 Your coverage of the various Scottish political party leadership battles makes fascinating reading for those interested in the country s future (Leadership battles, News, September 11). The two main Unionist parties, reforming their policies, renewing their leaders and realigning their commitment to Scotland: interesting times indeed. alex Salmond claims that the SNP s legislative programme is a future for the independence generation, with Unionism in its death throes. Who would bet against him?  Bill Cruickshank  Dinnet  WHaT a fine line to be making such a fuss about (New constitution aims to breathe life into Tory party, News, September 11). I mean the hair-splitting that is apparently splitting the Conservatives in Scotland. What is the difference whether they admit to being run by Westminster or deny it? They have never hitherto admitted it anyway, to my ken. I thought Ms Goldie was boss up here anyway. But until the Conservatives   along with Labour and the Liberal Democratss   expound policies that do not forbid independence for Scotland, they will all flap around like seals on a football park.  Ian Johnstone  Peterhead  That was a good joke by Tom Gordon (Shake-up of Scottish Labour devolves power and loosens ties with London, News, September 11). Reporting on Scottish Labour s  historic break from London control  he managed a straight face while detailing the  reforms  before hitting us with the punchline   the  reforms must be ratified by the next UK party conference in Liverpool.  Sandy Thomson  Cromarty  Ian Bell takes a swipe at the Liberal Democrats in his article about university tuition fees (a poisoned Ivy League of our own, Comment, September 11). In fact, most Liberal Democrat MPs did not vote in favour of raising tuition fees. However, there was no consensus in Westminster for this view. alex Salmond had a similar problem, saying he could not keep his major promises in his last administration, such as abolishing the council tax and abolishing student debt, not to mention publishing a referendum bill, because there was no consensus in Holyrood for these measures.  Incidentally, prior to the 1997 General Election, the Labour Party promised that they would not introduce tuition fees. However, after they had won their landslide majority, they did. Of course in Holyrood the substantial Liberal Democrat participation in the Government, more so than in the current Westminster administration, was able to quickly bring about the abolition of fees in Scotland.  Of the three major UK parties, only the Liberal Democrats opposed increases in tuition fees for students in England in the 2010 General Election. However, the vast majority of those who voted did not vote Liberal Democrat and most voted Labour or Conservative, who were in favour of such increases. It could therefore be argued that, as the electorate rejected the Liberal Democrat manifesto, the will  of the people was, in fact, to increase tuition fees.  Jane ann Liston  St andrews  You write that  elitism has never been the Scottish way  (Universities  sums just don t add up, Editorial, September 11). The writer clearly did not attend a Scottish senior secondary in the days before comprehensive education.  I was at Falkirk High School in the late 1950s and our prize-winners were sent out like gladiators to take part in the university scholarship exams. The wonderful old heads of department in the great state schools competed with each other through their bright boys and girls. Far from working-class boys like me needing protection from public-schools pupils they needed protection from us.  Dr John Cameron  St andrews  I commend alex Salmond and the SNP Government for their readiness to  welcome the increase in the number of nuclear submarines based at Faslane from five to 11 (SNP accused of inconsistency on anti-nuclear policy, News, September 11). This welcome U-turn in SNP policy by alex Salmond and the SNP Government, in order to boost jobs, is the correct decision. as the main, some say only, clear aim of the SNP is independence and the only post-independence detail of the SNP s defence policy is a nuclear-free Scotland, will these hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs (when you consider ancillary employment) go?  Surely the SNP have a defence policy for a post-independent Scotland? The people of Scotland are entitled to this before they vote in an independence referendum.  Gordon M Taylor  Wishaw  The Sunday Herald is one of the very few media outlets to get it right by seeing hope in the aftermath of 9/11 (Glimmer of hope a decade on from tragedy of 9/11, Editorial, September 11).  There was widespread (unreported) arab revulsion of the 9/11 atrocities. Unfortunately, much of that (chiefly middle-class/university-based) shame and pain was trampled on by the clumsy, inappropriate, revenge aggression by George W Bush. However, the Iraq war/US Republican team  was soundly defeated by Barack Obama.  It was the new US President s finest moment to date   his truly remarkable speech at Cairo University   that stimulated democratic consciousness across the Middle E 