Readers' Letters: Full audit of Scottish Government books needed

The political earthquake shaking the nationalist movement to its foundations is without precedent.
Police Scotland raided the home of SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell as part of an investigation into the party's finances (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)Police Scotland raided the home of SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell as part of an investigation into the party's finances (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Police Scotland raided the home of SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell as part of an investigation into the party's finances (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Firstly Nicola Sturgeon stunned the movement by her shock resignation weeks after saying she had “plenty in the tank”. Then SNP chief executive Peter Murrell deceived the membership by concealing it had fallen by 30,000. The leadership campaign was dominated by Kate Forbes' attacks on the SNP/Green coalition government and by charges of incompetence towards Humza Yousaf. The SNP's auditors threw in the towel. The police raided the party HQ and Mr Murrell’s residence looking for clues about the missing £600,000 of members' donations and, it is reported, regarding other possible financial impropriety. The SNP bosses then hired an expensive lawyer to defend themselves against financial irregularity.You couldn't make it up.

If this is how the nationalists run the party one is entitled to ask, “How well do they run the Scottish Government”?

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What is required is a complete audit of the Scottish Government's books to see how all the Barnett largesse was spent, and how the Covid millions were allocated. In particular, did nationalist-supporting businesses receive preferential treatment, if not taxpayers' cash?

William Loneskie, Oxton, Berwickshire

Fair question?

The contents of the letter from Stan Grodynski is beyond ironic (10 April). Mr Grodynski boldly and unashamedly asks when the BBC will apply the same level of intense scrutiny to the funding arrangements of the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem parties as they have done to the SNP.

This is a tough question but one can only assume the straightforward answer might relate to a police raid on the homes of Douglas Ross or Anas Sarwar or Alex Cole-Hamilton and/or the arrest of any or one of the working executives in their respective parties.

Without doubt, Police Scotland would be making similar enquiries of any political party about the issues currently facing the SNP and against the highest office in the land.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

Starmer failing

In systematically dismantling the socialist origins of the Labour Party, the leadership style of Sir Keir Starmer will not bring the contrasting peoples of the UK together.

To ban his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who has held his seat for 40 years, from standing as a Labour candidate is ridiculous. And sacking former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard only confirms that Scottish Labour are puppets of the Westminster governing elite.

Furthermore, in not contemplating or even discussing Scottish independence or a united Ireland, this earnest but ineffectual knight of the realm hardly now mentions the ludicrous and anarchic House of Lords. In truth, Sir Keir has moved Labour to the political right in partnership with the Tory party in Brexit Britain.

Grant Frazer, Newtonmore, Highland

Tartan weak

“Air Miles Angus” Robertson and his entourage are off on another SNP luxury jaunt to attend Tartan Week in the USA. No doubt a section of the SNP’s SPAD Army will be searching high and low for some extremely minor official with whom he can pose for a selfie and “discuss” business matters before returning to his luxury hotel and enjoyment of the festivities. Is missing these jollies another reason he did not stand for leader?

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It all reeks to high heaven, like so much in the SNP these days. What cost of living crisis? What unnecessary-flight-avoiding help for climate change?

Meanwhile, starved of cash, our drug deaths continue to spiral and the NHS in the SNP’s Scotland is itself in intensive care. The SNP have no sense of shame if they continue this blatant misuse of the money we provide.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Ross is right

For years, many Conservatives in Edinburgh South have voted for Scottish Labour’s Ian Murray. This has successfully helped to keep the constituency a Scottish Nationalist-free zone.

If only more Unionists elsewhere had thought along similar lines back in 2015 and during subsequent elections. We would not now have stagnant economic growth, collapsing infrastructure, deteriorating public services or repeated attempts (successful or otherwise) to impose highly unpopular “progressive” social policies.

By publicly disagreeing with the Tory leadership’s stance on tactical voting, Douglas Ross again shows the actual autonomy of what separatists sneeringly refer to as “the branch office”.

Alexander Brown (The Scotsman, 10 April) correctly concludes that “Mr Ross is not being defeatist, or undermining his own party, he’s being a realist who wants to protect the union”.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Unite for Union

An excellent piece from Alexander Brown yesterday implying in effect, and accurately, that if the SNP (or successor Nationalist group) ever gains power again in Scotland it will be because the Unionist parties have been too selfish, too hide bound, too narrow minded, too tunnel-visioned – or in plainer words, too thick – to realise that the separatists are an electoral minority and so can only gain power by dividing the pro-Union electoral majority. In terms of realpolitik, “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” must be observed if our Union is to be saved from the wrecker’s ball.

The way to do it is for the statesmen and stateswomen in the Unionists parties to take the initiative and agree an election pact that enables only the Unionist party most likely to win a given constituency to contest it. That a pro-Union coalition will then govern Holyrood will require plenty of grown-up and probably uncomfortable collaboration and adaptation, but the prize will ease that pain and the undying gratitude of all sensible Scots will be the icing on the victory cake.

Tim Flinn, Garvald, East Lothian

Secular sympathy

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Neil Anderson make two fallacious points: tribal polarisation is caused by politics and secularism can be equated with a love of money (Letters, 10 April). Religious differences have been the cause of much strife and bloodshed. Not believing in a god does not mean striving for unwholesome amounts of lucre and many secularists are indeed moved by abject poverty, the huge inequality amongst people, the lack of compassion that we as a society propagate and the way we treat our planet and everything on and in it. What planet does Neil Anderson inhabit?

Keith WF Proborszcz-Maloney, Dumfries

Gods are gone

Elizabeth Scott’s letter (“Church of Scotland should take lead on road to independence”, 8 April) gave me such a laugh! Thank you.

The trouble with being deluded is you do not know you’re deluded. Believing in fairytales that are clearly not real invalidates any credibility or authority you have in an increasingly secular and unbelieving world.The age of gods is over.

At some point terminal delusion will make religion extinct – and good riddance. If you want to take the independence movement down with you, go ahead!

H McDowall, Strontian, Highland

Return to doctrine

May I ask, is not the primary role of the Church of Scotland to preach the doctrine of Christ?

I think it involves forgiveness, repentance and the resurrection, among other things, like loving one's neighbour as yourself, and trusting God with all strength of heart.

Leaning not on your own understanding saves a person from allegiance to the politics of left or right, whereas being meek requires obedience to God, not mammon or the temporal promises of earthly deception. Meekness of this kind brings worldly power to book.

The product of trust and obedience is a change called faith, so if your world is in need of change, try both.

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Such lessons of hope are willingly shared by the various denominations, spreading instead the love that cannot separate individual human beings from their creator, and regulate the individual ego, an area of self-government that would benefit all regardless of creed, colour or country.

A schism nearly 180 years ago resulted in the formation of the Free Church. To rescue the situation, a previous moderator was called back to the role in 1843, the Very Rev Duncan Macfarlan. His memorial can be seen in Glasgow, standing broader and taller than that of John Knox.

Surely leave business and banks to lobby political allies and let the Kirk get on with the Gospel in any way it can.

Donald Henry, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway

Lost causes

In the wake of the SNP government debacle the new First Minister, Humza Yousaf, seems intent on making a legal challenge against Westminster's use of Section 35 to block the madcap Gender Recognition Reform bill. So Yousaf's name badge, “The Continuity Candidate”, is apt, he's going to continue throwing our money at lost causes, just like Nicola Sturgeon.

So, no lessons learnt from the last inhabitant of Bute House. Perhaps listening to the public would be a clever departure from Sturgeon’s strategy. So listen to this; we don't want anyone, let alone 16-year-old children, to self-identify as the opposite sex on a whim.

But let's not get our hopes up; as improbable as it may seem it looks like Yousaf is going to be even more incompetent than Sturgeon was right from the off.

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

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