Scotland Matters Letters

Sir, – Ms Sturgeon’s unexpected and inexplicable resignation has resulted in a bizarre set of circumstances that will no doubt engross public curiosity and deliver a sense of schadenfreude on those of her opponents within and outside the ranks of the SNP. Time will tell if the Murrells’ ruthless grip on their party has led to a backlog of challenges from more rebellious colleagues, frustrated at Sturgeon’s serial failures in government which have now become unmanageable. Or perhaps the intriguing mystery of the allegedly missing£600,000 and the unusual interest-free loan of £107,000 by her husband to his employer, which apparently she knew nothing about, and may lead to a more serious set of accusations. This may have triggered her resignation before matters spiralled out of control. I find it difficult to believe that she suddenly found herself with “nothing left in the tank” merely weeks after she had robustly stated the opposite. As Sir Walter Scott wrote: ” Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practise to deceive.” Whatever the scenario surrounding the Murrells, her immediate legacy is to leave us with an election for the leadership of the SNP and position of first minister. So step forward Kate Forbes, who, uniquely for a politician, has decided to spend less time with her young family to concentrate on her political career and introduce the fearsome Ghost of John Knox and the Calvinists to purify the rotten chamber of Holyrood, which indeed may be welcomed by many MSPs and members of the public alike! And not unfazed by his tedious litany of ministerial failings over almost a decade, Humza Yousaf has also decided that the office of FM is fair game for his proven incompetence. He is, as he says, a man of deep faith and firmly held principles, which will guide him in the delivery of his duties. However as we’ve seen, his deep faith and principles are seemingly flexible. To paraphrase Groucho Marx: “He has principles, and if you don’t like them… well, he has others” Finally, with all the vision and strategic expertise of a modern day Bonnie Prince Charlie, Ash Regan has decided that she and her Nacobites will recreate the circumstances to take us into a new Culloden in the forlorn hope that victory without any battle plan against the British state will result in Scotland reaching the sunlit uplands of independence aided and abetted by foreign powers keen to oversee the break-up of the United Kingdom. Whoever wins the leadership contest will face an unenviable and extremely difficult task to attempt to restore Scotland’s economic and social well-being, which has been devastated over the last 10 years of nationalist governance. The incoming first minister will need to drop the politics of grievance, resentment and playing the blame game to demonstrate some degree of competence. Most Scuts, however, will “hae their doots” that, under any of the present leadership candidates, this will ever happen. lain G Richmond.

Humza Yousaf has promised to protect all human rights if he is elected as the next first minister. Does this include the right to remain as a British national, as we are now, rather than just Scottish as his party proposes? Or is this the one human right he would rather ignore? G Edwards, Glasgow.

I have watched the SNP leadership contest with trepidation. I have to conclude that not one of the candidates on offer to the electorate has inspired me with any sense of confidence in their ability to look after Scotland. They all seem at sixes and sevens the whole time. Instead of putting forward policies that will benefit the Scottish people, all they have come up with is independence, again and again. Nearly all of the pundits have stated this should be a non-starter due to the present economic state of our country but this hopeless trio keep on flogging it to death. Scotland is crying out for change away from the rhetoric of the past. I despair for our young generation coming through – they will be left behind yet again by any of those on offer. W Hastings, Via email.

The SNP leadership election poses a problem for the candidates. The winner will undoubtedly become First Minister of Scotland, but the electorate consists only of current SNP members. To win, a candidate requires only to curry favour among those most committed to breaking up the UK. Thus Ash Regan promises that every election will be a test of Scottish electors’ desire to leave the UK. Kate Forbes promises to “establish a proper party-based campaign mechanism” (whatever that may mean) to promote the case for secession. Humza Yousaf ups the ante by promising to be not only First Minister but also “first activist”, knocking on doors and tramping the streets to campaign for secession. The SNP leadership has, however, made its choice. The man who epitomises the Peter Principle and who has failed upwards at every brief he has held – transport, justice, health – has the open backing of cabinet secretaries and the more covert support of the old regime, the Sturgeon-Murrell axis. His campaign statements on Twitter are edged with SNP yellow, and his “Humza for Scotland” placards are in the SNP’s black and yellow colours. Angus Robertson, one of Nicola Sturgeon’s closest associates, appears on a yellow-framed poster delightedly backing Mr Yousaf (“Robertson endorses Yousaf to be next FM”, The Herald, March 7). The party has made its choice. But what of the country? Are we to have foisted on us as First Minister the most incompetent minister in Scotland’s history (with the possible exception of Joe FitzPatrick)? If so, the problem for the SNP is that Scots may react unfavourably at the ballot box. Still, look on the bright side: it would remove Mr Yousaf from the health portfolio, where he has done nothing but harm. I’d lay a bet that he has thought of that, with relief, too. Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

Share this entry