CAROL McGiffin, a long-running panellist on Loose Women last week had the temerity to ask our First Minister: “But what’s the difference between your misdemeanour or breaking your rules and your laws than Boris breaking his rules and his laws?”

Really? What planet is McGiffin on to even consider, given the reported circumstances of both cases, that this was an appropriate question to ask our First Minister? Nicola momentarily forgot to put on her mask before entering a barber shop, whilst Downing Street under Johnson during lockdown was literally “party central”!

I understand this is one of the most popular daytime shows on telly. Folk like her can be very influential with the public, and more pertinently, those that don’t follow politics much but still vote.

READ MORE: Loose Women: Nicola Sturgeon and Carol McGiffin clash over Scottish independence

Apparently she said in October 2020 that she supported Donald Trump and would vote for him if she could. This was just over two months before the attack on the Capitol Building but even then his reputation worldwide had been well and truly trashed!

Going on the basis that any fans of Trump and Johnson are definitely not fans of Nicola, it no doubt explained McGiffin’s hostile demeanour and attitude towards her right from the off. Also, prior to Nicola’s interview during a discussion about Johnson’s travails, McGiffin’s fellow panellist, Gloria Hunniford, backed him to the hilt just as strongly as any of his Tory cronies have done.

In my opinion there has clearly been an extreme right-wing coup in England and this has been festering long before the Brexit referendum in 2016.

What is far more sinister though is that the McGiffins and Hunnifords of this world – and those of their ilk – who have been utilising their apparent respectability with the public to regularly spout their views on telly over the years, have very much been part of the “non-political” part of the coup.

How the hell can we get damned well out of this hell when the main telly and radio broadcaster for news and current affairs for Scotland is BBC Scotland (aka “BBC Better Together”)?

When the newsstands are groaning with the weight of Tory/Unionist supporting rags, menacingly intimidating the proud, brave defiance of The National in their midst?

We mustn’t deserve better coverage as we are just a mere 50% of oor country’s population with an inconvenient political view for the English right wing state. Clearly the other 50% are the blessed ones!

So how can we get out of hell? Well that’s obvious. We shall all need the spirit and tenacity of a certain spider observed by a Scottish king many, many moons ago…

OK so that’s a very mushy, cliched end to ma letter but it’s all I could think o’. Gie’s a break man!

Ivor Telfer
Dalgety Bay, Fife

I WILL preface this comment by stating some facts: I was brought up in a Protestant family. My father was a mason (though not a carver of stone). I have not married into a Catholic family. I do not actively align myself with any organised religion. I just want to say that I cannot understand why these Orange Order demonstrations of intolerance are still happening in our dear country.

I know the OO claim that all they are doing is celebrating a historical event that is important to them, but equally I think everyone these days knows that what is more important to them is to make a loud noise, preferably through Catholic areas and past chapels, to deliver a message of – what? Certainly not friendship nor understanding nor mutual citizenship.

Whatever you want to call it, it’s nasty to its core.

So why do they want to be nasty to fellow Scots who are basically just the same people as they are? We are a mix over the centuries of folks from all over, from England, Ireland, Wales, from the Nordic countries, etc.

We are modern Scots. We are of multiple origins, of many religions, and of none. Scottish people, for whatever reason, are on the whole welcoming to others – it seems by nature. We do not judge others by their race, by the colour of their skin or by any religion they might practise. We see the person first, not their colour nor their sexuality nor their ability nor their religion – ie not their outward appearance, but their actual self.

If other human beings need help or support, we tend to want to give it without question and we tend to then act to give that support. Friendliness seems to be a recognised characteristic of Scottish folk, and thank any god you like – or none at all – for that, just thank nature for it.

I am not trying to say that we are the only nation of ordinary folk who are like this. But I have always got the impression that Scots are known internationally as being friendly and not inclined to judgementalism.

So why on earth do we allow a tiny wee minority of bigots to march through our streets in demonstrations which are hurtful to so many of our fellow Scots?

People who still want to cling to any kind of bigotry are free to do so (and may their god help them if they have one) and are free to speak as they wish as far as our laws allow. Since there seems to be no intent amongst members and followers of the OO to stop and think about the hurt they are causing to their fellow citizens, I have to conclude that our laws therefore must change and such demonstrations of intolerance and nastiness must be banned for all time.

I can only hope that in subsequent generations, and with the help of better education all round, such horrible feelings towards fellow human beings will die out in our country.

Anne Hunter
via thenational.scot

IN 2012 I bought a flat in Edinburgh needing fully renovated for £93.5k. I put down a deposit of £12,780 leaving a mortgage of £80,720. I managed to get a five-year fixed rate at 4.7% – not the best deal, but being a low earner and having little or no capital it was the best deal I could afford and my options were restricted.

My mortgage of £455 monthly was still £30 less than my rent.

Five years on I renewed my mortgage, still a low earner and a RISK, my options were limited to the same provider but my interest now was 2% less, paying £355 a month (£1080 less a year).

Comparing this to my rent which had been going up £10 a year, my mortgage was now £170 a month less.

The price of the property will have increased by at least 50%.

The value of the property may have gone up a little.

Today if I were to rent out this property I could receive £900 a month in rent. This would be £545 more than my mortgage.

This is money someone could be spending on gas, electricity, food, better quality goods, a holiday, the local economy or even saving for a mortgage.

In the 1980s 2% of the UK population were renting out properties to others, now it is 6%.

Petrol prices since 2000 have increased by roughly 30% compared to today’s all time high. In the seven years from 2011-2018 Edinburgh house prices increased by 57.6% on average.

Today you will struggle to get a one-bedroom flat for £150k in Leith, and your earnings to obtain a mortgage for this sum would need to be not far off £30k a year.

I think we must prioritise people who will make a property a home over investors who are pushing up house prices and making buying a property less financially viable for local first time buyers and others.

M Gourlay
Edinburgh

A YOUNG woman with two children is a criminal. An elderly lady is a criminal. And they are both guilty of the same crime ... They did not pay a TV licence!

The young woman was given a second hand TV, so that her children could watch cartoons, a gift that she would otherwise not be able to afford as any money she has goes towards buying food and paying her rent, anything else is a luxury and out of the question .

The elderly lady always assumed that she did not have to pay a license as she was a pensioner, and did not remember ever being notified of any change in her status and carried as before.

Not paying a court fine for failure to have a TV licence means you risk being jailed for contempt of court. Am l living in a parallel world?

A massive corporation sponsored to the tune of over £3 billion – by government– earns vast amounts of money selling their wares as they boast to every country in the world, and earns more chasing customers to pay them for the privilege of watching their products.

Meanwhile, we have a liar and a cheat with the biggest bunch of crooks supporting him running this country. Even the BBC would not buy this script and their bar is not very high!

James Ahern
East Kilbride

THE news that the Metropolitan Police will not be issuing any updates on the so-called “partygate” affair until after the local elections simply highlights the politicisation of this police force.

It is unacceptable that this so-called police force has decided to withhold from the public any further information on the breach of Covid regulations by the Tory government. This is clearly a move to protect the Tory vote. Hopefully voters will see through this political move and punish the Tories accordingly.

After all most, if not all Tories – whether they are MPs, MSPs or councillors – have been openly backing Boris Johston at one time or another.

They are responsible for him feeling that he can lie through his teeth and get away with it. If we can’t sack the corrupt Prime Minister then at least use your vote in the council elections to sack as many Tories councillors as possible.

Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley