Readers' letters: Why Scotland has too many politicians

Once again, I find myself nodding in agreement with Brian Wilson where he highlights the expulsion of Douglas Ross from the debating chamber at last week’s FMQs (Scotsman, 31 May). This weekly fixture has developed into a third-rate pantomime. Important questions have been answered by a succession of First Ministers with withering platitudes to which the Presiding Officer has consistently acquiesced, and the practice allowed to continue.

The quality of debate has deteriorated to a level that would embarrass a school debating society and in most cases speeches are read from a prepared statement. Gone are the days when, before this parliament, politicians with ability and heft would ably fight Scotland’s corner in Westminster: George Younger, Malcolm Rifkind, Michael Forsyth, Robn Cook, Alistair Darling and John Smith, to name just a few.

It is regrettable that we cannot turn the clock back and we are saddled with an incompetent Scottish Parliament. After 25 years, the origianal concept has failed comprehensively to materialise, now surely it is time for meaningful reform.

Douglas Ross collects his belongings after being is asked to leave the chamber by the Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone during First Minister's Questions last week (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The current, ludicrous additional member system produces 73 MSPs plus 56 more selected from lists prepared by political parties. In addition there are 57 MPs elected to Westminster. Scotland clearly has a surfeit of costly elected representatives. It must be a priority to examine a more acceptable democratic process and jettison the list system.

There needs to be a total review of Scottish Parliament departments and quangos, which have burgeoned out of control under the SNP. In former days the Scottish Office was more efficient and effective with a comparatively skeletal department, at a time when local authorities functioned well without interference and properly funded.

The problem is that turkeys will not vote for Christmas. What mechanism will it take for a political process to call time on the status quo, while Scotland’s wellbeing and essential services continue to decline?

Jane Ball, Cardrona, Scottish Borders

Show respect

The Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament is required to give up party membership and be neutral. I well recall the irritation of some Liberal MSPs that I was not more favouring of them. Alison Johnstone deserves respect and Douglas Ross, as a part-time football referee, should know to understand that.

Lord Steel of Aikwood, Selkirk, Scottish Borders

Red card

Brian Wilson is right to question Holyrood as a serious debating chamber but for the wrong reasons. While the standard of debate has fallen this has not been, as Mr Wilson argues, the fault of the presiding officer or FMs like John Swinney “reverting to sanctimonious mode” by not giving proper answers. Increasingly, point scoring and verbal bullying has replaced reasoned argument by members like Douglas Ross, who talks over opponents and acts more appropriately for Hollywood than Holyrood.

Why Brian Wilson thinks that Ross, who by repeatedly talking over the First Minister, “performed a public service” is beyond belief. Ross flip-flopped over his support for Boris Johnson and tried to highjack the constituency of a fellow Tory recovering from illness. He’s been criticised as having “a backbone of a jellyfish” by Willie Rennie and “irrelevant” by fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg. He has history having been warned many times before, with the Presiding Officer once declaring she was “talking into a void” as she tried to be heard. She’s not biased.

The quality of debate has descended into a farce with too many seeking to further their personal interests and too few conviction politicians. One of the latter is Monica Lennon, whose Ecocide Bill is needed given the failure of SEPA to safeguard environmental standards. This is the type of legislation the parliament was designed to debate but instead it’s reverted to the “Punch and Judy” farce of PMQs at Westminster. If there was VAR then Ross, the football referee, would have received a red card. It’s time immature behaviour was stamped out and we got value for money from Scotland’s public sector, proportionately 30 per cent larger than that of the UK.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Park strife

The purpose of consultation is surely to find out what different interests think. Those opposed to the Galloway National Park such as farmers, foresters and businesses would oppose a new national park wherever proposed, because arrangements to date restrict these activities in the belief they change the character or nature of a park.

The challenge is therefore not to reject a national park, but resolve these problems, and provide support for activities perceived at risk. What therefore appears to be needed is a lot more flesh on the national park proposals bone, and not a bald question where unmet concerns decide the outcome.

Miles Wenner, Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway

Reform can’t lose

This is the most momentous week in Scottish politics since the 2014 referendum. The Labour party, so long tipped as an easy winner in the Hamilton by-election is liable to be humiliated. Is Anas Sarwar’s position safe?

Whilst John Swinney might welcome this, his own SNP party is likely to be humiliated too. Reform UK more or less cannot lose. It will either win outright or run the SNP so close that Mr Swinney may never recover either.

Scots have had 18 years of SNP rule with almost nothing positive to show but it does have a huge list of negatives. If the SNP wins in Hamilton what will change? If Reform UK wins, everything changes.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

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