THE latest revelation that Boris Johnson is going to be invited to address the Scottish Tory branch conference in Aberdeen is a slap in the face for Douglas Ross, suggesting that he is a lightweight even in the eyes of the branch members who elected him as their leader.

How could anyone claiming to be a serious politician say that he can’t find time to meet the Prime Minister who has control over the massive nuclear arsenal in Scotland when the UK might be on the brink of a war in Eastern Europe?

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Perhaps Douglas Ross is now paying the penalty for having the courage to speak out twice. His name might already have been erased by party headquarters, with Boris Johnson dropping in this week to tell the public that Douglas Ross has found that he needs to spend more time with his young family so has decided to stand down from his duties as branch leader and MSP.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry

IT is surely axiomatic that the Prime Minister, above everyone else in his government, should be trustworthy, honest and as a result, believable, credible and reliable. Apart from the domestic climate, the reaction of the rest of the world must be influenced by his integrity.

That is regrettably not the position that has been produced at Westminster by the sitting government, which must take its cue from the head of the team.

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That being so, the Prime Minister is the party required to take responsibility for the actuality. Some of his team have committed actions leading to their removal but the one overdue sacrifice is that of the Prime Minister himself, who cannot escape his responsibility overall for the many – the great many – failures of his administration. That must include the likely illegality, probable corruption reported, now being investigated by our police.

We will not underestimate economic importance, but the families of the 150,000 Covid deaths will not be relieved by the much vaunted “ growth” in our financial performance. They will be more consumed by the report that Germany, with 30%+ over our population, have a death rate of circa 50% of ours.

Add to all of that the personal behaviour of our Prime Minister as reported and now under investigation, and it is glaringly obvious that his is the responsibility to depart. Soldiering on is neither optional nor admirable!

J Hamilton
Bearsden

FORMER prime minister Benjamin Disraeli famously warned against putting too much store in statistics, and the latest growth figures are a perfect example of why he was right.

On the face of it, 2021 was an absolutely fabulous year for the economy. Britain has had some boom years in the postwar period – 1973 and 1988, for example – but the 7.5% growth last year was the fastest of the lot.

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Yet 2021 can’t be seen in isolation. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are correct when they say the UK had the fastest growth in the G7 last year, yet what they curiously omit to add is that it came after the UK had the biggest contraction of any G7 nation a year earlier.

The real story is that the economy collapsed by almost 10% in 2020 and then recovered most of the lost ground last year. Indeed, activity in the last quarter of 2021 was 0.4% lower than in the last quarter of 2019 – the period immediately before the pandemic struck. By way of comparison, the eurozone is back to where it was pre-Covid while the US is operating more than 3% above its level in late 2019.

Before we get the bunting out, as the cost-of-living crisis builds this doesn’t herald a rosy outlook, and this year the UK economy’s growth will inevitably slow to its poor post-Brexit level.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

IN an independent Scotland the only threat to the payment of state pensions that fully honour accrued UK National Insurance contributions would be a Scottish Conservative Party in government.

It was a Conservative and Unionist Government at Westminster that suddenly “moved the goalposts” on the state pension age and betrayed the “WASPI women”, and it was also a Conservative and Unionist Government at Westminster that ended the “triple lock” on state pensions despite a clear manifesto commitment not to do so.

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While they may have differing views in other policy areas, I personally don’t doubt that an SNP, Scottish Labour, Scottish Green or even a Scottish Liberal Democrat independent government at Holyrood could be trusted not only to guarantee an ongoing commitment to pay Scottish pensions at least at rUK levels but over time to strive to significantly raise those pensions above the lowest levels in Europe.

Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian

CRESSIDA Dick was obviously much too close to the fascist regime in Downing Street. We need to see the back of them too, plus a new Speaker in the House of Commons. Erskine May has had its day, and new rules must be brought to play. Who wants to live next door to an untrustworthy corrupt country where one can’t believe a word that’s said? England under Johnson has brought ruination to its neighbours. Time for change, and fortunately Scotland, unlike England, through its sovereign people has the opportunity to bring that about. Let’s take with both hands.

Bruce Moglia
Bridge of Weir

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ALTHOUGH he will be sorely missed by Scot Squad, surely Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson is the forerunner for that vacancy in London. His honesty and integrity knows no bounds, and his ability to spot a bam when he sees one could serve the nation well.

Kate Armstrong
via email