DONALD Trump's recent foray into our political events displays his usual levels of ill-informed banality yet highlights the disturbing ongoing schism within the Conservative Party ("Trump insists Corbyn PM would be 'so bad' for UK", The Herald, November 1). In his interview with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, the US President urged Boris Johnson to team up with Mr Farage to form an " unstoppable force" for the forthcoming General Election. The President is not a man you would associate with any particular political insight or sagacity, but his advice here should be treated seriously by all those who would fear the rise of a right-wing bloc and the consequences for equality and social justice throughout the UK.
The Conservative Party has witnessed the final victory of its more extreme elements in its election of a Prime Minister who openly courts the far right and is contemptuous of the political middle ground. A mass exodus of moderates such as Nicky Morgan is evidence that many high-profile figures in Conservative ranks have decided that they cannot play any future role in a government that is in thrall to the ERG (European Research Group) and that openly espouses libertarian social and economic philosophies and policies.
Mr Farage's populist Brexit Party and Mr Johnson's Conservative Party, the most right-wing some would argue for 200 years, have become natural bedfellows as opinions on Brexit have hardened and become more illiberal. I think it is inevitable that these parties will arrive at a pre-electoral pact in accordance with President Trump's fondest wishes. This would undoubtedly increase the prospects of a post-electoral hard Brexit which will plunge the UK into an economic and social slump in the immediate and long-term future. The Conservative Party in Scotland resembles a subservient and supine Brigadoon by comparison but will try, without success, to obfuscate the dangerous direction the party is taking to the Scottish electorate. Only the foolish or the selfish will follow its lead.
Owen Kelly, Stirling.
IT is outrageous that a party leader, after an election has been announced, should blatantly use an interview with a foreign president to interfere in the election process of the UK.
Donald Trump, however, is unable to stick to a script and criticised Boris Johnson’s negotiating stance as unsustainable in terms of a trade deal with the United States. In effect he does want access to the UK drugs regime and as identified by Channel 4's Dispatches programme this week (October 28), will triple the drugs bill and wipe out any budget increase promised by Mr Johnson. Even the latter is now talking about seed funding for hospitals in England, rowing back on proposals he made at his party conference. If he can’t keep his word for a few weeks then what chance keeping his party manifesto.
Politicians should not be allowed to make pledges and then fail to keep them. They should be held personally accountable, not through the ballot box but through much greater financial accountability, for example by losing their right to any pension rights gained from being a member of parliament and indeed their right to an enhanced pension for being prime minister.
Bill Eadie, Giffnock.
IT is well known that the question posed in a questionnaire will affect the result, so the comment that Nicola Sturgeon wants to use the same question in any Indyref2 as posed the last time is no great surprise. (“Blow for Sturgeon as MSPs tell her to rewrite legislation paving way for Indyref2”, The Herald, November 1).
The question “Should Scotland become an independent country?” is framed to produce a “Yes” answer. If the question in any Indyref2 was “Should Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom?” then I expect those supporting independence would rightly be outraged. Both, however, are two sides of the same coin so it was surprising that the original question was allowed. A fairer question could be along the lines of “Should Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent country?” Or perhaps the other way round. The ballot paper could then give the alternative of “Remain” or “Independent”.
I await with interest the demonstrations of independence supporters if the independent Electoral Commission suggests reframing any future question away from the former weighted one.
Colin Gunn, Glasgow G73.
I CANNOT see how the Electoral Commission can come up with a better referendum formula than the one it itself insisted on in 2014. Leave/Remain is now eternally linked with Brexit whereas Yes/No is simple and broadly understood.
I suppose we could outsource it to the LibDems for laughs, if we wanted something as utterly bizarre as the heavily slewed questions they have had a polling company ask in their target seats down south.
GR Weir, Ochiltree.
A FEW questions:
Has there ever been a government which has misspent so many billions of pounds?
Has there ever been a government which caused such dissension in our society?
Has there ever been a government which so openly disregarded the truth without concern?
Has there ever been a Unionist government which discarded part of the United Kingdom with so little thought?
Has there ever been a government which denigrated the foundations of democracy (law-making Parliament and the courts of Justice) so thoughtlessly?
Do you remember a prime minister who did not support an ambassador in trouble?
Has there ever been a government which so reduced Britain’s standing and reputation in the world?
Have you ever seen so many rhetorical questions expecting the answer No?
Hugh Boyd, Bearsden.
QUESTIONS that need answers: "Name one law imposed on the UK by the EU that the UK didn't sign up for"? or "Name the EU laws that should be scrapped"? or "Why is the principle of UK sovereignty and self-governance a valid reason to leave the EU, but that principle shouldn't apply to Scotland within the UK"?
The world must look on and wonder why any working-class person wants the corrupt incompetent Westminster elite having more control over their lives?
Rod Selbie, Dundee.
AS I drove around the byways of Aberdeenshire yesterday (October 31), there was no sign of our prime minister in any ditch, dead or alive.
Any reports of sightings in other parts of our land?
Willie Towers, Alford.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel