Readers' letters: Ian Murray is shooting at the wrong political target

"Ian and the BBC gleefully twisted Greta Thunberg’s words. She didn’t even mention Scotland”

Ian is shooting at the wrong target

Given how often Ian Murray attacks the Scottish government one could be forgiven for thinking he’s an opposition MSP, not MP (News, September 2).

Scotland has had fewer Covid cases, fewer deaths and has administered more jags per head of population than England or Labour-run Wales. Our Test and Protect system is working. The £37 billion English one isn’t. Our NHS is largely intact. The English NHS is being served up in pieces to private corporations.

Ian and the BBC gleefully twisted Greta Thunberg’s words. She didn’t even mention Scotland but rather faulted all nations for not doing enough.

Scotland’s climate change actions put Westminster to shame. Holyrood has legislated legally binding net zero targets five years ahead of England and is meeting 97.4 per cent of Scotland’s electricity demands from renewables.

Unfortunately, Ian is my MP. I would prefer he turn his fire on the Tory government’s sordid record, but that would make Ian too uncomfortable.

He backed Boris’ hard Brexit deal that is resulting in food, medicine and labour shortages, price rises and the cratering of Scottish exports when 78 per cent of his constituency voted to remain in the EU

Both the Welsh govern-ment and Holyrood with-held their consent for this execrable deal, but not Ian.

If he had an ounce of integrity, he and his boss, Sir Keir, should be loudly opposing the impending Tory cuts to Universal Credit and Boris’ refusal to sufficiently fund the NHS.

Our democratically elected Parliament has done more for Scotland in one decade than Westminster has done in seven. Until Scottish Labour grows a spine and stands up for Scotland, it will remain irrelevant.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Merchiston Crescent, Edinburgh.

Tess White is right over bias claims

I am not sure exactly why the MSP had to apologise for her remarks in Holyrood about English people being welcome in Scotland. Demonstrably what she said was true.

A look at the stills and videos of the stalwart nationalists in marches and manning our border bridges and lay-bys displaying banners and signs telling English visitors in the strongest and unprintable terms to turn around and go home is more than enough evidence.

Of course, in the nationalist mindset, ‘Tory’ is often an alias for ‘English’. And the SNP’s Westminster leader’s remarks to a photographer who happened to be an Englishman living in Scotland merely confirms the Anglophobic elements. And this is before social media is even considered.

The apology should have come from the First Minister.

Alexander McKay, New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh.

Nicola should fight anti-English bias

Following accusations made at Holyrood of anti-English racism, I accept Nicola Sturgeon’s rejection of such a suggestion.

I don't consider her an anti-English bigot. What does concern me, however, is that Ms Sturgeon's brand of nationalism seemingly prompts a conspicuous minority of SNP supporters to feel anti-English racism is acceptable at sporting events and on social media.

It is not. Never is. Never will be. How about Ms Sturgeon walks the talk by making some significantly more visible and robust efforts to combat such behaviour?

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

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