Readers' Letters: Resignation of Yousaf is chance for a fresh start for Scotland

It is a great feeling to be singing, for once, from the same songsheet as the implacable indy-sceptic Jill Stephenson (Letters, 30 April) as we both bid adieu – and hopefully not au revoir – to the jiggery wokery of the Nicola Sturgeon/Humza Yousaf epoch. She rightly asked how our parliament, which represents over a million in relative poverty, with responsibility for a dilapidated NHS, a crisis in education while presiding over a territory with sufficient human and natural resources to repair both, gave so much parliamentary time, effort and angst to indulging the Green wine bar gender and eco warriors.

SNP must provide electorate with an alternative to Keir Starmer’s plans 'to continue the plunder of Scotland' says reader

The simple answer to her question would be, “for nonsensical and potentially dangerous ideology to prevail, the wise must say nothing”. So many of the good people of Scotland had to sit and watch, with increasing detachment, the culture wars over Gender Recognition Reform and the Hate Crime Bill, with incessant virtue signalling and repeated failures in getting things done on time or getting things done at all.

I hope the undercurrent of contempt for politics and politicians so endemic in recent years can begin to recede with what I hope will be the end of this era and that a new breed of “neo politicians” arise who give more faithful expression to the views and the priorities of the people.

The body of the SNP must now reach out of their complacency and face the challenge of providing a disgruntled electorate electorate with an alternative to Keir Starmer’s plans to continue the plunder of Scotland. They will only achieve this by a humble reconciliation with their alienated brethren across the Yes movement and a renewed focus on real and pressing issues of competent governance, and dare I mention it, independence!

Andrew Docherty, Selkirk, Scottish Borders

Nationalism fear

It seems a fitting coincidence that the Scotsman's feature article (30 April), on the outstanding historical Scottish novelist CJ Sansom, following his death last weekend, appeared the day after the First Minister resigned, giving rise to speculation about who would be the new first minister and the leader of the Scottish National Party.

Sansom was a proud Scot in favour of maintaining the integrity of the UK and was only too aware of the dangers of nationalism, as exemplified in the following quotes from a Scottish character featured in his book Dominion, about a totalitarian regime.

“Whenever a party tells you national identity matters more than anything else in politics, that nationalism can sort out all the other problems, then watch out, because you’re on a road that can end with fascism.”

“… given the right circumstances fascism can infest any country, feeding off the hatreds and nationalisms that already exist."

How prescient Mr Sansom was. Let us hope Scotland gets a much-needed competent and intelligent government focused on the real needs of the country and its people, before it's too late.

As for our hapless and, some may say, clueless First Minister, the subject of many varying opinions, I can say without fear of contradiction that of all the first ministers Scotland has had, he is the most recent.

Fraser MacGregor, Edinburgh

Call an election

If John Swinney has even an ounce of self respect he will make the decision to continue to devote more of his time to his family. Can he really believe that dozens of his colleagues woke up yesterday thrilled by an epiphany that the person to “reset" the SNP and inspire them into the coming elections was John Swinney!

It seems pretty transparent that the person pulling the strings in this latest SNP imbroglio is Stephen Flynn. And it is surely obvious to Mr Swinney that he is being set up as a stooge – a puppet in waiting for the younger man to take over after the Holyrood elections. Mr Flynn has successfully manipulated Humza Yousaf into hastening his own downfall and is now intent on smoothing the way for his own elevation to high office.

John Swinney is yesterday's man and would obviously be yet another continuity candidate. His recent record consists of a lamentable stint in charge of the education brief following upon the shambles of the Named Person Scheme. It is difficult to see why he is regarded, even by the SNP, as “a safe pair of hands" and surely the Scottish electorate would have a different opinion.

This is a genuine example of a “democratic deficit”. It is the Scottish people and not the SNP who should have the right to determine who leads their government, and the only way to give them this option is to call an election.

Colin Hamilton, Edinburgh

Disaster looms

It was once said that all political careers end in failure. For Humza Yousaf that rule can be extended. His started and progressed in failure also. Yousaf failed at Transport, Justice and Health. It was easily foreseeable that he lacked the necessary skills to be an effective leader. Yousaf was very much the “continuity” candidate for the Sturgeon faction. As such, Yousaf had every advantage as the SNP was infested with Sturgeon loyalists and cronies. Yousaf was easily manipulated as he lacked the necessary intellectual curiosity to be his own man.

He started his leadership bid by praising Peter Murrell as a “proven winner” and resisting attempts to have him resign as SNP chief executive. Later he described the Bute House Agreement with the Greens as “worth its weight in gold” – all before unceremoniously dumping them two days later.

There was not the first clue about how to achieve Scottish independence. Yousaf was reduced to pathetically begging the Westminster colonial overlords for “permission” to hold an independence plebiscite. Westminster sneered and Yousaf then came up with some incomprehensible nonsense. He could not clarify what would constitute a mandate – a majority of seats or over 50 per cent of the votes cast. Nobody actually believed this was anything other than a gimmick to harvest votes.

Yousaf made no attempt to reach out to his defeated opponents after his victory. Instead it was rule by faction. The public is overwhelmingly opposed to gender ideology, yet the Sturgeon faction insisted on implementing it, come what may. They smeared all opposition as “far-right” “transphobic” and “bigots”.

This poison was prioritised over everything else. Under previous SNP leaders there was a diversity of opinion permitted. Under Sturgeon this was eliminated. Talent and dissent were ruthlessly eliminated. Now this same faction is attempting to shoehorn in another one of their puppets. This will end in disaster. The opposition parties do not want Kate Forbes to be the next FM.

She is the only candidate who has even a shred of credibility. Her religious views are of no relevance

Alan Hinnrichs, Dundee

Only Alba

I see Alex Salmond was up to his old tricks on TV over the weekend, ie, spin and exaggeration. He referred to Ash Regan as leader of the Alba group at Holyrood – Ash Regan IS the Alba group at Holyrood, and is only there because she defected from the SNP.

William Ballantine, Bo'ness, West Lothian

Choose one

The media storm over key policies for the new First Minister claims it should be the NHS, Education and the cost-of-living crisis. Note there is not a single mention of the impact that Green Transition debts will have on the economy or Scottish standard of living! Based on the paper by Professor Graeme Roy of Strathclyde University the debt will be three times the size of the economy by the end of the century – around £630 billion.

That ensures the first policy required of the new first minister and the SNP is to say over what time-scale will this bill be repaid, who exactly will have to meet the cost and whether the 85GW of plant requires to be reduced to minimise the annual impact on homeowner budgets. Surely the silence over the true cost of a Green Transition means there is no opportunity of meeting a 2045 timescale and the SNP must choose between COP26 and IndyRef2 as the economy cannot support both policies!

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Spot the leopard

As the fog clears around the resignation of Humza Yousaf, it seems clear that Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Stephen Flynn were the “Old Guard” who ensured that Yousaf jettisoned his plan to do a deal with the Alba Party.

It would have been inconceivable for Ms Sturgeon to allow Alec Salmond any influence whatsoever on SNP strategy. Further, it now seems highly likely John Swinney will be crowned leader and first minister and will endeavour to do a “deal” with the Greens. One might assume Kate Forbes has the political antenna to realise that her time will be better spent on the backbenches until the election in 2026 when John Swinney will step down after an electoral drubbing and hopefully the Greens’ influence will also be diluted.

For those who thought the departure of Humza Yousaf would herald a brighter Scottish future, I fear disappointment is the only outcome. With the Greens by his side yet again wielding disproportionate power, John Swinney will allow Scotland to sink further into the swamp of economic stagnation, infrastructure incompetence, wealth destruction and the erosion of public sector services.

That’s the same John Swinney who voted for the Gender Reform Act, the Deposit Return Scheme and the Hate Crime Act. A leopard never changes its spots.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

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