Scotland Matters Letters

ANOTHER SNP leader, another proposal to “protect us” from Westminster (“Humza Yousaf sets out plans for ‘constitution built by the people'”. heraldscotland. June 19). Humza Yousaf is setting out the rights of citizens In an Independent Scotland. Amongst these rights will be the recognition of “the right to access a system of healthcare free at the point of need”. Instead of coming up with glossy documents filled with lots of buzzwords. perhaps in the 22 months he was Health Secretary he could have worked on Scottish citizens not only having the right to access the system but being able to obtain treatment timeously. We have people languishing on waiting lists for cancer treatment. hip replacements and so on. He clearly is the continuity candidate, as Nicola Sturgeon got her headlines with a similar stunt Introducing her legal right to NHS treatment within 12 weeks in 2012. How many times has this legal right been broken? By 2021, the total number of breaches was over 312.000. That Is 312.000 patients who have been denied a legal right, have been left in pain and discomfort and may well have died waiting for treatment. Just like his predecessor, I am sure that M r Yousafs words will look good on paper but will do nothing to improve the quality of life of the ordinary Scot. Jane Lax, Aberlour.

IF anything demonstrates how tired, stale and pedestrian this SNP administration is, it is Humza Yousaf’s publication of the latest “Independence Prospectus” paper. Whilst the people of Scotland suffer catastrophic failures across all aspects of domestic policy such as drugs deaths, a crumbling NHS service, infrastructure debacles (think ferries and the A9) are we to be excited as to the First Minister’s ideas and visionary offerings? How naive to think that weighty issues such as a monarchy referendum, a written constitution and protecting the right to strike will form the battleground at the next election. This nonsense of a document simply highlights how desperate this country is for change away from an utterly hapless SNP administration. Richard Allison, Edinburgh.

Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she has “done nothing wrong” (report, June 19) may be true in part, but many in Scotland and beyond would question its accuracy in a broader sense. A large number of the ills in the country can be traced back to her time as first minister. James Bishop, Wincanton, Somerset

Recently Nicola Sturgeon popped up outside her home again to plead for privacy. Really? Then why, on several occasions, has she appeared before ranks of journalists not to discuss the case she can’t discuss? Why has she attracted massive attention by issuing, on multiple social media platforms, lengthy protestations of her own innocence? It’s ironic in my opinion as not so long ago, this was a politician who seemingly craved publicity. Who appeared to self-aggrandise her first ministerial role into a presidential one – all while posing for selfies with pretty much anyone at the drop of a hat? Is Sturgeon perhaps discovering it’s not so easy to control her own image in the media after all? Martin Redfern.

The Scotsman editorial of 19 June on priorities for Scots made no mention of the fact that it only took the Tory Party 47 days to ditch a leader who proposed to govern with a massive budget shortfall. Humza Yousaf travels to Dundee for the SNP’s independence convention at the weekend with a £1 billion black hole in the SNP budget for 2024/25 and his Finance Secretary binning the solution set out by Kate Forbes to return the public sector headcount back to pre-Cov-id numbers through a 30,000 reduction. That leaves tax rises as the only remaining policy with a choice of increasing the tax burden on Higher and Top Ratepayers by 14p in the pound over that charged in England or including all Basic Rate payers in funding the gap during an election year. Surely that problem should be the first agenda item at Dundee. Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway.

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