Readers' Letters: Yousaf should act gracious over Coronation

Humza Yousaf declarednote-0 that if he hadn’t been invited to the Coronation it is unlikely he would have watched the event on television.

First Minister Humza Yousaf will attend today's Coronation in London (Picture: Fraser Bremner - Pool/Getty Images)

I am far from being a royalist myself, but I do think that if you are invited to attend an event and you accept the invitation, the least you should do is attend with good grace and not declare to all and sundry that you are only doing so under sufferance. His explanation that he was only attending to represent all Scots, including those who are supportive of the royal family, would only add to the offence his remarks will have caused to those Scots with a different perspective than his own.

You wouldn’t accept a wedding invitation and go public in criticising the bride and groom for making the offer. It’s clearly a cynical attempt to pander to the SNP hardcore anti-UK zealots. That a First Minister has behaved in this way is churlish beyond belief. With every passing day, and every half-baked divisive policy, Mr Yousaf gives the lie to his assertion that he intends to govern for all Scots.

Kieran Brennan, Callander, Stirling

World-leading?

The First Minister told a TV reporter he was looking forward to the Coronation and the chance to speak with “other world leaders”.

Are delusions of grandeur and perhaps a touch of arrogance necessary qualifications for leading the SNP? All three nationalist FMs have had these attributes in abundance. We have to remind ourselves that the FM is the leader of a shaky coalition administering a devolved region of the UK. Hardly any kind of, let alone a world, leader.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Keep monarchy

A President for the UK? Just take a look at Xi Jinping/China; Vladimir Putin/Russia; Kim Jong Un/North Korea to name three hard-line dictators/presidents. The first two arbitrarily introduced legislation to extend their terms of office indefinitely. The third succeeded his despotic father. Each is power crazy. Each has a brutal stranglehold on their citizens. They do not tolerate dissent – imprisonment or worse is the fate.

We have a constitutional monarch where the King, as head of state, has very limited to no political power. Instead – as is right – the power rests with the democratically elected government.

However the monarchy, involved as it is in the production of many major ceremonial events – draws people worldwide to our shores – the colourful spectacles generating huge amounts of revenue for Britain. A great deal more, it is reckoned, than its cost to the state…

The royal family is also a major status symbol helping support British businesses at home and abroad. They are very visible supporters of our national sports, creative media, the arts and many charities – and not forgetting our Armed Forces. Additionally, there is the commitment to the Commonwealth.

Globally, it can’t be denied, people are interested, and indeed fascinated by, our monarchy. Could the same be said for a President Blair, or a Johnson? And an election every 4-5 years with all those massive attending costs and uncertainties, with no hope of major tourist revenues attached?Heaven forfend?

Kathleen McGuigan, Whitburn, West Lothian

Royal charade

As the Coronation of an extremely privileged individual encourages some to revel in an overt display of British nationalism others confront the stark realities of life in “Great Britain” today. While wealthy barons enjoy the fruits of the hard labour of others, those who struggle to pay their bills and rely on foodbanks cannot afford the time to watch extravagant pomp and ceremony. This immense distraction is the pinnacle of the pervasive indoctrination on the purported benefits of sustaining a high-profile monarchy under which feudal governance by representatives of the British Establishment escapes rigorous accountability for gross incompetence, if not blatant cronyism and entrenched corruption.

In Scotland, thankfully, most can see through this contrived charade which keeps many on their knees while some selfishly bask in personal advantages derived from Empire without even a passing thought for those killed, enslaved or harshly exploited, throughout Britain’s colonised lands around the globe.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

GDP shortfall

In response to Peter Hopkins (Letters, 5 May), given Westminster controls energy policy and takes the vast bulk of the major economic decisions that affect Scotland, why is our Gross Domestic Product only roughly half of that of our independent neighbours of a similar size, such as Denmark, Finland, or Ireland?

Consider that in western Europe only Scotland has extracted as much oil and gas as Norway; this shows that the Union has been of no benefit to Scotland – and that’s before we mention Brexit, which has reduced the UK’s economic prospects considerably. When none of the UK parties want to return to Europe, independence is our only hope to improve our standard of living and quality of life to match our Scandinavian neighbours or Ireland.

Fraser Grant, Edinburgh

Time for focus

I write in despair. What on earth do we need to do to get this bunch at Holyrood to get themselves focused on the real issues to drive Scotland forward? You read the headlines of the last few months: Gender identity, LGBT issues, HPMAs, Not Proven, Party Finances, Republicanism.

Crivvens, have they never heard of Bill Clinton? It’s the economy, stupid!

The Holyrood gang have devolved powers to impact the real issues that could improve Scotland – The economy: Kate Forbes seems to be the only one with an understanding of the importance of generating co-operation on many levels between our government and business.

Health: NHS Scotland is 10 per cent the size of NHS England. Organisation is a function of size and there is no reason for NHS Scotland to be organised like England. It would be easy to create an organisation that eliminates all the little fiefdoms that make our NHS so ineffective.

Education: our future depends on it but we continue to go backwards in international league tables, When I was a boy we used to boast of our superior Scottish model, no more. Where is the plan?

Poverty is driven one way or another by education, the economy and our education/business overlap structure. Again where are the hard plans you would expect from a Parliament to generate opportunity for people to better themselves? Look at how China has improved prospects for its people over the past 25 years. Education played a massive role.

Our First Minister now puts Republicanism on the agenda, promising a referendum on the monarchy within five years of Independence. Doesn’t he realise they’ve blown any chance of Independence in the next 5-10 years and he’ll be long gone before he can deliver on his promise? Is now really the time to air this nonsense?Holyrood is like a bunch of wee toon councillors with no vision or idea about how to get focused on the real issues that will improve Scotland and the lot of its people.

As a retired international businessman I really do despair at the lack of focus and vision. They’ve lost the plot. I have no political affiliation and my comments are targeted at all MSPs. They’re all in it together and need to refocus on a relevant agenda.

Richard Bell, North Berwick, East Lothian

Just wind

Richard Dixon makes much of what he describes as the benevolent enthusiasm of wind farm operators who have “donated” some £25 million to communities that have been impacted by their presence (Sustainable Scotland, 4 May). Let's be honest, this is no warm-hearted gesture. When set against the exhorbitant profits generated by what are predominantly foreign-owned companies, this is a tiny proportion of the money we have already paid in our electricity bills.

Nor should we forget that extremes of wind speed which render wind farms inoperable, as well as the grid's inability to handle optimum output, brings in a further £227 million per year in “constraint payments”. Such apparent benevolence is little short of bribery to help overcome any local opponents who, having been given a token opportunity to sample due “democratic process”, invariably find themselves overruled by government dictat. One community I know of in a beautiful Borders valley, after ten years appears to be running out of ideas as to how to spend this apparent largesse. It has come up with the idea of providing £500 worth of driving lessons for those who need them as well as “free” lap tops. This same valley is currently threatened with 20 more windmills to add to the 1,500 that already blight the Scottish landscape.

Neil J Bryce, Kelso, Scottish Borders

Tread carefully

Exactly whose agenda does former SNP spin doctor Murray Foote think he’s serving by insulting our hardworking police officers? Having, as he might put it, “previous” for indignant outburst followed by humiliating climbdown, one might expect him to at least attempt a subtle approach to such a delicate subject as the police investigation into his party’s finances.

Instead he sees fit to indulge in mocking the police force as a “platoon of plod”, describing items that appear on the warrant, and proposing a bet on the results of the investigation.

This seems counterintuitive, given that many will assume that the items included on the warrant list are on there for one reason only, because the authorities suspect they were paid for with the missing party funds.

Mr Foote would be well advised to tread more lightly through what is a political minefield for his party.

C Whiteside, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line - be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

Subscribe

Subscribe at www.scotsman.com/subscriptions