Humza Yousaf’s actions show he knows nothing about transport – or real life

Humza Yousaf is a failure as a Transport Minister. Now he is straying into territory that is way beyond his pay grade by saying he will look into firms docking the pay of workers during last week’s blizzard conditions (The Scotsman, 5 March).

Mr Yousaf makes £108,204 per year plus travel and subsistence allowance. The First Minister is on £151,721 per annum, which is more than Theresa May earns for her difficult work in the Brexit quagmire.

In December 2010, motorists were trapped on the M80 overnight after a snowstorm. There were no gritters or snowploughs out. The fresh snow was compacted by the traffic and turned to ice. It took a week to remove the sheet ice from the M80 and the M8. The Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson resigned. He was replaced by Derek Mackay who was replaced by Keith Brown who was replaced by Humza Yousaf. All SNP ministers. Wednesday night and Thursday morning saw a repeat of the event of 2010. Motorists were trapped in their cars overnight on the M80. The famous “lessons” were not learned. Mr Yousaf knows nothing about transport. Now he demonstrates that he knows nothing about real life. He is an MSP leading a cloistered life. He is paid whether he does any work or not. His pension pot will continue to increase each year and should be lose his seat in the next Holyrood election, he will get a year’s salary to help him readjust to life outside the political bubble. In the private sector, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

The First Minister and Transport Minister told HGV trucks to get off the roads. They did and the supermarket shelves across Scotland were bare within three days. The SNP government got lucky with the onset of a thaw over the weekend. Otherwise, they would have had to call in the army to help out. Oops. We don’t have an army in Scotland any more. The Highland regiments are based in Catterick, 150 miles south of the border.

If Mr Yousaf wants to help the private sector taxpayer, he should resign from Holyrood and get his snout out of the public trough.

JOHN BLACK The Scottish Jacobite Party, Woodhollow House, Helensburgh