Thursday’s council elections are ostensibly being contested over local issues such as bin collections (or lack of), libraries (closed), litter, fly-tipping and rats, failing education standards, traffic cones and potholes, but we can be sure of one thing for certain. Namely, if the SNP wins more seats Ms Sturgeon will declare it as a mandate for independence, whereas if SNP loses seats this will be due to the Covid/Brexit effect that only independence will cure. Heads I win, tails you lose will be Ms Sturgeon’s spin whatever the outcome, but we will all lose if we have to face another four years of Holyrood running local councils into the ground. Allan Thompson, Glasgow.