I NOTE that every Scottish Tory MP backed Boris Johnson in spite of his "do or die" intention to take the UK out of the EU next month, with or without a deal, meaning projected Tory losses north of the Border may have got a whole lot heavier. With Scottish Tory MPs supporting a hard, no-deal Brexit, even although they know full well that Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain within the EU, the old saying about turkeys voting for Christmas comes to mind.
And Boris Johnson's response to his MPs who put country before party and voted with the Opposition parties is that the Conservative Party has, among others, Kenneth Clarke no more, Philip Hammond no more, Rory Stewart no more, and Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson, no more.
While Mr Johnson bumbles on, assuring us that he can get rid of the Irish backstop, although Europe assures us that he can't, and while his trusty lieutenant Jacob Rees-Mogg arrogantly reclines on the Parliamentary benches during the emergency debate, it must be clear to Scotland, to the rest of the UK, to Europe and to the world, that the Conservatives' House of Cards is trembling and ready to crash, brought to its ruin by its own Prime Minister, assisted by its Scottish Tory MPs.
Ruth Marr, Stirling.
OCHIL and South Perthshire constituency voted 60.5 per cent Remain and 39.5 per cent leave in 2016. Our Conservative MP, Luke Graham, voted Remain.
He now votes with Boris Johnson because he says he respects democracy.
Where is the democracy in this? Where is his respect for his constituents' wishes? Where, for that matter, is his self-respect?
This smacks of self-interest and personal career aspiration, certainly not respect for representative democracy.
Regrettably, this behaviour is only too representative of the autocratic, egocentric and perfidious nature of the current Government and its leader.
Catriona Kellock, Alva.
WE are constantly told that Brexit is the "overwhelming wish of the British people" - the margin for Leave was 1.3 million votes, or 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent. Hardly overwhelming by any standard, especially when we were given a false prospectus ("the easiest negotiation ever" or "£350 million a week for the NHS").
Applying the same standard, however, how can the Scottish Conservative MPs ignore the opinion of Scottish voters, who wished to remain by 62 per cent to 38 per cent? They are in the same dishonest position as the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, whose voters wished to Remain by 56 per cent to 44 per cent. Neither is an example of democratic accountability.
Clearly the Johnson administration wishes a No Deal Brexit, whatever the cost. British democracy, severely flawed as it is, sadly, is the victim.
Stefan G Kay, Edinburgh, EH4.
I WAS struck by the crossing of the floor of the House by a former Tory minister while the Prime Minister was speaking.
The “defection” of some 20-plus Tory MPs to vote against the Government, and the threat by the Prime Minister to expel them from the Tories seemed reasonable to me. A long time ago, even before my time, and I am now 84, it was customary for Tories and Liberals to be interchangeable.
It would therefore seem quite logical for the expelled Tories to join the Liberal Democrats – there is precedent, did not Winston Churchill win the Dundee seat as a Liberal before returning to the fold at a later time?
The Prime Minister is finding the truth of the old adage “Oh what tangled webs we weave when first we practise to deceive.”
Jim Lynch, Edinburgh EH12.
I HAVE just realised that the suggested date for a General Election of October 14 falls on a Monday, rather than on a Thursday. Am I mistaken in thinking that General Elections have always been held on a Thursday?
Boris Johnson might think that he has had difficulties in negotiating with the European Union, but if he intends to hold a General Election on a Monday and use the Gorgie Dalry Stenhouse church hall in Edinburgh as a polling station then I will have the far more difficult task of having to negotiate with the Women’s Fellowship to cancel their meeting on that day, or to relocate to another venue. How many other polling stations are potentially unavailable on a Monday for similar reasons?
Sandy Gemmill, Edinburgh EH3.
PETER Russell (Letters, September 3) hits the nail on the head when he says “the UK’s constitution is in a terrible mess”. He omits to mention that the architects of this mess were the Labour Party and the Tories. He ignores that they have had a century to address this mess which seems to worsen with each passing day. Fortunately Scotland has the opportunity to provide a solution which won’t require another 100 years. We can write our own constitution very swiftly and most “reasonable people” know precisely what the provisions need to be.
Stuart Chalmers, East Kilbride.
Read more: Tories could suffer heavy losses in Scotland in snap election
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