“SNEAKY and devious” was my thought when I heard that the Conservatives at Holyrood were moving a no-confidence vote in the Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater MSP.

This vote of no confidence was moved on the very day that MPs in Westminster were discussing the privileges committee report on the behaviour of one of Boris Johnson. Prime minister, the office of first citizen of the country, is a position that demands the upholding of democracy. Yet as we all know now, this report divulged the contempt in which this previous PM held parliament.

READ MORE: Lorna Slater survives vote of no confidence at Holyrood

Absent from the chamber during this unprecedented debate was none other than the current Conservative PM Rishi Sunak MP!

But back to the Conservatives at Holyrood – was this nothing other than the Scottish Conservatives trying to take the country’s focus off the goings-on at Westminster? The voters will answer that question at the next election.

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

GOOD Morning Scotland presenter Gary Robertson attacked the circular economy minister Lorna Slater on Wednesday morning over the cancellation of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). He used quotes from the CEO of the Circularity Scotland, who said that the DRS system could have continued without glass being involved in the scheme initially.

Robertson challenged the minister on the basis the comment from the CEO asking why didn’t DRS simply go ahead. Slater advised that it was a torpedoed by UK Government, in this instance Scottish Secretary Alister Jack who also “bragged” about how he could stop the DRS scheme. It appears Jack did so by imposing restrictions on the plan, which Slater advised meant the DRS was undeliverable.

READ MORE: Fergus Ewing 'set to lose party whip' after vote against Lorna Slater

If you were taking out a loan from a company for a car or something big like that with a many-year life, and the loan company presented you with a contract which had the interest rate box blank, you would naturally ask the question “what’s the interest rate?”, wouldn’t you?

My guess is yes, you would, as would I.

The loan company response is “Ah! We’ll tell you later sometime in 2025”. That was the offer that Alister Jack made to “support” the DRS.

I am guessing that’s when you would stand up and thank the loan company representative for their time and shut the door on your way out. Possibly an expletive or two may pass your lips.

Alistair Ballantyne
Angus

QUITE rightly so, SNP MPs lined up to vote for the 90-day suspension of former PM Boris Johnson. To be fair, rather than resigning and running away, Johnson should be facing criminal charges for all the Covid deaths caused by his inaction and for all the billions of pounds stolen from the state during the dodgy Covid contracts.

READ MORE: Labour MSP in law breach fears amid Margaret Ferrier petition

However, in looking at which MPs had voted and comparing this to the vote against Margaret Ferrier MP, something did strike me as strange. Three SNP MPs – Mhairi Black, Alison Thewliss and Stewart M McDonald – all failed to turn up to vote against Boris but found the time to stick the boot into their former colleague Ms Ferrier! What does that say about these SNP MPs, that they can ignore Johnson’s misdemeanours but continue to hound a former colleague who made one mistake – which many others have done and got away with! No wonder SNP supporters and members like myself are trying to work out what happened to the SNP!

Alex Beckett
Paisley

REGARDING the article “Ferrier recall petition opens for signatures” (Jun 20), the circumstances at the time of her actions need to be taken into consideration.

Unlike now, when Margaret Ferrier had symptoms and took a Covid test on September 26 2020, results weren’t available quickly. There were no options at that time to attend the House of Commons online, despite rules restricting numbers meeting together socially.

READ MORE: SNP candidate urges voters to sign petition and remove Margaret Ferrier

It had previously been arranged that she was to speak in the Commons on September 27. Perhaps she let her sense of duty to her constituents take priority and overcome precautions regards Covid risks.

It was only after speaking in the Commons that she found out her Covid test was positive. At that time there were no special facilities like hotels set up where she could self-isolate. MPs were being told if they had proved positive for Covid they should go home, which is what she did and for which she is now being punished.

Don’t take your rightful angerat the deliberate and reckless actions of the likes of Boris Johnson attending parties etc out on Margaret Ferrier. Given the circumstances at the time and the continued tremendous effort she has put in for constituents who have needed her help over the years, which many of you will be unaware of, I hope those of you in her constituency will not sign the recall petition and force a by-election.

Jim Stamper
Bearsden

I’M sure I read or heard somewhere that Rees-Mogg stated that Johnson, his beloved old school chum, parliamentarian and sponsor toward his oblivion into the House of Lords, had done great things for Scotland during his term as Prime Minister.

As to what they were, I can o nly presume his curious buddy means the great self-centred reckless oaf has greatly increased the early likelihood of the demise of the UK having proven beyond doubt that it is a cesspit of deception, exploitation and corruption under inglorious Westminster, the hitherto apparently immovable barrier to Scotland’s thriving future.

Tom Gray
Braco