Double standards

Andrew HN Gray is highly critical of MSPs, I presume of all parties, not only the SNP (Letters, 31 January) and their alleged lack of business experience, from which he infers they are incapable of governing Scotland competently.

Where does Mr Gray stand when it comes to the competence of the Westminster government and the similar apparent lack of business experience of, I would guess, most MPs and certainly the majority of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister?

I stand to be corrected, but is it not the case that most of the members of Cameron’s Cabinet are in fact so-called career politicians? Furthermore, none of them seems to me to have any experience of the real world, never mind the business world.

To paraphrase Mr Gray, it seems to me that the entire United Kingdom ship of state is run by MPs with no business experience and few if any have worked for a business of any kind in their entire working life.

That being the case, is Mr Gray content to see the status quo continue? Or do double standards apply, one for Holyrood and another for Westminster?

David M Steel

Springfield Terrace

South Queensferry

There is a thread that links Fred Goodwin’s descent into the ranks of ordinary mortals and the reaction to Hugh Reilly’s response (Perspective, 30 January and subsequent letters) to Michelle Mone’s statement that she “would love to see these SNP muppets run a business”.

Apart from the fact that being a politician is not the same activity as running a business or of caring for patients in a hospital or of cleaning our streets, there is a question that Michelle Mone and her supporters should answer: are they suggesting that Fred should be recruited into the ranks of SNP MSPs? We should be told!

Francis Roberts

Greenbank Avenue

Edinburgh