Green’s downfall symptomatic of the PM’s precarious position

LETTERS

AS Greensleaze brings down the third Government minister in a matter of weeks (“Green sacked after ‘police vendetta’”, The Herald, December 22), the Conservative’s latest scandal to engulf No 10 brings to mind the Agatha Christie story, And Then There Were None; although the vanishing of so many politicians from the Cabinet table smacks less of a whodunnit and more of a whytheydunnit.

Theresa May must consider 2017, snap General Election et al, as her annus horribilis, and with the Brexit bells tolling, (as the EU clearly wants rid of the UK asap, and certainly by the end of 2020) plus the ongoing problems posed by her wobbly front bench and her revolting back benchers, it seems unlikely that Mrs May’s New Year resolutions will include calling a General Election, standing up to the DUP, or putting up the bunting for Donald Trump’s State Visit. And HMS Queen Elizabeth may not be the only vessel to take in water; given the Prime Minister’s current navigational skills, her leaky ship is heading straight to Rockall.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road, Stirling.

FASCINATING that, according to Michael Settle (“Minister’s departure yet another blow for May”, The Herald, December 22) Damian Green’s mistake was “telling a lie. Standards are high for ministers and so he had to go”. This leaves an interesting enigma; David Davis, Michael Gove and the archliar Boris Johnson seem to be able to lie repeatedly yet are still in post.

DR RM Morris,

Veslehaug, Polesburn, Methlick, Ellon.

I UNDERSTAND that after Brexit the colour of UK passports is going to revert to blue in order to “restore our [no doubt British] national identity”. Not mine anyway and I am in no way a Scottish nationalist with or without a capital “n”.

The colour blue shall be, for me, a symbol of one of the biggest mistakes in our history. Sir Tom Hunter is so right when states that “voters were not given full information before Brexit” (“Sir Tom laments ‘utter scandal’ of Brexit vote”, Herald Business, December 22). As a result those who will suffer the worst of the consequences will be those at the margins of society already experiencing the dreadful consequences of austerity.

John Milne,

9 Ardgowan Drive, Uddingston.

THE possession of a British passport is a vexatious question in many UK households these days. The question is, of course, should European nationals, having lived and worked in the UK for many years, apply for a British passport and thereby cut their connection to the land of their birth, or cling on in the hope that their adopted home will remain in the EU? At first glance a simple enough question, but not so in Great Britain.

Visiting Germany in the 1970s to take up the promise of employment I was asked to supply my passport for examination. When I asked why, my attention was drawn to the phrase “The holder has the right of abode in the UK”. That phraseology indicated to me that some holders of a British passport might not have that “right of abode”. That raises the inevitable question about the worth of the passport on offer. Of the eight categories on offer will that passport, blue or red, offer the right

of abode or not?

Rodney Lang, 9 Braehead, Douglas.

ONE can understand that Alex Salmond, after being defenestrated by the electorate of Gordon at the last General Election, found it necessary to find other remunerated employment and not just any old job. His eventual choice,however, was highly questionable from the beginning .

Now we have the SNP in the form of Martin Docherty-Hughes MP, as its spokesperson, railing against Kremlin “disinformation (“SNP attacks Kremlin for meddling in UK politics”, The Herald, December 22).

Mr Salmond may protest that he is not a Kremlin stooge, but surely the SNP must realise that he, in his job with RT, is not only highly damaging to the party, but is also the provider of powerful ammunition against it for its political opponents.If the SNP feels, as it apparently does about his involvement with RT, what is restraining it from taking action against him as a party member ? If the RT presenter had been SNP member Joe Bloggs of Acacia Avenue, Any town, rather than a former SNP leader, first minister and articulate self -publicist, I am sure that such employment would have led to his party membership being terminated in quick order.

Ian W Thomson, 38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.

GOOD to see the panto tradition is in rude health. A so-called “senior SNP MP” that no one has ever heard of – oh no they haven’t – jumps on a bandwagon saying he is concerned about Russian sowing of “disinformation and propaganda”. In other news, the pots are caught accusing the kettles of being too dark. They’re behind you ...

John Dunlop, 19 Wellington Lane, Ayr.

THE victory of pro-independence parties in Catalonia’s election is a slap in the face for Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (“SNP attacks Kremlin for meddling in UK politics”, The Herald, December 22). Those seeking independence won enough votes to secure a majority in the regional parliament and give new momentum to their political struggle for independence.

The three pro-independence forces together took 70 seats, two above a majority required in the Catalan Parliament. It was a truly amazing result given the circumstances, with the regional government removed and Catalan parliament dissolved following the October1 independence referendum. A referendum that witnessed extensive violence when Mr Rajoy deployed riot police to try and prevent people voting. With direct rule imposed by Madrid and Catalonia’s political leaders in jail and exile, Mr Rajoy was clearly doing all he could to staunch the pro-independence movement.

The Spanish Prime Minister has however become Spain’s answer to Theresa May. He gambled in calling an early election to end the political crisis, a move that has clearly backfired. Against all the odds, the pro-unionist coalition of parties was defeated by pro-independence parties.

The Spanish Government, which initially staunchly resisted talks with the Catalan Government, must now look to sit down with it and try and resolve a situation which, despite Madrid’s best attempts, is simply not going away.

Alex Orr,

Flat 2, 7

7 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.