Tory dilemma
The election of Boris Johnson is a real problem for Ruth Davidson MSP and her deputy Jackson Carlaw MSP. During the EU Referendum and the recent leadership election she opposed Johnson. Her deputy is on TV record as saying he should never be Prime Minister.
He was elected by fewer than 100,000 of the population, a group mainly old, white and male. Many of these people have an almost racist view of society, wanting to return to a 1950s society.
Many of his policies, and especially the idea of leaving the EU without a deal, would affect Scotland by making our dealings with the European market more difficult. Our shellfish and farmed fish industries are, at the moment, export successes. Our sea fish industry would lose access to EU fishing grounds.
Our tourism industry depends heavily on visitors from the EU and any problems at ferry ports and airports would hamper that industry.
Ruth Davidson and Jackson Carlaw have two choices. They can move behind a Prime Minister in whom they have shown no confidence so far and lose all credibility or they can support Scotland, which means opposing virtually all of Johnson’s EU leaving policies. Since Scotland voted decisively not to leave the EU and lose access to the Single Market
they really have to choose what is more important, supporting Scotland or supporting Johnson?
BRUCE D SKIVINGTON Stapeley Avenue, Edinburgh
Pete Wishart of Runrig, whoops, I mean the SNP, has said of our new Prime Minister: “Never has one so incapable of running a country been elected on the backs of so few.”
Well, the 92,153 votes Boris Johnson received were a lot more than the zero votes Nicola Sturgeon received when she was appointed to become the SNP’S leader and thus First Minister of Scotland with no election at all!
It wasn’t until two years later she put it to the electoral test, whereupon like Tinfoil Theresa (good riddance!) she lost a previous unassailable majority and has had to be propped up by a party of extremist cranks ever since.
Sturgeon’s political career shares bizarre similarities with Theresa May’s: asocial sycophants overpromoted by patronage found wanting once they’d risen to their level of incompetence and no longer had party grandees to hide behind.
At least when Boris bumbles and stumbles, it’s always been on his own two left feet.
MARK BOYLE Linn Park Gardens Johnstone, Renfrewshire
“Johnson sweeps to power”? I rather think not. He is only PM by dint of gaining the most votes from an extremely tiny minority of the electorate... card-carrying Conservative Party members... hardly representative.
EP CARRUTHERS New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh
Have Boris Johnson’s critics forgotten all sense of British, including Scots, fair play?
Sure Boris, like Donald Trump, does have a colourful history and reputation, but Boris, newly in office, deserves a fair chance and, if he does well, we will all benefit.
One can understand his
political opponents’ shrilly and often drearily trying to talk him down, albeit rather prematurely.
However, several of your more “know-all” correspondents routinely predict inevitable disaster.
They deplore him without ever mentioning he must be in office now with a chance
of making our nations safer, more prosperous and happier. Any such benefits would apply even to those who disagree politically.
The tone of public political arguments have come to reflect people’s lack of confidence in parliament, now surely at an alltime postwar low. If Boris Johnson can
enhance confidence in our UK politicians, we should all be willing to recognise that and enjoy a better democracy.
He is no dark horse, and his problems are terribly daunting but his record as Mayor of London may foreshadow better times for us all.
For us all to have the chance of such benefits, and in fair play, he deserves our encouragement.
Doomsayers should now hold their fire and give the man a chance!
CHARLES WARDROP Viewlands Road West, Perth