Times letters: Humza Yousaf’s resignation and future of SNP

Sir, Humza Yousaf’s resignation is more than just a display of (quite remarkable) political ineptitude. Yousaf was a likeable lightweight, blown like a leaf in the wind. Unlike Nicola Sturgeon, he could not conceal from his party the reality that independence, rejected a decade ago, is still not wanted, despite everything. Nor could he, like her, use it to distract from the Scottish National Party ’s dismal domestic record. She left him a legacy of mess-ups — gender recognition, hate crime, unbuilt ferries, climate targets — as well as scandal.

His successor, if the SNP navigates the next few days, will probably be a minority government caretaker, perhaps the veteran John Swinney. He might clear up messes, but cannot answer the big question, which is best addressed in opposition: if one more independence push is off the agenda for now, what is the SNP for?
Professor Jim Gallagher
Chair, Our Scottish Future

Sir, The next leader of the SNP will need to confront party members, whose votes are required to succeed Humza Yousaf, with the reality that another independence referendum is off the agenda for the foreseeable future. The new first minister will need to focus on building a reputation for competence. The problem is that the members do not want to be told that an independence referendum should be “parked”, and leadership contenders are likely to try to outbid each other in the nationalist stakes. Leading a minority government will prove very difficult without this change in focus. The only alternative would be to re-enter an agreement with the Scottish Greens and pursue policies that would undermine SNP hopes of retaining seats at the impending general election and probably to defeat in 2026.
James Mitchell
Professor of public policy, University of Edinburgh

Sir, Humza Yousaf will go down as the world’s worst gunslinger: a man who tried to dispatch his Green Party chums in cold blood, missed and blew both his feet off. His actions leave his party with a disaster on its hands, heading towards a general election in which it looks like it will suffer very significant losses. With no obvious successor in place and their most impressive communicator, Stephen Flynn MP, sitting in the wrong parliament, the party’s former chief executive charged with embezzlement and its longest-serving first minister still involved in a police inquiry, the situation for the party is calamitous — but the situation Scotland faces is much more important and desperate. In every corner of our public services from health to education, housing to drug deaths there is crisis heaped upon crisis. Whoever takes over this bin fire cannot contemplate more of the same — we need a radical change of direction to reverse the shambles we see before us.
Neil Findlay
Former Labour MSP; Fauldhouse, West Lothian

Sir, Humza Yousaf is a living proof that work experience before political representation should be mandatory. Leaving education and immediately pursuing a career in politics is wrong — politicians should be of a mature age and have carved out a career in another field, gaining experience in the university of life. Wisdom is acquired by this experience, not through a university degree.
Stan Hogarth
Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

Student visas only for top universities

Sir, It is perplexing that the centrist Conservative think tank Onward recommends cutting visas for international students in a report that claims to be about growth, and doubly perplexing that it is endorsed by the levelling-up secretary (“Slash migration by restricting student visas, ministers told”, Apr 29). Universities are some of the biggest employers in our towns and cities. They provide a skilled workforce for NHS trusts, schools and industry and support businesses to innovate and grow.

Universities are already struggling financially: more than 50 are cutting jobs, and more will probably follow. Universities make a loss on every British undergraduate they teach and are successful largely because they can recruit students from around the world. Yet there has been a 40 per cent drop in international student applications so far this year, partly due to new government restrictions.

Further restrictions would mean further job losses, fewer places for UK students, less capital investment and less support for businesses. If some universities were subject to more restrictions than others, then some regions would experience greater economic shocks than others. That is not what growth looks like to me, and it certainly isn’t “levelling up”.
Vanessa Wilson
CEO, University Alliance

Grandparents and VAT on school fees

Sir, The case against Labour’s VAT proposals for independent schools is now overwhelming (“Grandparents raid savings to beat tax on school fees”, Apr 29). One survey after another has concluded that there will be a net cost to the taxpayer when independent education becomes unaffordable overnight for many families. The inevitable reduction in the number of subsidised places (bursaries) will affect social mobility, and the lowest-paid employees in independent schools will pay the price as necessary savings are implemented at their expense to shield parents from the full force of the increase.

Independent schools would welcome an opportunity to engage positively with Labour on ways in which we could do more to boost social mobility and many of us would welcome legislation that makes that a cast-iron obligation. I would like to see the proportion of pupils (at present 10 per cent) who qualify for free school meals in my sixth form increase. Labour’s VAT proposals will force those numbers down, to the detriment of all.
Richard Russell
Head, Colfe’s School, London SE12

Sir, The value of a private education is very clear when grandparents are prepared to make huge sacrifices so that their grandchildren can benefit from one. Labour maintains that private education is the preserve of the wealthiest families. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Keith Wellings
Halesowen, West Midlands

Wise workers

Sir, Jenni Russell (Apr 27; letter, Apr 29) is right: the squandering of work opportunities for the over-50s is as economically wasteful as it is unnecessary. Conscious bias against employing mature people is rife across the professions and beyond, and it needs a mixture of government initiative and cultural change to rectify. The energy, experience and enthusiasm of the over-50s are vital if this country is to flourish as we approach the mid-21st century. I am particularly concerned to build a bridge between those who have left full-time employment but who want to continue giving and the young who crave wisdom and experience to shape their lives and growing businesses.
Sir Anthony Seldon
Founder, Wise Heads

Women and WFH

Sir, Libby Purves raises an important question but to my mind, fathers are not necessarily going to the office more often than mothers (“We’re in trouble if a woman’s place is WFH”, Apr 29). The pandemic shifted the paradigm of family life. The juggle is more manageable without the commute and is more equitably shared, with fathers proving themselves perfectly willing to look after their own children outside of school and nursery hours. I can only speak as I find, but with the odd exception this has been my experience locally, socially and professionally. As young children my sister and I did not see much of our fabulous father during the week. This new way is better for everyone.
Sarah McKenna
Barnet

Gaza protests

Sir, Joshua Rowe (letter, Apr 29) interprets US students’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war, but not against other wars in Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, as evidence of antisemitism. It seems to me, though, that this is highly unlikely to be the main motivation. Rightly or wrongly, students are nearly always driven to protest when they oppose actions and policies of their own governments, and the focus of the present demonstrations is on the US administration’s continuing support for Israel. I also disagree with Mr Rowe’s comments about the Iraq war: there were huge demonstrations in this country opposing our government’s decision to support the US invasion.
Lucian Camp
London NW1

Podcast equality

Sir, Tomiwa Owolade (“Don’t tell me to listen to female podcasters”, Apr 29) overlooks an important point: the fundamental asymmetry between male and female reading and listening habits. Research shows that women are just as likely to read a book by a man as by a woman, and I suspect the same is true for listening to podcasts. Men, however, do not return the favour. On average, they read four books by a man for every one book by a woman. This means that they are barely even exposing themselves to women’s voices. As I argue in The Authority Gap, this leads to a narrowing of the mind, a reduction in empathy and a lack of understanding of half the human race.
Mary Ann Sieghart
London W14

Sir, Tomiwa Owolade’s article is to be applauded. Telling people to listen to female podcasters or to read more black authors does not make for equality, it is the strident voice of virtue politics. We are assailed by greenwashing, virtue signalling and identity politics, which insist that all arts should express a moral point. Instead, as Owolade says, authors and broadcasters should be admired for their intrinsic merit, rather than be selected because of race or gender.
Janice Ketley
Englefield Green, Surrey

All things trite…

Sir, We are fortunate in this country to have such a splendid repertoire of hymns: English, Welsh, Anglican, Non-Conformist, mighty, joyous, reflective, peaceful. Why, then, do we have to suffer All Things Bright and Beautiful? It is chosen by about half the participants in the weddings I play for (though I am often successful in helping them to choose something better). The hymn was published in 1848 in Mrs Alexander’s Hymns for Little Children: it should have stayed there. I find the saccharine doggerel, combined with the jingly tune (not that easy for congregations to sing, actually), deeply depressing — especially when there are so many wonderful alternatives.
Lord Lisvane
Chairman, Royal College of Organists; Clerk of the Commons 2011-14

Tipping point

Sir, Your report on tipping (Apr 29) reminded me of a visit to a New York restaurant where the service was appalling. I paid but left no tip. Walking out, our way was barred by our waiter, who complained that we had not left a tip. I informed him he was ignorant of the derivation of tip, “to insure promptitude”, conspicuous by its absence on this occasion. Turning to the hostess, he asked: “What the hell is this promptitude?” By then we were long gone.
Rodney Croft
Buckhurst Hill, Essex

Stairway to heaven

Sir, Further to your article on the benefit of taking the stairs (“A simple step to live longer — avoid taking the lift”, Apr 27), as a fit 67-year-old I always choose the stairs and espouse the benefits to all who are prepared to listen. A sneaking part of me wonders, though, whether a careful analysis might reveal that the extra lifetime hours gained would turn out to have been spent climbing stairs.
Martyn Leadley
Corfe Mullen, Dorset