SIR, neither the Tory candidate nor the LibDem candidate has yet expressed their opinion on the virtue of spending one hundred billion pounds to renew the Trident Nuclear weapons system in a time of financial cut backs and food banks.

Reduction of the size of regular armed forces to fund Trident seems to be perfectly acceptable so that by being a nuclear power we have supposed prestige in the World and keep our seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Here in Scotland two RAF bases out of three have been closed and the new sea patrolling Nimrod aircraft have been scrapped at a loss of several billions of pounds. The Scottish Army amalgamations and reductions are a matter of record.

What we now have is an offer of an Army, Navy and RAF reserve advertised regularly on TV as a glorious way of enhancing your spirit of adventure whilst defending your country. As an ex serviceman and Territorial Army volunteer I see this new Reserve structure as defence on the cheap at the expense of professional military redundancies.

All three main political London based parties raised no objections to the closing of two out of three RAF air bases here in Scotland. The protests headed by Angus Robertson of the SNP were ignored. It would be interesting to know if our LibDem and Tory candidates also objected.

There is a need for conventional armed forces to be well equipped and of numbers commensurate to deal with any crisis that we may be involved in. Do these candidates really believe that British nuclear missiles bringing total world wide destruction, firing only by permission of the USA, is the way to ensure peace and stability throughout the world?

I am, etc.

Derek Philips Clovenfords