IT certainly would be a dull world without the UK Government. They seem intent on providing the British people with a seemingly endless amount of entertainment.
Who would have thought that ex Prime Minister David Cameron would be involved in the latest round of musical chairs at No 10?
READ MORE: Suella Braverman sends scathing letter to Rishi Sunak after sacking
No-one saw that coming, not the political commentariat nor anyone else for that matter. It’s most certainly an indication of the paucity of choice available to Rishi Sunak in filling the post of Foreign Secretary. Sunak is of a mind that David Cameron offers him considerable political heft and is seen as a “big hitter.” Cameron can lend his considerable experience at a fraught time on the international stage, and at the same time steady the ship of state whilst hopefully boosting Sunak’s electoral fortunes.
Rishi Sunak may have asserted his authority by temporarily ridding himself of Suella Braverman but it is a truism that when a prime minister carries out a Cabinet reshuffle, he automatically makes enemies from within his own party.
READ MORE: Tory minister resigns from UK Government after Rishi Sunak's reshuffle
He knows full well that Suella Braverman is not the type of person who will meekly take her place on the back benches. Furthermore, as was evident in the last Conservative party conference, Braverman has a considerable amount of support within the party who like the fact that she does not mince her words and openly approve of her blunt, forthright opinion.
Should Sunak’s woeful electoral fortunes continue, the Conservative party will be ruthless and Braverman will not miss the opportunity to exact her revenge, thus making herself a Prime Minister in waiting.
Sandy Gordon
Edinburgh
THE return of David Cameron, as a former prime minister becoming Foreign Secretary, has some interesting precedents, including those with a strong Scottish connection and links to the current Gaza conflict.
Arthur Balfour, who was born at Whittingehame House near East Linton in East Lothian, was Conservative Prime Minister between 1902 and 1905 before being appointed Foreign Secretary by Lloyd George in 1916. It was he who was responsible for the famous Balfour Declaration of 1917. This is believed to have been signed in the library at Whittingehame, and is seen as instrumental in creating the Jewish state through “supporting a national home for the Jewish people”.
READ MORE: David Cameron 'offered to be quizzed by Scottish MSPs every year'
Alec Douglas-Home, whose principal family home was at The Hirsel near Coldstream, served as Conservative Prime Minister between 1963 and 1964, before becoming Foreign Secretary between 1970 and 1974 in Edward Heath’s government.
While Douglas-Home is the most recent former prime minister to serve in the cabinet of a successor, he joins a list which includes Balfour, Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald and Neville Chamberlain. So, while unusual, David Cameron’s return to ministerial office is not uncommon.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
SHONA Craven’s analysis of the criteria for filling the position of Foreign Secretary – didn’t move like a robot, look like a scarecrow or talk like a halfwit – painted a picture of a panic-stricken Rishi Sunak phoning a friend after working his way through a tick list of his 350 MPs and 267 peers only to discover that his shortlist of candidates was zero (Can David Cameron shield Rishi Sunak from enemies within?, Nov 14).
Possibly nearer to the truth than media reports of an unanticipated master stroke reshuffle by the Prime Minister, with the Tory party emerging stronger and better able to fight the next election.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
HANDS up anyone who thinks appointing the man that gave us the referendum that resulted in Brexit to the post of Foreign Secretary is a clever idea? Cameron’s appointment is evidence of the dearth of talent in the government in London and the decline of the so-called “united” kingdom. There appears to be no saving our neighbour to the south, and we need Scottish independence to prevent us being dragged down to the bottom with them.
Ni Holmes
St Andrews
THE National’s front page headline on Tuesday read “Call General Election Now”. Inside the First Minister is quoted as saying: “The Tories are out of ideas and out of time, there should be a General Election now.” The phrase “turkeys voting for Christmas” has, over the years, become greatly overused but it perfectly fits this situation.
Every opinion poll and by-election result points to the fact that the SNP would return to Westminster with, at best, half the seats they currently hold. We will be very lucky to retain the 29 seats apparently required to ask (beg) Westminster for our independence.
READ MORE: SNP hit out at 'absurdity' of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary
The public have sadly not forgotten the ongoing police investigation, gender recognition, the ferries that have still not sailed, the broken promise on the A9, the bottle deposit scheme, drug deaths and the homeless crisis to name but a few. Add to that list the lack of progress on the fundamental issue of Scottish independence – the very reason the SNP exists – and you have the perfect storm of reasons not to hold a UK General Election in the very near future.
Sadly there seems to be no end to the political bad news engulfing the SNP. The Health Secretary’s massive iPad bill and the perceived reluctance to co-operate with the Covid inquiries is daily draining public support for the SNP, drip by drip.
Much has been made of the return from the political graveyard of the unelected David Cameron but his public face and friendly smile is probably more palatable to the electorate of middle England than the remnants of Boris’s boys and girls who sat at the Cabinet table.
Time for the SNP is running out. They have at best a year to try and salvage the situation and they need every single day of that year. I hope it is not too late to turn the tide in our favour.
Glenda Burns
Glasgow
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