Scotland Matters Letters

If one thing has become clear since Nicola Sturgeon’s abrupt resignation, it is that the SNP has been a one-woman band. The candidates in the race to succeed her are trying hard not to be less than mediocre and failing. But one thing they know: that Sturgeon’s regime was a smoke and mirrors outfit. When not in denial, they reveal that there were shortcomings that stained her rule. There is no indication that any of them actually knows what to do with the power that they would inherit. The high-water mark of nationalism has passed. The SNP may still have almost 80,000 members: a far cry from the dizzy heights of 125,000 a few years ago. But, increasingly, members are becoming disillusioned. The way in which the leadership contest is being held is doing nothing to enlighten them, or us, about what a future SNP would actually do. Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

Apparently many nationalists are suspicious of wide support for Kate Forbes among No voters. It’s quite straightforward: thousands, like me, just want Scotland to be run well. We want currently-untouchable core issues debated and solutions hammered out. They include unbelievable violence in schools and its impact on education delivery, teacher morale and quality of the next workforce; lack of personal responsibility, for example obesity and its impact on the NHS, and action on getting numbers of economically inactive people back to work, including the 10 per cent of 18-24-year-olds who plan never to work. Kate Forbes, from her hustings performances, seems to be a rare example of an SNP politician with the desire, ability and principles (as opposed to religious conviction) who is willing to make a start on fixing 24 years of devolved drift and decline and happy to recognise her own party’s major culpability. In fact we No voters can’t lose. If Humza Yousaf wins, independence will be in the morgue for years. If Ms Forbes wins I’d hope the headlines and support she gets might finally encourage pro-Union politicians into creating their own policies for the issues bedevilling Scotland before she wins the next election in 2026, takes full control, fully cleans out the SNP policy, scandal and ability detritus and convinces voters that independence could be a sensible, worked-out option. A Forbes win will be a much bigger challenge to Messrs Sarwar, Ross and Cole-Hamilton than the comfort-zone coconut shy that Mr Yousaf presents and the wake-up call that Scotland needs. Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven.

The three contenders for SNP leader and First Minister have all been quick to condemn the UK Government’s proposals for dealing with the “small boats” crisis. Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, called the measures a “complete and utter disgrace”. They say we need more inward migration for Scotland to prosper. This being the case, why then has the so-called Super Sponsor scheme for displaced Ukrainians been paused? The scheme was instituted with great fanfare by the Scottish Government in an effort to appear more virtuous and caring than the UK Government’s scheme. By July 2022, it had to be paused for three months. The Scottish Government website said “a temporary suspension is needed to ensure safe accommodation can continue to be provided for those who have already applied and may now travel to Scotland”. Nearly eight months later it is still paused, despite the chartering of cruise ships and other measures to house people. If the Scottish Government is unable to provide the basic necessities for people fleeing a war and arriving under an approved scheme, with all their paperwork in order, how does it plan to support large numbers of people arriving unannounced, uncontrolled and undocumented? Unsurprisingly none of the candidates has addressed this issue – unless of course it is a simple case of “take them off the small boats and put them on big ships – uncompleted ferries perhaps”.This is typical of the SNP: big on rhetoric, small on delivery. Mark Openshaw, Aberdeen.

Surely Kate Forbes is the only obvious successor to Nicola Sturgeon. The other named candidates, Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan, either have very little appeal in terms of administrative ability or any record of any consequence in Scotland’s Administration. Forbes has, however, press-ing personal commitments at home in the northern highlands. This domestic situation simply cannot be ignored. So it appears that there is no obvious replacement for Nico-la Sturgeon. In any case, do the people of Scotland really want the SNP/Green coalition to continue to govern at Holyrood? Although an election for the Scottish Parliament is not due until 2026, under the present circumstances perhaps it would be fairer to all members of the electorate to hold one much sooner. The SNP are struggling to meet the required standards in so many sectors of Scotland’s administration that surely the will, and rights, of the total electorate should be acknowledged. The present in-fighting within the SNP does not constitute good Government. And the influence of the unelected Greens is undemocratic. The people of Scotland sure-ly deserve better! Democracy should rule, not extremism. Robert I G Scott, Northfield Ceres, Fife.

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