Scotsman Letters: First Minister should act over bad behaviour at the top

But while it is humiliatingly bad, it does not compare with the Michael Matheson and Neil Gray incidents. Every case has led to a nationalist First Minister lacking the wherewithal to take firm control of a matter and sack, or even discipline, an erring nationalist minister. Perhaps if the First Minister had come down like a ton of bricks on the first of these cases, the second and third may not have occurred.

The impression is given that a nationalist FM considers SNP ministers to be above probity.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

The Unvotables

Our dysfunctional political system, both in Scotland and the UK, continues to get worse and worse. Politicians of all shades, clearly promoted beyond their competence, continue to play fast and loose with what remains of parliamentary integrity. It is an utter farce.

Come May’s elections, I would love to find a “None of the above” box on the ballot paper. I would certainly vote for that. Perhaps a confederation of common-sense independents might think it a useful way of communicating the widespread public disgust with what Holyrood has turned into.

In the current climate, I think the deposits of most such candidates would be safe! But I'm not holding my breath.

Iain Masterton, Kirknewton, West Lothian

Glowing review

John Swinney has repeatedly stated that, on safety grounds, he will ban any new nuclear power for Scotland.

If he were to sit for 100 years in the middle of the stored nuclear power waste at Sellafield his body would receive the same dose as one day's radiotherapy. Shouldn't you be banning the latter in Scotland, Mr Swinney?

Incidentally, one of the largest Small Modular Reactor designs would negate the requirement for about 250 of the largest wind turbines, plus equivalent storage, plus a huge increase in the number of grid pylons.

(Dr) A McCormick, Terregles, Dumfries

Young and dumb

As a child at school in the late 1950s and 1960s, we used to enjoy Second World War films at the cinema and comics like Victor and Hotspur, with their daring war stories. We used to goosestep around the playground, do a Nazi salute, put a finger over the upper lip to mimic a Hitler moustache and shout “Sieg Heil”! We didn't much like Germans, either.

I joined the SNP in 1974 and want to see the Reform Party stopped in their tracks in May. However, any suggestion my ludicrous antics 60 years ago define me today are risible.

The political classes panic at the rise of the Reform Party, and are involved in all sorts of chicanery, ranging from postponing Mayoral elections to changing English Council dates again; we have the desperate Guardian newspaper highlighting former pupils of Dulwich College who want Nigel Farage to take ownership of his antics and attitudes as a child. He denies them, of course, but now BBC News and ITN have followed suit. This is desperate stuff.

How can we be condemned in later life for the daft things we do in our childhood? This really is a blatant attempt to smear, and may actually attract sympathy votes, the very opposite of what was intended.

John V Lloyd, Inverkeithing, Fife

Trump is unfit

Donald Trump's mental acuity has been questioned for some time. He is under immense pressure, as his popularity is waning after a mere year in office. His attention span, not great at the best of times, has worsened and his speeches and answers to questions, have become ever more rambling.

Now his physical health is giving cause for concern. Even within this first year of his second term of office, the deterioration is obvious. He looks tired and has eased his workload, quite possibly under his doctor's advice. His brush with death in the assassination attempt during the build-up to last year's election could well have taken its toll.

All in all, this is not a good look for one of the most powerful men in the world. Now in his 80th year, he's beginning to show his years. Quick to mock President Biden as “sleepy Joe”, it's now his turn to be caught napping at meetings. Frankly, he's not fit to be president.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Not all bad

Another year stumbles to a close, one dominated by what appears to be relentless bleakness on the global stage. Conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as a continuing cost-of-living crisis on our own shores.

However, there have been many positives to come out of 2025, which have not gained the profile merited.

The ozone layer is healing faster than expected, thanks to the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). If current trends continue, scientists project that by the mid-2030s, some years may see no seasonal ozone hole at all, with full global recovery likely by mid-century.

In the South Atlantic, humpback whales have rebounded from near-extinction after decades of commercial hunting reduced their population to just 450 animals by the mid-20th century. Thanks to international protections, their numbers have now risen to around 25,000 – close to pre-whaling levels.

Over the past three decades, child mortality has fallen dramatically worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, under-five deaths declined from 12.8 million in 1990 to 4.8m currently.

In what may appear to a doom-laden year, let us spare a few moments to reflect on the positives there have been.

Alex Orr, Edinburgh

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