Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier should quit over Covid breach but Home Secretary Suella Braverman should not resign over speeding row – Scotsman comment

Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s actions suggest she thinks she is worthy of special treatment

Home Secretary Suella Braverman may not be forced to resign but voters are likely to take a dim view of her actions (Picture: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

Margaret Ferrier, who exposed the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death” when she travelled by train after a positive Covid test in pre-vaccine times, now seems almost certain to become the first MP in Scotland to be removed as a result of a recall petition. This recent reform to our system of democracy is proving its worth. The former SNP MP could, and should, speed up the process by resigning immediately.

Suella Braverman, however, should not quit as Home Secretary over her reported request to civil servants to arrange a private speed awareness course, rather than take a class with other drivers caught speeding. She asked, they correctly declined and she took the points instead. It is possible to set the bar too low for government resignations.

However, the voters will still get a chance to cast judgment on Braverman, Boris ‘Partygate’ Johnson, Rishi ‘no seat belt’ Sunak and others in power who appear to believe they are somehow deserving of special treatment or above the rules that the rest of us are required to follow.