Demopcrats found out to their cost.

David Gray,

2 Caird Drive, Glasgow.

YOUR cover picture on Saturday had the Tory leaders prancing to the podium to the tune of Mr Blue Sky (“Davidson’s dash for votes”, The Herald, May 20).

Surely a much more appropriate tune, given their dictatorial election and Brexit campaigns, would have been the 2014 hit by Walk the Moon, Shut Up and Dance With Me.

I, and I expect many others, would simply reply with Buddy Holly’s 1957 hit That’ll Be the Day. Preceded by “Aye,”.

Bill Hendry,

6 Blackwood Road, Milngavie.

I HAVE just listened to Theresa May's reason for the difference between hers and Ruth Davidson's policy on the winter fuel allowance: "We have given the Scottish Government significant powers in relation to welfare." Note the "we have given".

Sir Humphrey summed it up perfectly: "The Prime Minister giveth and the Prime Minister taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Prime Minister."

John Boyle,

11 North Crescent Road, Ardrossan.

IT is good that the tailoring of the winter fuel allowance is a matter devolved to Holyrood. It is sad to see some of the media and politicians south of the Border attacking its possible retention here and making snide remarks about it being "colder" in Scotland. That is a fact of geography.

If re-elected, I hope that Mrs May will put her geographical training to good effect and complete the 2010-2015 coalition government's unfinished business. The 2p per unit surcharge levied on the distribution element of electricity charges throughout the former Hydro Electric Board area should be removed. This affects no less than 50 per cent of Scotland by area, including four out of our seven cities. Sadly it remains in the UK Government's gift.

Are Scots not as entitled to keep warm as those in the other UK nations?

RJ Ardern,

26A Southside Road, Inverness.

THE latest piece of Tory election literature, featuring the terrible twins, Theresa May and Ruth Davidson (their local candidate remaining anonymous) mentions only twice, in the passing, the most serious issue facing the electorate – Brexit. The Tories would prefer not to speak of it because, if re-elected to government at Westminster, they will have absolutely no control over the outcome, except leaving without a deal which, in itself, has grave ramifications.

It’s all very well for Mrs May to repeat incessantly, parrot fashion, that she will secure the best possible deal for the UK, but I can say with absolute confidence that the leaders of the other 27 EU counties will be reassuring their peoples that they will be doing their best for them in the negotiations, particularly in Germany, where Angela Merkel seeks re-election in September and must not be seen to take a weak stance over the UK’s withdrawal. To imagine anything to the contrary is delusional.

Still, the Tories feel that they don’t need to bother the electorate over Brexit, probably because there’s nothing reassuring they can say. Of course, Mrs May will have supreme confidence in her top Tory team of negotiators, namely - dithering David Davis and Dr Liam Fox, (both failed Tory leadership candidates – twice each), ably supported by the Foreign Secretary, bumbling Boris Johnson, and egged-on by “Little Englanders” such as the Scot, Captain Iain Duncan Smith, (failed Tory leader – but only once).

With them in charge, we don’t need to have much of an imagination to predict the outcome.

Despite Scotland’s significant referendum majority to remain in the EU, we are entirely without representation in the negotiations. Apparently it would be too complex to include the Scotland dimension. So we must all remain on our reservation in North Britain praying quietly that a few crumbs of comfort will fall off the Brexit table in our direction.

Derek Laing,

Westview,

Calcots,

Elgin.

FOR the 2017 General Election, the Conservative Party seeks to portray itself as the party of competence, that only it has the clarity of vision and leadership necessary to achieve a successful Brexit.

At a recent CBI dinner, Paul Drechsler, CBI President, described what, in practical terms, exit from the EU means, using the example of a computer chip made in Cardiff. “The chip,” he said, “is bought by a company in Germany. The metals inside it are sourced from South Africa and Turkey, using free trade agreements that the UK has through EU membership. Some of the plastics inside it are processed in Poland and Spain. Engineers from France, Croatia and Hungary worked alongside Brits in Cardiff to design it. .... The chip has been made to European standards, its design protected by a Europe-wide trademark. It was insured with a financial package covered by EU passporting and when incorporated into a machine and put in a shop it will meet European-wide levels of customer protection.”

Now think of all the machines made in the UK that use micro-chip technology from kettles to cars and marvel at the Conservative Party’s breath-taking complacency and arrogance in bringing forward the EU referendum after carrying out zero evaluation of the potential complexities. Then marvel also at its breath-taking chutzpah in putting itself forward as the party of “competence”.

Philip Maughan,

17, Bornaskitaig, Kilmuir, Portree.

WHEN I voted in the Brexit referendum, I did so in the belief that the result was advisory.

Have the politicians forgotten that, or was I wrong in my thinking?

Gordon W Smith,

21 Baronscourt Gardens, Paisley.