Letters: SNP has taken 18 long years to steer Scotland to success

The Herald Scotland

08-05-2025

John Swinney has been at the heart of the Scottish Government since 2007 and was Nicola Sturgeon's number two for some considerable time. He has held such government positions as Finance Secretary, Secretary for Education and Skills, Secretary for COVID Recovery and now First Minister.
He ends his statement saying 'Centred on delivery, providing hope, it is a programme that seeks what is best for Scotland, a Programme for Government that gets our nation on track for success'.
On track for success? This surely begs the question what on earth have this hapless SNP administration being doing for the last 18 years – and clearly demonstrates they have achieved no success in any domestic policy area at all.
Richard Allison, Edinburgh.
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No need to drink on our trains
I note that, with the usual fanfare, the First Minister has announced that peak rail fares are to be scrapped from September.
Bearing in mind that the Scottish Government only recently saw fit to end the peak fare deal, it is hard not to see the latest move as electioneering.
Any joy at this change of heart, however, must surely be tempered by the news that, at the same time, the alcohol ban is to be lifted. Why is it necessary for alcohol to be consumed onScotRail trains when it is widely available at all departure points?
Alcohol consumption on public transport leads, at best, to low-level anti-social behaviour and noise, to the detriment of the greater number of travellers who are happy to refrain. Surely a missed opportunity?
David Edgar, Symington, Biggar.
A Promise that must be fulfilled
Outlined in the Scottish Government's Programme for Government is the Children and Young People (Care) Bill.
This legislation aims to further support The Promise, produced by the Independent Care Review in 2020, and which is Scotland's pledge to care-experienced children and young people that they will grow up loved, safe, and respected.
As a coalition, along with others, we have been advocating for care-experienced individuals, who often face complex situations alone, to have the right to lifelong, independent advocacy.
This will ensure that care-experienced individuals are aware of their rights and can make informed decisions about their lives.
With the Promise Bill now part of the legislative landscape, it is time for this fundamental right, as committed to in The Promise itself five years ago, to be enshrined in law.
Too many individuals are currently missing out on the advice and support they desperately need, often when they need it most.
Scotland has an opportunity to lead the way, and the Bill provides the opportunity to deliver action on advocacy.
The Scottish Children's Services Coalition, Edinburgh: Kenny Graham, Falkland House School; Lynn Bell, LOVE Learning; Stephen McGhee, Spark of Genius; Niall Kelly, Young Foundations.
This pledge will surely be broken
John Swinney has made a remarkable promise to tackle the 8am doctors' appointment chaos by promising 100,000 more appointments to be made available to ease the logjam. I would ask, if he can do this, why did he not do it 10 years ago?
The simple answer is that this is just another election promise that won't be kept by the SNP, to add to the many broken promises made by them but never achieved.
Many doctors have already condemned this promise as completely unachievable as the resources are simply not there.
Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.
SNP addicted to headlines
Smoke and mirrors. John Swinney promises 100,000 new GP appointments. Scotland's population is in excess of five million, therefore, in context, this is not a big number.
Reducing rail fares also just means a bigger bill for the taxpayer if ScotRail fails to make a profit.Once again, the SNP love the headlines but don't like the details and it is the details that matter.
Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.
Life in England's cultural shadow
I can't agree with Neil Mackay's assessment of Scottish values in the context of a United Kingdom ('Trump and Farage prove there is such a thing as Scottish values', May 5). Scotland does not have a good track record of wealth generation and financial competence, going all the way back to 1707 and the Darien scheme entered in to with England. This was effectively a bail-out and the price was independence.
Following that humiliation, we have become used to living in the cultural shadow of England having our history, language and culture measured against an English standard. Our historical progress since 1707 has just been a matter of following England's example.
Scottish culture has been crudely stereotyped, portrayed as quaint and romantic, a pastiche of kilts, clans and bagpipes and somehow suspended in a distant past which no longer relevant.
The result has been a legacy of resentment and why many of us believe that greater control over our own politics would foster a more confident and self-assured culture.
The Scottish elite effectively capitulated to the English in the 1707 Act of Union and this one 'choice' has evolved into a pattern of behaviour to become a kind of habituated self-subjugation. This, like self-censorship, is a chosen pre-emptive suppression done to avoid something worse. Political Stockholm syndrome?
When institutionalised to a sufficiently general habit it becomes 'instinctive' and appears as natural or normal – in our case, the canny, circumspect people that the Scots are when they are not being uncouth English-hating savages (depending on your point of view).
This is the single ideological focus of the independence seekers, with no agreed plans for life after freedom whether it be currency, EU membership, borders or any of the other continuously unanswered questions.
At the end of the day, after 318 years it would be nigh-on impossible – not to say catastrophic – to attempt to untangle our relationships with England at a practical level merely to recover our self-esteem and atone for the sins of our fathers.
Accepting the constitutional situation as it is there is ample scope to prosper within the UK. A starting or reset point might be to exchange the current and tiresome blame-and-confrontation approach for one of co-operation and mutual respect. Some of my best friends are English!
Keith Swinley, Ayr.
Seceding from a Farage-led UK
It is being predicted that Nigel Farage could take power in Westminster - and this, ironically, on the anniversary of VE Day. Independence for Scotland has never been more important and if the UK elects a right-wing populist regime we cannot afford to wait for permission from the UK to vote for independence. Our government must declare our independence in the event of a Farage government in the UK.
David Currie, Tarland
Fast-changing landscape
The survey showing how far Reform UK has come in recent years '(Poll: Reform UK could be main opposition to SNP in Holyrood', May 7) is a warning to every mainstream politician.
I dislike all that Nigel Farage stands for but reluctantly concede that he is more relatable than other party leaders. It is not difficult to see why many disaffected voters warm to him. The political landscape changes so quickly and we can only hope that the main parties can by next May have re-appraised their public appeal and keep Farage out.
D Matthews, Glasgow.