Readers' Letters: 'Honest John' isn't fooling anybody with stunts

Then he says Keir Starmer wants to talk about IndyRef2 when clearly he does not. Just watching the news in recent days, I think I can say fairly conclusively that that would be the very last thing on the Prime Minister’s mind.

Basically, two ill-judged stunts, totally meaningless, and 100 per cent guaranteed to be rumbled by all and sundry, leaving that nice Mr Swinney with his “Honest John” image lying in the dirt.

The First Minister does not need to be doing this at the moment. His government can form a majority with any one of five minor parties on any given issue. Every opposition MSP in the parliament therefore has an opportunity to be heard, and be able to take forward at least some of their own manifesto. That is how the parliament is supposed to work. The SNP can play one off against the others, and basically have an auction on every issue that comes before the parliament. So, the SNP have a perfect opportunity to actually start doing things.

Their decision? Try to mess things up as quickly as possible, thereby reducing the possibility of any progress in the issues that people are interested in. Can we re-run the election again please? The signals on this parliament are clear enough already from the outset that it is not going to amount to very much.

Victor Clements, Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross

Get cracking!

Spin is taking on the speed of a centrifuge in the SNP. Fresh from claiming a “landslide” election victory, John Swinney is ignoring Reform UK MSPs yet talking to Sinn Fein and claiming a meeting with Keir Starmer is tantamount to the starting gun being fired for another independence referendum.

When John Swinney finally gets down to Earth he will find that he needs another party to agree to pass his legislation and ignoring another democratically elected party's MSPs is not a good look.

Even more pressing is the cost of living crisis whereby the SNP election promise to cap supermarket prices will test his abilities to the full.

Then there is the brewing troubles over the Supreme Court's judgment on single sex spaces, the general malaise in the economy and the NHS crisis over many disciplines.

Mr Swinney has five more years of this to come. The next landslide might sweep him away.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Change system

In 2021 the combined number of SNP and Green MSPs, the pro-Independence parties, elected to the Scottish Parliament was 72, taking around 49 per cent of the vote across the constituency and regional votes on a turnout of about 63 per cent. So about 31 per cent of the electorate voted for the them.

That was in 2021. In the 2026 election that has just completed the pro-Independence parties now have 73 MSPs, taking around 41 per cent of the vote across the constituency and regional votes on a turnout of about 53 per cent. So about 22 per cent of the electorate in Scotland have just voted for them.

John Swinney argues, correctly, that there are now more MSPs from pro-Independence parties than there were before, but (and Mr Swinney forgot to mention this) many fewer people in Scotland have voted for them.

Perhaps Mr Swinney should turn his attention to modifying the electoral system in Scotland to be more representative of the true opinions of the people who can vote in Scotland rather than to suggest a fall in support from 31 per cent to 22 per cent of the electorate voting for pro-Independence parties represents a reason to hold another independence referendum.

John Oldham, Edinburgh

Q tips

There has been much comment about the election of Q Manivannan as an MSP, an Indian citizen who holds a student visa granting temporary residence rights in Scotland. It transpires that in 2024 the Scottish Parliament, in a unanimous vote, extended candidacy rights to non-UK citizens including those with limited leave to remain. To me, this seems a very poor decision.

Ross Greer, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, responded angrily to criticism of the situation on the basis that Manivannan had been legitimately elected. While that is technically correct, it does beg a question around the regional party list system.

I wonder how many of the 67,877 electors who voted Green in the Edinburgh and Lothians East regional list were aware of there being a candidate by the name of Q Manivannan, far less knew anything about the individual.

Reform of the voting system for Scottish parliamentary elections is badly needed but the likelihood of SNP and Green parties supporting a review is in “turkeys voting for Christmas” territory.

George Rennie, Inverness

D’Hondt ask

Was the D’Hondt system of proportional representation for Holyrood elections designed deliberately to return and D’Haunt us 27 years later?

John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife

Loyal colleague

Yesterday’s Scotsman (13 May) does not appear to carry one very significant intervention in reports of pressure on the Prime Minister. Some of your readers, I hope, may have noticed my MP Ian Murray’s remark in a discussion with Jackie Baillie and others calling on Keir Starmer to resign. His ironic comment was to the effect that the government was unable to effect the changes demanded. He later clarified the remark so its meaning was entirely clear – that he would be strongly supporting the Prime Minister in the critical business of government during the current national security and economic crises.

Readers will remember that Murray’s commitment makes no reference to perhaps Starmer’s biggest mistake – Ian Murray’s unexplained replacement as Secretary of State. I suggest it is not fanciful to think Labour’s election disaster in Scotland might have been averted had the highly competent and trusted Murray remained in post

Jane Griffiths, Edinburgh

Flying low

The two Scotsman news items about Edinburgh Airport this week (13 and 14 April) reflect grave public concern about its absolute chaos and costly visits to it.

The massive price hikes in drop-off charges, the expensive and constantly increasing parking charges, absolutely congested departure hall and the chaotic arrival hall are all deplorable.

In addition, when one goes to an airport the first thing one expects is a well-illustrated and prominent board to show where to go for your departure, but the one at Edinburgh is not prominent enough.

The arrivals hall also lacks seats to sit for anyone awaiting passengers. Two different arrival halls and their changing position are also not clearly illustrated. At times, arriving from abroad you have to get down from the aircraft by stairs and then there are a number of ups and down before you reach the luggage collecting hall.

On the whole the experience of visiting this airport is highly unsatisfactory and needs a lot of improvement.

The 86 per cent satisfactory experience claimed by airport authorities should be evaluated by an independent authority and not by the self-praising airport authorities.

Hasan Beg, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Demand power

Scotland has long been known as a friendly and progressive country, not prone to anti-immigrant sentiment.

However, Sir Keir Starmer's immigration crackdown could not help but have an impact on tolerant Scotland.

It is clear that the Prime Minister has adopted the anti-immigration rhetoric popular among the British public from his opponents at Reform UK.

But while tackling migration is a necessity for Britain, it is a different matter for Scotland: with its low birth rates and labour outflow, a reduction in migrants would have serious economic and social consequences. Edinburgh often has to adapt to London's interests, which is often to its own detriment and without receiving anything in return. It's high time to get tough and demand more powers for Holyrood.

This would enable Scotland to become more independent and establish a system that meets our needs, rather than one imposed by Downing Street.

Now seems like the perfect time to increase pressure on London. About 100 Labour Party members, including Angela Rayner, the former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, have signed a letter criticising the government's immigration reforms. Given the circumstances, it's unlikely that Downing Street could resist now.

So isn't it time we raised our heads? Isn't it time we made the British people hear our voices?

Edward Balfour, Musselburgh, East Lothian

Lazy thinking

I would urge caution to Edinburgh Zoo in their very public celebrations of the birth of Atty, apparently the first of his kind ever born in Scotland.

As the wise have so oft warned, it is a sign of terminal decline to take pride in one’s sloth.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

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