May 7: Questions of democracy if nationalists back Ed Miliband as PM

“YOU can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time” – Abraham Lincoln. “If you can`t convince them, confuse them” – Harry S Truman.

Perhaps all politicians should heed these quotes, but none more so than Ed Miliband. He is adamant that he will not have a coalition or any other arrangement with the SNP.

However he knows that the SNP will always support him, because as the arrogant Nicola Sturgeon has said “the electorate will never forgive him if he fails to keep David Cameron out of No. 10”. What she should have said is “some of the electorate will never forgive him”.

He doesn’t need a formal coalition or any other arrangement to lead a minority government, and no doubt the Welsh Nationalists and the Greens will also support him without being in a coalition.

Then there is the question of only English MPs voting for laws only affecting the English. It is surely democracy if there are laws affecting Scotland that are voted on in the Scottish Parliament only by Scottish MSPs, or laws affecting Wales in the Welsh assembly by Welsh MPs, that only English MPs should vote on laws only affecting England.

When I asked this question of Yvette Cooper at the hustings in Pontefract, she told us of plans to give more power to the regions, but why that should affect the question is beyond me. And they wonder why politicians are held in such low esteem.

From: Frank Saggerson, Bramley, Rotherham.

I REMEMBER when New Labour was announced there was a feeling of optimism that things were going to change for the better. We had the three wise men, Messrs Blair, Prescott and Brown, who were going to do wonders for our country – what a mistake to make!

By 2010 the country was virtually bankrupt, we had got involved with two conflicts that had cost hundreds of our soldiers’ lives – not to mention the thousands other casualties and all for no benefit to our land.

The magnificent three then trotted off and have 
now been replaced by two of their understudies – Mr Ed Miliband and Mr Ed Balls – the third Mr Ed is back in his stable.

Does anyone really believe that these two reserves – even with the help of the SNP – can improve on the performance of the coalition over the past five years?

Cameron and co may not be perfect, but the alternative is frightening.