Readers' Letters: SNP and Greens make Scotland look like a banana republic

Holyrood has often been equated, perhaps in jest, to that of the legislature of a banana republic but now the SNP and Greens are doing their level best to make this true. (“SNP and Greens accused of ‘sleazy’ cover-up over Peter Murrell inquiry”, 11 June).

When politicians get too big for their boots, the fall from grace is much further. John Swinney's hyperbole over his recent election win is now taking on the mantle of a tsunami, in his eyes, and therefore he can just sweep away even highly legitimate concerns.

Not so. When politicians ignore the public's wishes, problems quickly arise. A case in point: the backlash against immigration has hit Scotland, showing that disquiet over perceived government mistakes can spread even to here.

Scottish Greens co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer, whose members blocked a Holyrood inquiry into the SNP finances scandal (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Holyrood has now hugely blotted its copybook over the Murrell affair. The SNP and Greens have let the public, Holyrood's reputation and even devolution utterly down. The "banana republic" jibe might well stick this time – and with good reason.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Secret reforms?

Dave Doogan, the improbable leader of the SNP’s Westminster group, claims that John Swinney, when he became SNP leader, “fundamentally reformed the way the party works and ensured a full governance review and stringent accountability measures in the party” (“Murrell inquiry by MPs would be ‘party political stunt’ ”, 9 June). This is the first we have heard of such a reform – apart from Swinney’s own claims about it.

Now it is implied that, in 2024, Swinney knew enough about the party’s mismanagement of its funds to institute a reform. Yet we have had no mention from others formerly involved with SNP governance – for example Joanna Cherry, Douglas Chapman – of any improvements introduced to remedy the party’s peculiar practices, such as not allowing the party’s treasurer to scrutinise the relevant documentation.

The SNP’s notorious secrecy and absence of transparency helped Murrell to conceal his crimes. Now John Swinney wishes to perpetuate the secrecy and absence of transparency by refusing to hold a public investigation of the party’s alleged new regime, on the grounds that it is a party matter. The conviction of the party’s former CEO is a criminal issue of intense concern to the wider public, not least because the SNP is the ruling party, one that campaigns to rule Scotland as an “independent” country. The Murrell affair raises serious questions about how far the SNP’s record demonstrates its fitness for such an ambition, and strongly suggests that it does no such thing.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Back our farmers

Half of our farmers are considering leaving the industry, and no wonder. Government policies have caused the farming sector harm – for example the Sustainable Farming Incentive, increasing inheritance tax, VAT changes and Ed Miliband's net zero edict to cut livestock farming by 20 per cent – are damaging the industry. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu's attack on Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have caused fertiliser and diesel prices to shoot up. Farm machinery inflation has spiked, with the largest tractors costing as much as £800,000. Supermarkets force down what profits there are to tiny margins which are weather-dependent.

Labour is often in short supply and often the farmer works alone from before dawn to dusk. Compare that to the lifestyle of government ministers who can walk off the job to watch football in the United States – a country whose policies are harming our agricultural sector through tariffs and trade. Mental health issues are often faced by farmers because of the stress that comes from all sides – there were 47 suicides by farmers in 2024.

Farming is one of the most dangerous industries there is. The BBC documentary series Farm 999 (available on BBC iPlayer) illustrates that, as well as demonstrating the other challenges farmers face – agricultural theft, fly tipping, arson, vandalism and poaching. The latter case, including badger baiting and hare coursing – the most common wildlife crime – is particularly reprehensible, not just for cruelty but for the bets placed on the appalling deaths of animals.

The UK imports 40 per cent of its food. We need to reduce this by supporting the agricultural sector more, valuing our farmers more and supporting British farming by choosing home-grown products over imported ones where possible.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire

Save suggestions

Stan Grodynski (Letters, 11 June) tries to appeal to those against independence, and some of us with a very low regard for the SNP, to come up with solutions to help the country, rather than “simply producing another version of ‘SNP bad’ ”.

After 20 years of ruinous “leadership” by the SNP, this is a simply impossible task without stating that they are the root cause for ALL our woes, not Westminster, not Russell Findlay or Anas Sarwar, but a litany of failed “leaders” and their associates in the SNP.

So, Mr Grodynski, until we are rid of the most secretive cabal outside Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, no, we will not offer options for the country, because there is no point whatsoever as anything offered up would immediately be cast as anti-Scottish, a betrayal of the “people of Scotland” and turned into a political football to be kicked into the long grass.

Perhaps Mr Grodynski, as I assume he is a contributor to his favourite party, would be better served by asking “where’s the dosh and how did that happen?” and backing a full inquiry. I think we know the answer to that one.

David Millar, Lauder, Scottish Borders

Audited out

Peter Hopkins asked (Letters, 9 June) if the SNP had auditors?

They did. That Johnson Carmichael, accountants of impeccable integrity, who had done the annual audit for some years and are highly respected by the Inland Revenue, resigned, says much.

Doug Morrison, Tenterden, Kent

Cruel sea

William Loneskie’s interesting letter (10 June) fails to deal with my earlier points about the costs and dangers of nuclear energy. For example, I guarantee that not one of the 450 or so such power stations operating today has made arrangements able to protect future human generations from the costs of guarding today’s nuclear wastes for several millennia.

Mr Loneskie mentioned Torness, but failed to deal with the catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in March 2011. This remains one of the starkest reminders of how vulnerable even advanced nations can be to the forces of nature. When the Tōhoku earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami, the wave overwhelmed the plant’s seawall, flooded its backup generators and led to core meltdowns in three reactors. The human, environmental and economic consequences have been immense.

Fifteen years on, the financial cost alone is staggering. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry now places the direct bill for decontamination, compensation, and decommissioning at ¥21.5 trillion, roughly £100-110 billion. Independent analyses that include wider economic impacts, such as the cost of replacing lost nuclear generation with imported fossil fuels, put the total nearer £350-400 billion. And the final figure will not be known for decades, as the painstaking removal of melted fuel and long‑term water treatment continue. In the meantime, thousands of homes in the area remain uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.

This tragedy is often spoken of as something that could only happen in the Pacific. Yet Scotland’s own east coast has its own geological warning written into the seabed. Around 8,000 years ago, the Storegga Slide, a massive undersea landslide off what is now Norway, sent a tsunami sweeping across the North Sea. Geological evidence shows that it struck the Scottish coastline with waves several metres high. Today, that same coastline hosts the Torness nuclear power station.

I have no evidence that a repeat of the Storegga event is imminent, but lightning can strike twice. As we debate the future of nuclear power in Britain we would do well to remember that the past has already shown us what the sea is capable of. There are plenty of safe and reliable alternative ways of making our electricity. Let’s put our faith and money into those instead.

Tim Flinn, Edinburgh

Politics of hate

Stormont's political parties' joint statement asking for calm and not to allow an attempted murder to be used as an excuse for reprisals or public disorder was indeed a remarkable achievement, in that it was made while keeping a straight face.

Condemning “outsiders” trying to create “fear and tension” – bang in the middle of “marching season” – was the cherry on the irony cake. Northern Ireland, a byword for recreational bigotry to Olympic gold standard, gets to moralise to no-one else on the politics of hate.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

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