Readers' Letters: Now is the time for SNP to embrace transparency

Am I alone in thinking that perhaps many of the SNP’s recent problems could ultimately be traced to the fact that having such a tight cabal of people directing the party tends to lead to a lack of accountability?

Winston Churchill said “never waste a good crisis”. If the SNP are serious about doing things for the good of the people of Scotland, they should use this moment to broaden their organisational core and in doing so introduce more transparency and accountability.

B Hill, Inverugie, Aberdeenshire

Murrell duty

SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell is sworn in before giving evidence to a Scottish Parliament committee at Holyrood in Edinburgh on December 8, 2020, examining the handling of harassment allegations against former first minister Alex Salmond. - A cross-party inquiry is looking into claims from former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond that senior figures in the devolved adminstration in Edinburgh and the Scottish National Party (SNP) orchestrated sexual offence claims against him. Salmond, 65, was acquitted of attempted rape and a string of sexual assaults after an 11-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March this year. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Joanna Cherry is quite correct – it has been a nonsense since Sturgeon became Deputy Leader that such a family fiefdom was permitted in the SNP’s top echelons. Even with her resignation, it is high time for Peter Murrell to resign too after 24 years in the job, particularly as there remain questions to be answered anent his loan to the SNP and the unexplained £600,000, not to mention to allow the new leader a clear run without the possibility of complications to his or her position from pillow-talk emanating from the Murrell/Sturgeon household!

John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife

Eyes open

The head of the snake is gone and the edifice is crumbling but the fight is not yet over. Perhaps now my fellow Scots will open their eyes to see how they've been duped by a cult with a single mission, to demolish a 300-year-old friendly relationship, but with no credible plan how to survive the wreckage.

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

Lucky stars

As a “new Scot” of just one year's standing (with a Scots heritage traceable to the late 17th century) I hesitate to invoke Harold MacMillan's “you've never had it so good” because things aren’t great, but you should see what England is like beyond the Home Counties. And it will only get worse due to Brexit.

While not personally a fan of Nicola Sturgeon or the GRA, she, and the SNP, have tried to protect Scotland from the worst of the excesses of the craven Conservative UK government. And she is right to highlight the abuse women in the public eye receive: who willingly puts themselves forward for that?

As a former chair of British CND, I am still the target of abuse, and not by people in favour of nuclear weapons. Politics attracts many individuals in need of anger management training as well as learning to respect others; things your average child would, one hopes, learn from their parents at an early age.

Marjorie Ellis Thompson, Edinburgh

Reading tea leaves

There have been many remarks to the effect that no one saw the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon coming. Really?

With a ferry inquest likely, a failing GRA and inability to define a “woman”, a Deposit Return Scheme that is going to fail and be destructive to our drinks industry, a clash with the UK government to be lost over section 35, a broken promise of a second Indy referendum, pubic sector pay demands, plus a trail of failures in education, the NHS, policing, the Scottish economy etc, this is the perfect time to go. She was obviously going to resign – before the proverbial hits the fan.

Older readers might remember Harold Wilson employing the same tactic in 1976 when he handed over to Jim Callaghan. This was nicely summed up in the Private Eye cover at the time, featuring a sunken ship with the speech balloon saying “Alright, Jim, you can take over now”. I’m only surprised it took so long.

Ken Currie, Edinburgh

Missing mission

Scottish independence being Nicola Sturgeon’s apparent main objective, that aim seemed to move her the most, evidently dominating her thoughts and utterances. However, the SNP’s title implies a broader prospectus. The eulogistic comments about the FM by other, international, political luminaries did not, in general, recall the SNP’s fundamental objective.

That is, surely, to improve Scotland for us who live here. The SNP had good opportunities regarding, for example, Scottish prosperity, safety in all its forms, education, trade and friendliness with our neighbours and national morale. When these objectives were not being met, Nicola Sturgeon very often blamed Westminster and the Tories.

However, it is surely unfair to ascribe all blame to them. We voters may soon have to decide how well the SNP met the aims that matter to most Scots.

Charles Wardrop, Perth

Legacy assured

Although surprised and saddened by Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, I remain resolute in my belief that renewed unity of purpose for independence must be continued. As Scotland’s longest serving First Minister, she dealt with five Tory prime ministers and is without doubt, recognised as the preeminent political leader of her generation. She also continued to keep Scotland on the world map.

Irrespective of all other issues, the relentless evil of social media has taken its toll on Nicola, much like her New Zealand counterpart. In fact the troubled start to the 21st century has been marred by an endless vindictive personalised hatred, directed at all prominent politicians.However, in the near future Nicola’s legacy will be assured, when Scotland regains her nationhood within Europe and around the world.

Grant Frazer, Newtonmore, Highland

Selfless Sturgeon

Regrettably, but not surprisingly, many critics of Nicola Sturgeon have not displayed the class and professionalism of the lady who has just resigned as First Minister.

Not only severely hampered by the limited powers of Holyrood and the litany of failings at Westminster, she has had to endure constant personal abuse and dealing with UK Government charlatans who in public proclaimed the benefits of working together while in practice her Scottish Government was not only persistently ignored but devolution was furtively being dismantled, brick-by-brick. More than a decade of austerity, Brexit, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have combined to significantly diminish the UK economy and limit Scotland’s economic growth but through it all Nicola has remained true to her principles and continued to progress, making Scotland a fairer and more egalitarian country while seeking to astutely advance self-determination.

While some claimed that the FM thought of nothing other than independence, others brushed aside UK political realities (including the “mother of parliamentary democracy” refusing to acknowledge parliamentary democracy), the global pandemic and the war in Ukraine to make out she should have done more to deliver independence from the democratic mandates she won. But – in spite of what some have inferred from one recent poll – the truth is that relative to the debacle of corrupt UK governance which has failed in every sphere and is floundering at every level, including health and education, support for independence is now fundamentally stronger and more solid than ever.

Shallow-minded and subjective commentators will record Nicola Sturgeon as a “divisive figure”, but the “integrity, professionalism and accountability” she has demonstrated throughout her career will enable Scotland to take that final step in determining its own future. Her resignation at this time selflessly opens the door for truly open constitutional debate within the SNP, and the wider Yes movement, and for the emergence of another inspiring leader committed to delivering an early realisation of Scotland’s destiny.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Cunning plan?

In yesterday’s Scotsman editorial following the Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, it was argued that “the greatest advertisement for Scottish independence would be a devolved Scotland making a clear, positive difference for its population”.

I would turn that argument on its head. All the evidence of last 15 years is that the last thing the SNP have actually wanted is a devolved Scottish Parliament and Government which has delivered good public services. Devolution needed to be shown to have failed, or at least be inadequate in order to advance the case for independence.

K W McKay, Carrbridge, Highland

Bottle episode

Your 15 February editorial highlighting the Fraser of Allander evidence to MSPs about the Scottish Government’s flawed governance, research and decision making hits a bullseye with its identification of the slapdash, steamrollering and thoughtless approach to processing and implementing the minority government policies. The editorial cites the manifold past and impending failures due to this approach. One not mentioned is the Deposit Return Scheme masterminded by the Greens' Lorna Slater, hell bent upon forcing it through without due diligence.

It seems she is Minister, among other things, for Circular Economy. Her behaviour would indicate that this means starting out to damage the business economy in Scotland and coming full circle with the economy worse than it was when she started.

Her CV says she was born in Calgary, Alberta, which is relatively close to Seattle, Washington State. The latter city is known for the romcom Sleepless in Seattle. Might I suggest Scotland’s burgeoning film industry makes a film starring the First Minister, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater about a village near Dalkeith, which has been chosen for a deposit return pilot scheme, entitled “Clueless in Newbattle”?

If the Greens entered more constituency candidates, they may learn about lost deposits.

Fraser MacGregor, Edinburgh

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