Readers' Letters: Cameron's defection to Tories highlights SNP leadership desire for 'uni-mind'

There may be some relief within the SNP that MP Lisa Cameron has quit the party, as the controversy around her has become somewhat of a distraction.

However, it highlights the belief that views which differ from those held by the party leadership are not tolerated and one cannot be critical of the hierarchy's stance on any issue, as was shown previously by the treatment of Fergus Ewing MSP.

It remains to be seen whether Lisa Cameron's departure will bring calm or cause more ripples.

Bob MacDougall, Kippen, Stirlingshire

SNP Lisa Cameron has defected to the Tories just days before the party's annual conference (Picture: PA)

Time for change

The present alliance between the SNP and the Greens is a marriage of convenience. However, it is easy to foresee situations arising shortly in which the SNP minority administration will just have to deny their “unelected” partners a say in policy matters.

Hopefully, for Scotland's sake, this will happen sooner rather than later. The current state of the Holyrood administration is dire to say the least, and much of this situation has been brought about by Green Party interference in matters in which they have no competence.

There is no doubt we are going to see a revival of Labour throughout the UK. The Hamilton West /Rutherglen by-election is surely an early indicator of this. Hopefully such a resurgence will be triggered off in Scotland, and may well result in a Labour/Liberal Democrat administration at Holyrood. After all, it was the joint efforts of such a coalition which resulted in the formation in 1999 of the Scottish Executive with power and responsibility over the majority of public services in Scotland, and eventually the creation of the Scottish Parliament.

The SNP has failed in its governmental role, with disastrous consequences in most devolved areas. The Scottish economy is heavily reliant on Westminster for block grant funding through the Barnett Formula with circa £41 billion transferred into the Scottish economy annually, and it should be remembered that there is no Central Bank in Scotland.

The present Scottish Government is mired in sheer incompetence – change is essential!

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

Unfair to SNP

As the Labour Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford also expressed similar concerns to Nicola Sturgeon about the way Boris Johnson and Michael Gove treated the devolved governments, which have responsible for health in their nations, it is unfair to single out the SNP for being “apparently unable to work together” over Covid (Editorial, 12 October).

The fact is, Boris Johnson feared working closely with first ministers could make the UK look like a “mini-EU of four nations”. “That is not, in my view, how devolution is supposed to work,” he said. So much for the near federalism that was promised in the dying days of the 2014 referendum campaign. Unlike Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon had a laser-like focus on Covid, coupled with clear messaging that won widespread praise.

It was only when Nicola Sturgeon diverged from the UK’s disastrous laissez-faire approach to Covid that Scotland got on top of the pandemic, with the resultant fewer deaths per 100,000 of population compared to England or Wales.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh

Conference call

Now that the Tories and Labour have laid out their plans for a “New Union” Scotland knows what to expect. Vote Tory and keep rich landowners able to shoot grouse with their friends on the 12th of August at the expense of those with limited means and large families. Vote Labour and promises are limitless, but we have heard those same promises before and they have never been fulfilled.

So what is left? A Scotland that wants to be free to run its own affairs without Westminster’s banning fist, a nation that is fit and able to govern itself to its advantage, able to rejoin the EU, a group of supportive nations with which we had good relations and trading agreements that Brexit destroyed.

We hope the SNP Conference will come up with the answers we want. Anything less would be a disappointment.

Elizabeth Scott, Edinburgh

Boring is good

Critics say that Keir Starmer is superficial and managerial, not laser focused on radical choices. But at its recent Conference Labour hinted at big changes coming. Paul Johnston is a reputable tax guru influencing Labour, with his book Follow the Money pointing the way. While the Tories indulged corrupt businessmen, allowing billions to seep out of public kitties as they hastily tried to manage PPE during the height of Covid, Labour will be out to get the loot back. Expect tax on Capital Gains, Equity, landlords of buildings and £40 billion from freezing tax thresholds. To foster economic change, governments need money.

Expect an Employment Rights bill early doors. Expect the biggest boost in a lifetime on social housing. Expect focused green policies. Instead of snubbing business, Labour will be flexibly adapting to the needs of companies so as to promote change at local level.

Harold Wilson once quipped: “If you don't tell lies about us, we won't tell the truth about you.” In the last 15 years the Tories have developed the dark arts of propaganda and finessing the truth. It is time to reassert the values of democracy as dark arts just prevents democratic spotlights being shone into murky corners.

So if Keith Starmer sounds boring, just consider how lucky we are that we are not being seduced by yet another charmer. Bring on a nice boring election.

Andrew Vass, Edinburgh

Unworthy Greens

Scotland is deeply shamed by the juvenile attitudes of Green MSPs, Maggie Chapman and Ross Greer. The appalling attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel is being treated by the extreme left wing Greens as if they were freedom fighters. They are not. They are out-and-out terrorists and have massacred innocent people in Israeli kibbutzes.

The Hamas terrorists murdered the weakest and displayed behaviour that is reminiscent of the very worst displayed by the SS. Hundreds of young people attending a concert were shot, or abducted. Families driving along the road were murdered as they fled. Others were shot and burned in their houses as they tried to defend their children.

In the Be'eri kibbutz, which was a pro-Palestinian settlement, they killed over a hundred people! They have beheaded women and even babies. They are ISIS by another name.

Any defence of these terrorists by the Greens, when added to their ignorance about the world they live in, simply serves to confirm that they have no place in the politics of a mature democracy and the SNP shame and tarnish themselves by any association with them.

The latter have already been judged on that score in Rutherglen.

Their collective final reckoning is fast approaching.

Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh

Innocents pay

We should never forget that Hamas is not Palestine, in the same way as the SNP is not Scotland; nor are the Tories or Labour the UK; or for that matter, the Democrats or the Republicans the USA.

It may well be that the atrocities and unspeakable horrors we have witnessed recently in the end come down to Middle East power politics and as always it is predominately the innocents, not the terrorists, who pay the ultimate price.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

No buts

In his attempt to explain the attacks by Hamas Andrew Turnbull (Letters, 11 October) lost all credibility by the use of one word – “but”. There is no “but” to justify the murder of families and children, the rape of women, the kidnapping of hostages by a brutal and inhumane terrorist organisation. It is totally understandable that Israel would retaliate. To not do so would only give a green light to Iran and other Arab states to attack the sovereign state of Israel.

Lewis Finnie, Edinburgh

Streets of fear

I agree with Stephen Jardine's article about cyclists on pavements (Perspective, 7 October). I hear frequent discussions about cyclists' rights on the roads but I have yet to hear a discussion about pedestrians' rights on the pavement. It amazed me during lockdown, when roads were almost empty, how many adult cyclists were still using the pavements. Now every pavement is treated like a cycle path.

I admire Stephen's courage in standing his ground in the face of an approaching cyclist, forcing him on to the road. However, far more frightening, and difficult to deal with is the cyclist who overtakes me on the pavement, at speed and with no warning.

As an 81-year-old pedestrian, this is truly frightening. The cyclist approaching me at speed from behind cannot be sure that I am not going to step suddenly to right or left to avoid a puddle, dog poo, leaves, or even to make a sudden decision to cross the road. This behaviour is extremely dangerous and could result in serious injury to both pedestrian and cyclist.

I am sure that many adult cyclists are totally unaware that cycling on the pavement is an offence.

While tackling them face to face might persuade some to start using the roads, I feel the only way to stop it is for the police to start enforcing the law before someone is seriously injured.

Marjory Chalmers, Stirling

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