Readers' Letters: Starmer set to be Labour's election scapegoat

Moreover, why did senior civil servants not correct the PM when he announced that Mandelson had passed security vetting? Keir Starmer, however, failed to seek written assurances of the position.

The bigger picture is more of a PM asleep at the wheel,incompetent and ignorant, rather than a serial liar as Kemi Badenoch portrayed him on Channel 4 News last week despite having no evidence that he was lying. Ms Badenoch needs to be careful of misrepresentation. Her party has a history of sleaze in office and her position remains in question, with only half of Tory members expecting her to lead the party to the next election. She moderated her language this week: “Everyone makes mistakes” but they don’t throw their staff and officials “under the bus” she said. Starmer may argue he is the one under the bus.

Starmer is set to be the Labour Party’s scapegoat for the May election results. His tenure is one of incompetence and failure to deliver manifesto commitments. Terrible judgment dominates his handling of the Mandelson appointment and he will surely resign next month anyway.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Churn again

Apparently, doing your job well and to the best of your ability is all it takes to lose the confidence of this Prime Minister. That’s the strong impression left by those of us who followed the compelling evidence submitted by Olly Robbins to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in proceedings lasting over two hours.

Mr Robbins is only the latest to join the long and growing list of the politically vanquished – Starmer’s inglorious dead. This list includes another top civil servant, ten staff at No 10 and 13 ministers – all fired or resigned due to power struggles, disagreements, scandals, political whim etc.

This level of “churn” is wholly incompatible with the stable government Keir Starmer promised the country when Labour came to power in July 2024. The words Starmer uttered during his challenge for the Labour leadership in 2020 – “I will carry the can for mistakes of any organisation I lead” – now ring hollow.

Based on the accumulated evidence, the conclusion must be that Starmer’s leadership “superpower” is the ability, whatever the circumstance, to find a “fall guy”. It’s a common coping strategy for those who seek to retain the reins of power that is being challenged or is diminishing.

There’s more milage to come in Labour’s version of the Tory psychodrama. The mood music strongly suggests the next episode will be a PM resignation, if not immediately, then possibly after May elections. Then, who’s next? We hold our breath for at national level there is a dearth of leadership talent of the quality exhibited by Mr Robbins as a top mandarin serving five prime ministers over three decades.

Ewen Peters, Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire

Uncomplicated

Is the vetting issue not a plain and simple question: if Sir Keir Starmer knew then he obviously misled Parliament and if he didn't, who is in charge?

Scott Miller, Joppa, Edinburgh

Pointed criticism

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg says regarding recent events over his ambassadorial appointments that Starmer is either a knave or a fool.

Well sir Jacob, if the former, he is certainly not the sharpest knave in the drawer …

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Step too far

It's patently obvious the Iranians are in no hurry to stop the war and, so far, have shown great resolve (your report, 22 April). Donald Trump continues to issue his threats and the Iranians continue not to listen.

The latest threat is to put boots on the ground, which would take this war to a whole new level and play straight into the Iranians’ hands. Already, over 10,000 personnel have gathered in the Gulf, with more to come. The Iranian forces are ready and frighteningly prepared to counter any invasion and have been waiting for this moment for 47 years, since the Iraquis invaded and were repelled, at a great cost of life. The Iranians are prepared, but are the Americans?

The Iran war may well be America's Ukraine, now well into its fifth year, and still deadlocked and rapidly costing any popularity Vladimir Putin may have had. Trump's own popularity is already plummeting, and an invasion, with its inevitable loss of American life, may well be a step too far. We can only hope and fear.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

No rejoining EU

Herbert Petrie (Letters, 21 April) trots out his conception of what a separate Scotland would be like, based on not one iota of evidence – unless you count the reference to “countries like Denmark, Ireland and Norway” which have nothing to do with the case of Scotland.

Mr Petrie rehearses, as multitudes of separatists before him have done, the claim that “Scotland could rejoin the EU”. Never actually having been an EU member state, Scotland could not "rejoin” the EU. Further, Scotland does not meet the EU entry criteria regarding currency, central bank, control of monetary policy, lender of last resort and deficit. That is, it has none of these, just a deficit that is almost three times the EU’s limit.

Mr Petrie is clearly unaware that Scotland is assigned its geographic share of oil and gas revenues. Does he think it should have more than that?

The rest is wishful thinking of a grotesquely imaginary kind. Please will nationalists deal in realities and real possibilities instead of the truly delusional daydreams that motivate them?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Just a dream

Herbert Petrie’s utopian dream is almost immediately dashed by the fact that the other “small” countries he refers to understand that their income must exceed expenditure, unlike Scotland under the SNP, which currently has a deficit of 11.6 per cent of GDP – just over £26 billion. This year my Homeland will receive, under the Barnett formula, a Block Grant of £50bn.

Scotland simply could not survive outwith the United Kingdom.

Doug Morrison, Tenterden, Kent

Irish eye-opener

Herbert Petrie says an independent Scotland could be successful like Ireland, my own country. He seems to overlook the fact that you pay upfront for motorways and bridges and you pay charges for visiting the GP, emergency departments and prescribed medicines. Good idea but anathema here in Scotland, particularly for left wing Nationalist voters.

Oh and he seems to forget that for 50+ years after Independence the Republic was very poor so the only way to make a good living was to go to England. I recall you paid for secondary education as well, up until the 1960s, and the roads were much better in the North, part of the UK.

Brian Carson, Edinburgh

Wishful thinking

Much imagination goes on inside Herbert Petrie’s head, but not a lot of rational thought (Letters, 21 April).Indeed, Mr Petrie launches into something close to religious rapture when sharing his vision of utopian separatist Scotland: “A Scotland that harnesses its vast resources, talent and innovation to build a brighter future as an independent nation. Scotland would have control over its taxes, economy and destiny, just like other successful small countries.”

There’s no evidence that the SNP/Greens have attempted any of the above during two decades in power.

They’ve wrecked our education system by creating a downward spiral in attainment, the UK’s worst levels of classroom violence and pupil/teacher absenteeism, with both colleges and universities in crisis due to an unsustainable funding model.

For narrow ideological reasons, the Scottish government has rejected energy security as well as thousands of potential jobs which new atomic power stations could’ve provided. Separatists also want to close the Faslane Trident base, where 7,000 people work.

The current Holyrood administration is obsessed with punishing everyone earning over £40,000 pa by taxing them at a higher rate than people in the rest of Great Britain so they can squander it on virtue-signalling “universal benefits”, hundreds of useless quangos, social welfare which disincentivises work, and unaffordable pay awards for a bloated public sector which now employs nearly a quarter of the workforce.

We also suffer the highest business rates in the UK, and it’s a disgrace taxpayers’ money is wasted on gimmicks like baby boxes, foreign aid and fake embassies. Even more freebies are being promised in the SNP/Green election manifestos, which seem little more than scroungers’ charters.

This is not going to encourage the kind of enterprise culture which has made the small countries Mr Petrie enthuses about so successful.

Meanwhile, critical infrastructure like roads and maritime transport services are crumbling thanks to years of neglect and mismanagement.

In the forthcoming election, let’s vote for fiscal competence this time, not more wishful thinking.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

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