Scotland Matters Letters

I almost feel sorry for Humza Yousaf – almost, but not quite. It seems, at last, to have dawned on him that he is the fall guy for the Sturgeon-Murrell failures, and that is not a pleasant place to be. It looks to me as though he now realises that, while backing (even pushing) him as their choice of SNP leader, they didn’t -by his own account – vouchsafe to him the various problems that they were bequeathing to him. It would also appear that he had no knowledge of the difficulties with the party’s finances, nor of the mysterious camper van. Nor did he apparently know about the fall in the party’s membership, nor yet that the party’s auditors had quit as long ago as September 2022. When all seemed to be going his way, with Scottish ministers, MSPs and MPs backing his candidacy, did he never once ask himself “What’s the catch?” Did it not puzzle him that there was so little competition for the post of leader? That Sturgeon’s deputy, Keith Brown, refused to stand? That Angus Robertson held back when his frequent travels gave the lie to his pleading of family responsibilities? Did he not ask himself why Kate Forbes radiated delighted relief when he defeated her? Politics can be a mug’s game. Yousaf’s demeanour suggests that he is not best pleased to have found that out the hard way. Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.

HUMZA Yousaf’s grand plan is to raise Scotland’s already high taxation level even higher. This is meant to eradicate poverty and boost NHS services. Previous taxation rises have obviously not succeeded. It is time for a different approach but can the SNP actually think of one? G Edwards, Glasgow.

I WAS astounded to learn, in Tom Gordon’s article, about the 45 SNP at Westminster along with their support staff (“SNP finance crisis: party faces imposition of outside auditors”, The Herald, April 15) Why? I ask myself, what is their function, apart from heckling the Tories, and then off to lunch and no doubt the bar later? Maybe flats provided for them and free flights to and from Scotland to make their arduous duties more comfortable. These individuals and their support staff should be in Scotland instead of swanning about Westminster. It is no wonder that the party is without auditors, and no desire for any company to untangle this financial can of worms. It pains me to say this, but I feel sorry for our new First Minister, who was left this poisoned financial chalice of which he had no knowledge. Neil Stewart, Saffron.

The SNP cause has imploded. How much longer do we have to tolerate the current situation, including Nicola Sturgeon’s continuing presence on the back benches? What Scotland really needs right now is a complete clear-out at Holyrood. It is not in the interests of the electorate to have to wait until the Spring of 2026 for Scottish Parliamentary elections to be held. Under the dire situation at Holyrood, there is a need for voters to go to the polls at the earliest possible opportunity. The SNP has undermined the credibility of the Scottish political scene- the people have the right to choose a new administration. Indeed, judging by the deteriorating state of Scotland’s health, education, transport – including ferries – welfare, and even its police force, per-haps the only way forward would be to return to centralised Government at West-minster, with a Scottish Office based in Edinburgh. The saga of Scottish nationalism has been a total failure. Robert IG Scott, Ceres, Fife.

NICOLA Sturgeon’s reputation has taken a bit of a hammering recently. To see if she’s still as popular with the public, why doesn’t she stand as a candidate in the Rutherglen by-election? Michael Watson, Rutherglen.

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