Stripping Peter Mandelson of his peerage would be a purely symbolic measure. But it should be done all the same.
The SNP are demanding urgent action from Keir Starmer on Mandelson – including chucking him out of the House of Lords. They are right of course. But all parties, north and south of the Border, need to take action to root out sleaze and corruption.
And the SNP need to sort out their own problems with transparency before pointing the finger at others. Public trust in politics, already at a low, has taken a battering this year by scandals around Westminster and Holyrood.
The decision to appoint Mandelson as the UK ambassador to Washington at a time when more shocking revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein were yet to be revealed, will rank as one of the worst during Starmer’s time in Downing Street.
It was obvious to everyone but the PM’s inner circle that the appointment would prove to be a disaster. But Starmer ploughed on regardless and now he must take action to fix the mess.
The Prime Minister pledged in February to legislate to remove Mandelson from the House of Lords. We’re still waiting for it to happen. But there also needs to be a wider commitment to ending the cronyism and self-interest that has infected our political system.
Transparency and basic decency has to be restored to politics or the public will simply turn away or – even worse – back extremists with snake-oil solutions.
A functioning road network is vital in any town or city. But across Scotland many drivers are pulling their hair out as vital carriageways are blocked off for weeks on end.
So spare a thought for the people of Sanquhar, where the town’s main street is shut for six weeks, with a 50-mile detour in place. The closure is causing chaos and costing hard-pressed local businesses a fortune in lost trade.
Similar situations are in place across the country, with Edinburgh’s Gorgie Road another example where a major arterial route has been shut for months. Our busiest roads may need to close down from time to time to allow vital works to take place on major utilities.
But the authorities seem very quick to close roads, often without much thought given to the impact on communities. Closing roads should be a last resort – and it should only happen if every other option is ruled out.
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