SNP control

Douglas Turner (Letters, 3 March) tells us of Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick’s proposals to reform the Holyrood committee system. Not before time.

He highlights her comment that there has been no change since 2002, and points out that the SNP was not in power until five years after that.

What about the eight years since? Perhaps there was no revision of the system for the first five years because the government of the time behaved in a reasonable, democratic manner and did not pack the committees with placemen, as the SNP has done and continues to do.

Ms Marwick’s proposals are just that – proposals.

We shall see if the SNP party machine allows them to go ahead, or if indeed they turn out to be nothing more than a smoke screen to subdue the fears of those who still believe in democratic government. In the meantime, the SNP committees will continue to steamroller opposition and repress criticism of the endless campaign for separation which passes for governance in our poor benighted Scotland.

A further taste of what opponents of the SNP can expect is provided by Mr Turner’s gratuitously offensive and unintentionally ironic closing sentence.

Graham M McLeod

Muirs

Kinross