Scotland on Sunday readers' letters: New PM could lack support of majority of Tory MPs

As the Tory equivalent of The Weakest Link rumbles on, leaving just two candidates in the running, it throws up obvious concerns as to how the next leader of the Conservative Party and so Prime Minister of the UK is elected.

A narrow electorate of under 200,000, largely male, older, white and based in the south of England will now select the next UK Prime Minister. Hardly representative of society or indeed, even of the average Tory voter.

This could see an interesting constitutional situation whereby the runner-up amongst MPs becomes Conservative leader and thereby PM due to the votes of a tiny electorate. We would thereby have an individual who had risen to the heady heights, without even having the support of the majority of Tory MPs.

In the absence of a General Election, to fail to secure the majority support of MPs from your own party as you enter Number 10 is a deeply challenging situation to be in from the off.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, above, qualified for the Conservative membership vote with fewer votes than fellow contender Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Alex Orr, Edinburgh

Hot stuff

The measurement of temperature is something that the global warming lobby are very hot on (if you will forgive the pun). They point to increases in temperatures worldwide and why not? It keeps their jobs safe. Perhaps that is the problem, though.

The temperatures quoted by the BBC on the main evening news were taken in many cases at such spots as airports and town and city centres. What are these locations notable for?

How about Tarmac, which retains heat, or concrete buildings in enclosed, city centres with barely a breath of wind? Add aero engines blasting out extremely hot exhaust, or car engines doing the same and you have a recipe for a self-fulfilling prophecy. Add in that the heat came from north Africa and Spain, where it is entirely normal, and it’s difficult to see why we in the UK need to worry when it’s someone else’s heat. It isn’t ours.

Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh

Trouble ahead

The living wage in the UK is calculated at £9.90/hr (£11.05/hr in London) but this does not take into account the huge energy and inflation rates we are now challenged with. Whilst trade unions are making demands to increase wages there should be a new living wage set based on current costs.

The new national living wage should be in the region of £14/hr to take account of energy and living costs now faced by those at the lower end of wage rates. Unless this is addressed there will be years of industrial strife and unrest ahead.

Dennis Forbes Grattan,

Bucksburn, Aberdeen

Follow up

In her latest "sermon on the mount”, this time on the subject of democracy, Nicola Sturgeon said that when it came to Scotland's separation from the UK, where the Tories go, Labour seem obliged to follow in a "cynical political calculation”.

I think it more likely that the harmful effects of any separation are so obvious that Labour find it necessary to oppose it, even if it does allow the SNP to accuse them of being "Red Tories” (which is itself a cynical political calculation by the SNP).

She is obviously rattled by the resurgence of Labour in Scotland under Anas Sarwar because the SNP for many years has been the wolf in Labour's clothing and is gradually being exposed as an incompetent one-issue populist movement.

Mark Openshaw, Aberdeen

For a Scottish perspective on news, sport, business, lifestyle, food and drink and more from Scotland's national newspaper, go to www.scotsman.com

To subscribe go to www.scotsman.com/subscriptions