Absurdity of UK's ‘mother of all parliaments’ has never been clearer

So much for the “transparency” Jeremy Hunt referred to in his defence of financial donations from rich business people like Frank Hester. We all know who this obnoxious person is due to his publicly announced hatred of black people, inespecial Diane Abbott.

The unwritten constitutional protection afforded to a Westminster Speaker concerning conversations such as those between Hoyle and Starmer is yet another heinous example of the absurd so-called democracy of this shite mother of all parliaments.

READ MORE: MSP calls for donations cap amid 'shameful' Frank Hester saga

The recent debate concerning racism as expressed by Hester – if it can be called a debate – was reduced to one of absurdity where the person concerned and discussed by all and sundry, whether on the Speaker’s list or not, was ignored 46 times by Hoyle in her attempt to defend herself.

For the longest-serving black MP to be ignored in this manner by the Speaker is simply another display of the institutional racism within the Houses of Parliament.

It has surely reached the time for a considered walkout by our SNP MPs as a sign of contempt for the Westminster government and all its sanctimonious traditions.

Perhaps not to return? Who knows what the political temperature might bring!

Alan Magnus-Bennett
Fife

I DON’T suppose I am the only one who is astounded by the standard of political so-called leaders in the whole of the UK and does not see any prospect of any improvement in the foreseeable future.

We have a PM who is using the threat of a General Election to dissuade his own MPs from trying to get rid of him and is totally useless in general.We have a leader of His Majesty’s Opposition who cannot be in any way considered a credible candidate to be Prime Minister. He cannot have a view on anything without U-turning on it. Mind you, he has a view on Scottish independence which is unshakeable and his disdain of the SNP is rock solid. As long as he can keep us in our box and take our energy capability, that will do for him.

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf urges members to send message to Scottish Tory MPs

The LibDems and all the rest of them are irrelevant, including all our SNP MPs who have no chance of ever beating the Westminster system but play by the rules anyway.

That brings me to Scotland, where we are in the same boat. Wee Dougie is totally hapless and is a joke. Anas Sarwar is acting like he is the FM. He is not to be trusted under any circumstance whatsoever. He does not want Scotland to succeed, as that would destroy his plan to be back under the Westminster roof. He has already said he is against independence so he is of no use to Scotland.

The Scottish LibDems are of no relevance and their leader is, well, what can I say! Alba are not making headway as yet but may not be a lost cause just yet. That brings me to Humza, who is not immune from this. He is now reaping the rewards of not sacking Michael Matheson. That was a bad decision and he must know that. Backing him to the hilt did not look good and the chickens have come home to roost. We just keep giving the Unionist parties more meat to feed on all the time and it is a sad reflection on the SNP.

I will not be going into any details on the Greens as I am unsure of them in respect of their future cooperation. All in all, Scotland is crying out for an SNP leader who is going to tell us how to get out of this Union and then do what previous leaders have promised but not delivered – get us independence.

Old John
Ayrshire

OPPOSITION parties and the media in Scotland are currently focused on my MSP Michael Matheson, who has been found to have breached the MSPs' code of conduct. His case will now be heard by Holyrood’s Standards Committee, so will a fair process follow?

Both Labour and the Conservatives representatives on the committee have already commented on Mr Matheson’s case, making it clear their views and their parties’ views regarding Mr Matheson’s future. In all the years Mr Matheson has represented Falkirk, the lifetime of the parliament (25 years), I have been a constituent. I know the huge contribution, along with energy and sincerity, Mr Matheson has brought to Falkirk. As the Holyrood Standards Committee review Mr Matheson’s case, are those on the committee going to be able to view the case impartially, or will party politics play a part?

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

RUTH Wishart repeats her call for a revising chamber – a senate – to ensure all the small print of bills is scrutinised (Why a second chamber with teeth could help better shape our legislation, Mar 17).

I beg to differ. First, if SNP HQ has not shredded all discussions and decisions made before devolution, then dig out the erudite paper by the late Neil MacCormick backing a unicameral (single chamber) parliament.

Second, remember that countries the size of Scotland have more elected members. Oh, I hear you say, not more politicians! Well, Labour’s Devolution Bill wanted the numbers of MSPs reduced from 129 to 110 after the bedding in. This was scrapped, thankfully. We need more MSPs to spend time on legislative preparation and post-legislative scrutiny. Not a second chamber which would never find enough senators drawn from all walks of life who were not party supporters, openly or not.

Be bold, look wider at small countries that are not burdened by the worst “revising chamber” – the London Tory/Labour Cabinet.

Rob Gibson
Evanton, Ross-shire