Tories are looking to abolish the body that investigates them

The Electoral Commission investigation eventually led to nine police forces in England scrutinising Tory malfeasance. There was a criminal trial of a Tory official and a Tory MP. The Tory official Marion Little was convicted of two counts of falsifying election expenses. The sentencing Judge said Tory HQ had a “culture of convenient self-deception”.

Investigations instigated by the Electoral Commission into two of the main Leave campaigning organisations during the EU referendum concluded that the law had been broken, and this was passed to the Met Police for further investigation and possible prosecution. These organisations were aligned with the Tory party and financed by their donors.

The Electoral Commission has now announced an investigation into allegations of possible breaches of the law by Boris Johnson in relation to payments for the refurbishment of his Downing Street Flat.

So naturally the Tory party are looking to abolish or reduce the power of the Electoral Commission. Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Commission was in need of reform, as did the Tory Chairwoman. Rees-Mogg, it should be remembered, blamed the Grenfell tower fire victims for not leaving the building.

The Tories acting to abolish an organisation that has repeatedly investigated their criminality would be the equivalent of when Donald Trump fired the FBI director for not dropping an investigation into his National Security Advisor.

The author and Mafia expert Roberto Saviano has said that London is the most corrupt city in the world. It’s the place where all the world’s dirty money is laundered. It seems with Boris Johnson in charge even the pretext of probity has been abandoned.

Alan Hinnrichs

Dundee

IN Sunday’s National, Gerry Hassan says “Salmond has invoked an independence ‘supermajority’ when there is no such thing” (The language of priorities ... how we speak to the Scotland of the future, April 25). What a ridiculous statement!

All things originally do not exist, then come into being: there was not such thing as a mobile phone until they came into being, of devolution until it came into being, and Scottish independence does not exist, until it comes into being. But when they do then they exist. To me the idea by a “supermajority” is to gain as many pro-indy seats in the Scottish parliament by trying to make sure that lost list seats go to indy parties. It is a political strategy that has come into being and so exists.

Previously he has said the Alba Party is a populist party. He seems to have a bee in his bunnet about the Alba Party that makes him come out with these extreme statements against it. He is losing his academic objectivity and falling into subjectivity due to personal dislikes. I used to have respect for his intellectual analysis, but these articles have made me lose that respect, when I see them motivated by personal gripes, not real objective intellectual analysis.

Crìsdean Mac Fhearghais

Dùn Eideann

ANOTHER gloomy article from Gerry Hassan, who thinks he is Scotland’s leading public intellectual but in truth is one of Scotland’s leading pessimist.

He does mention Alba, the most exciting new development in this election, but dismisses it and lumps it in with George Galloway’s virulently Unionist party. It is clear he hasn’t read Alba’s manifesto, which offers radical alternatives to the problems he cites.

I look forward to his column after the election when he attempts to explain how Alba managed to win a number of seats in the Scottish Parliament and helped create a “super-majority for independence” but I’m not holding my breath!

Hugh Kerr

via thenational.scot