EXACTLY who is Ruth Davidson MSP representing at First Minister’s Questions (FMQs)?

This questions arises in a week that has seen more restrictions put in place by the government in Scotland due to the global pandemic, and sadly the rising figures of those affected. Continued and new restrictions are difficult for us all, have a knock-on effect on the economy of the country and incur financial hardship for many families.

READ MORE: FMQs: Nicola Sturgeon: I can see why people will raise an eyebrow over my account

Yet unbelievably Ruth Davidson (stand-in leader of the main opposition in Scotland), chose to go on the topic of the Alex Salmond inquiry. An inquiry that is currently under way, an inquiry currently questioning witnesses, an inquiry currently with much evidence from the First Minister already presented, and importantly an inquiry Nicola Sturgeon is waiting to hear from to allow her to give her evidence in front of the inquiry members.

The Alex Salmond inquiry may be of great interest to the Conservative and Unionist Party in Scotland, but I am pretty confident Ms Davidson’s constituents and the country at large would expect the main opposition in Scotland to be questioning the government on the current crisis the global pandemic is presenting with long-term health, economic and social implications, especially considering that in 23 days’ time the current furlough system will come to an end, resulting in devastating consequences for thousands of families and businesses in Scotland.

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

WHEN the newly devolved Scottish Parliament was set up, I think many people found it a breath of fresh air that the convention was established which disallowed the sort of childish barracking and bestial noise-making typical of Westminster. I don’t know when

the rot set in, but it may have been during the tenure of the otherwise reasonable Ken Macintosh that the Tories, in particular, started to get away with hammering the stylish Miralles-designed taxpayer-funded furniture instead of applauding, and then followed the example of their leader Ruth Davidson by shouting interruptions.

I hope the next Presiding Officer has the good sense to restore some decorum, insist on the sort of good manners exemplified by the FM, and come down hard on noisy furniture abuse.

Derek Ball
Bearsden

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Balancing economic and health needs is almost impossible​

IN the schools l attended from the 1930s onward, any disruption in class such as banging on desks, making stupid noises, or any other misbehaviour generally was rewarded with a blackboard brush on the head, or if this did not suffice a weapon that always seem to work for a period of time was the belt, or the strap. This is no longer allowed of course, and alternative sanctions are now in use, so l understand.

I wonder then, after putting up with the stupid disruptive, noisy idiots in Westminster for so many years, if some of the sanctions now applied to children could be used on politicians (or alternatively bring back the belt). Time to grow up and behave!!

Incidentally, I hope it was only the Baroness’s minions banging desks on Wednesday in the Scottish Parliament. Leave it in Westminster!

J Ahern
East Kilbride

THERE used to be an old joke that whenever Mrs Marple moved into your village it was time to leave before you became the next murder victim in one of her adventures. Something similar could now be said about working for any organisation which is unfortunate to find Dido Harding as its boss.

Her track record is littered with failure after failure. From being chief executive at Talk Talk when four million customer details were lost, leading to a record fine of £400,000, a loss of £42 million and 100,000 customers for that company. Then there is her role in the Jockey Club, which runs Cheltenham Racecourse, which saw 250,000 people gather at the peak of the Covid crisis.

READ MORE: 16000 Covid tests were lost as Westminster used software 13 years out of date

Of course, being a Tory, she was isolated from the results of her failure so was given the job in charge of England’s Test & Trace system, which wasted a fortune of government money on a failed app which rather than being “world-beating” turned out to be a total failure, and now we find out that the private company that she heads up for the current Test & Trace has relied on using an old version of Excel – a spreadsheet rather than a database – which is not fit for purpose.

There used to be a time when people like this were banned from public contracts and the ministers responsible would resign. Unfortunately the modern Tory party don’t recognise failure within their own ranks as long as they can syphon off public money into their private party funders. When the pandemic is under control there really needs to be a full public enquiry into the use of government funds during this whole pandemic.

Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley

WHEN two politicians speaking at the Conservative party conference use the same word we can be certain it is no coincidence. Both Johnson and Patel criticised “do-gooders”. We know how the Conservatives work; that must be playing well in the focus groups they use.

It is a strange Conservative world where “do-gooder” is a pejorative term.

Gavin Brown
Linlithgow

THERE exists a mental mechanism called “projection” whereby an individual attributes that which motivates their own behaviour to someone else’s actions and attitudes.

Michael Gove claims that the EU wants to control nations? Has the man no insight whatsoever into his own behaviour?

If he is unaware of the irony of his claim he should be seeking help, and if he is aware of it he should seek forgiveness!

Les Hunter
Lanark