Isn't it time the SNP got on with the issues that really matter?

The SNP administration needs to start dealing with the issues that actually make this country of ours function on a daily basis. The time for navel-gazing about issues that are of little consequence to the vast majority of our citizens is not now. Too often our FM tries to smoke-screen his way out of the glare of public scrutiny by virtue-signalling one peripheral issue after another, meanwhile 'Rome burns' metaphorically. Our omnipresent challenges continue to grow and become more acute. I don't need to list these, as anyone who reads these columns and is au fait with current news will easily be able to pen their own list.
I suggest that we should be more engaged with the issues that affect the quality of life for the nation, rather than wasting time in anguishing about, for example, who uses which toilet. Leave that to the law makers.
Colin Allison, Blairgowrie.
We need to talk about pensions
In February to April 2025, the employment rate for people aged 16-64 in the UK was 75.1%.
The projected percentage of the population of working age in 2050 is 60.5%. Based on today's employability figures that would mean in just over 20 years only 45% of the country in work paying the vast majority of income tax for the welfare benefits of the day.
The amount of pensioners to working-age people is projected to be 393/1000 by 2070. That means there will be fewer than three people in work for every pensioner. It was 4:1 in 1970 and 5:1 when the state pension was introduced.
Successive governments have ignored the incoming time bomb of a population that is getting older with fewer working-age people to sustain it.
Read more letters
Previous governments have tinkered with schemes such as NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) and auto enrolment but the reality is that this provides a pensioner a fraction of what post-war generations have enjoyed in the form of good occupational pensions and the current state pension.
I am currently projected to get my state pension when I am 68. I have no doubt that this number will increase but governments kicking the issue into the long grass will only result in more pain passed on to the next generation who will see the sharpest decline of pensioner living standards in history.
That is the most distressing part of Labour's welfare reforms – which are targeting some of the most vulnerable – as there is the need for a national conversation on what the Cura Annonae should look like in the years to come and importantly how it will be paid for.
Christopher McEleny, Gourock.
Death with dignity
The headlines in newspapers, TV and radio will be the vote on the assisted dying bill in England and Wales ("MPs vote to pass assisted dying bill at Westminster", heraldscotland, June 20). For those Scots with short memories, similar legislation passed its first reading in Scotland last month.
Opponents are now questioning the lack of palliative care available for patients with terminal illnesses. Only about 25 per cent funding comes from the Government, the rest from charitable donations.
My wife, former BBC Radio Scotland host Annie Webster, died in February and was a staunch supporter of assisted dying. She was in agony for much of the last six months of her life. But she was fortunate to get a place at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow for two weeks which she loved. The most important thing for her was to be pain-free. The care and laughter and craic from the doctors, nurses, orderlies and volunteers was unbelievable. Eventually she was in the Marie Curie Hospice (the place she insisted she wanted to die) and I was able to stay with her for her last eight nights. I will be eternally grateful, and she would be too.
Yes of course this support should be available to all and funded by the Government. But if it's not and someone gets to the stage they've simply had enough we have to let them die with dignity.
Andy Stenton, Glasgow.
Tourist tax will sink Glasgow
Fifty years ago the film Jaws put Amity Island tourist resort in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. No one wanted to visit. Now we find Glasgow City Council adopting a "head in the ocean" stance with its introduction of a tourist tax ("Glasgow 'tourist tax' approved as visitors face £4.83 tariff per night from 2027", The Herald, June 20).
Glasgow right now looks near derelict, particularly the city centre. The council has chased commerce and leisure away with high costs and a very car-unfriendly approach. Taxes only force folk to go elsewhere, just like the shark.
Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.
UK's record is shameful
Doug Maughan (Letters, June 20) refers to the UK's role in the overthrow of the democratically-elected Iranian government in 1953.
To go back much further, during the First World War the French and British divided the map of the Middle East into states that cut through ethnic and religious communities and at about the same time the UK infamously promised Palestine to both the Jews and the Arabs.
What is more, some 75 years ago Britain secretly supplied 20 tons of heavy water to Israel which enabled it to make nuclear weapons. Now such weapons are in the hands of Benjamin Netanyahu.
And then the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the USA, backed up by our then Prime Minister, was justified by the fabricated insistence that Saddam Hussein was in possession of 'weapons of mass destruction'.
What a sad story of greed, cruelty and deceit and I have not dwelt upon the terrible suffering, for the past 77 years, of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israelis, Israel being seen, ironically, as an outpost of western 'civilisation'.
Of our history in the Middle East we should be profoundly ashamed, our contribution to the never-ending suffering of the Palestinians and the Iranians displaying little in the way of caring for the consequences.
I say, on behalf of the Iranian population, 'Thank you Britain for so many years of suffering. It ought to have been so different. We ought to be being remembered for so very many contributions to the civilised world in the fields of art, architecture, poetry, science and technology, medicine, philosophy and engineering and not the rule of the Ayatollahs which you and the US imposed upon us'.
John Milne, Uddingston.
The test of Trump's character
Ever since the convicted felon DJ Trump was elected 47th President of the United States of America, the daily routine for many includes an anxious search for his latest outrageous acts and utterances to discover 'What Donald Did Next' .
Sophie Robinson's article ("Starmer urges Trump to step back from military strikes in Iran", The Herald, June 20) reports attempts by Keir Starmer to rein in the President's aggressive tendencies. It seems likely that Mr Trump fears being thought weak were he not to send in the bombers, and the impact of others, including our Prime Minister, to alter that view is likely to be minimal. DJ Trump is arguably the most powerful man in the world and his ability to shock and harm millions shows no signs of slackening. It is disquieting to acknowledge that, in light of his advanced age and previous pattern of behaviour, flaws in his personality and the quality of his decision-making are unlikely to improve.
We would do well to reflect on the saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US. 'Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power".
Bob Scott, Drymen.
Will the tourist tax drive people away from Glasgow? (Image: Newsquest)
Celebrate the greats of our history
The recent outpouring of heartfelt admiration for Walter Scott in these pages has been nothing other than a delight. These letters and Rosemary Goring's article ("He is Scotland's greatest novelist but no-one reads him now. Why?", heraldscotland, May 24) read as a celebration of the rich and varied voices that compose Scotland's literary heritage. They stand in sharp contrast to the narrow-minded silencing of diverse voices at the Edinburgh Book Festival.
I was reflecting on this situation the other evening, walking from Queen Street Station to Central, when the two statues that I passed, Sir Walter Scott and the Duke of Wellington, reminded me that next week marks the 210th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon.
Having liberated Portugal and Spain, whose independence today seems entirely natural but was in fact paid for with the blood of British soldiers, Wellington's victory secured almost 100 years of European peace. Liberty was indeed in every blow. As the British ambassador in Paris, Wellington zealously attempted to persuade the French authorities to abandon their policy of colonial slavery, and later, as Prime Minister, he again marshalled his forces to secure the passing of the Catholic Relief Bill. He was, as his biographer Richard Holmes concludes, a great man built on a grand scale. There is no present-day British public figure that comes even close to his greatness.
Reading Scott's three works, based on his almost immediate pilgrimage to the battlefield, is time well spent. He was a war poet with all the connotations that that phrase evokes for war's victors and victims alike. Scott's Dance of Death poem with its mystical lines are my personal favourites:
…there are sounds in Allan's ear,
Patrole nor sentinel may hear,
And sights before his eye aghast
Invisible to them have pass'd.
Audible and visible only to an old soldier and perhaps the poet himself. But when, on Saturday June 24,1815, news reached Edinburgh of Wellington's victory, everybody heard. Scott tells us that every church bell in the capital rang for the whole of Saturday. Perhaps those in the proximity of the Scott Monument might close their eyes and hear those victory bells echo down through the centuries.
In light of Mark Smith's recent article ("No more Edinburgh Book Festival for me – where did it go wrong?", The Herald, June 14), perhaps it is time to consider an alternative Edinburgh literary festival. This alt-festival would not only celebrate what is great in our history, but would recognise the role that all Scotland's businesses play in making a literary society possible. Such a festival would always be open to debate the legacy of great men like Scott and Wellington.
Graeme Arnott, Stewarton.
Water Scott's immortality
To those errant schoolboys, like David Hay's brother (Letters, June 19), please note that you too were an easy target of fun for the great writer Sir Walter Scott himself. Here he describes a teacher looking forward to the close of day but who has toiled with "controlling petulance, exciting indifference to action, striving to enlighten stupidity, and labouring to soften obstinacy; and whose very powers of intellect have been confounded by hearing the same dull lesson repeated a hundred times by rote, and only varied by the various blunders of the reciters". Those are from the opening lines of Old Mortality, a cracking tale about the rise and fall of Covenanters. It had me from page 1.
Peter G Farrell, Glasgow.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Edinburgh Reporter

4 hours ago

• Edinburgh Reporter

Fergus Ewing to stand as an independent

The MSP explained his reasons in a statement released on Friday after months of public discussion over whether he would continue as a politician due to the ongoing differences between him and the SNP leadership. Mr Ewing voted against Lothians MSP Lorna Slater during a vote of no confidence in 2023. After a temporary suspension following his breaking of the whip he was restored to the SNP benches but announced earlier this year he would not stand for the party at the election next year. He said: 'For 26 years I have had the privilege to be the constituency MSP for Inverness and Nairn. I am enormously grateful for having had the opportunity to serve. 'Over that time, I have seen the Scottish Parliament at its best and its worst. I fear in recent years it has been at its worst. That is why today I am announcing my decision to stand for the honour of representing the people of Inverness and Nairn for the seventh time as an independent. 'I want to help get the Scottish Parliament back to its best. 'This has not been an easy decision. I have taken it because I love the people of Inverness and Nairn and the people of Scotland more than my party which I have been in for more than half a century. 'The SNP has been part of the fabric of my life for more than half a century. Indeed, I believe there has been a distinctive thread of Ewing running through its plaid for even longer. I hope that is never removed. But fabrics can become worn. I hope the SNP can repair itself and return to the honour and traditions of those who first wove it in a manner that meets Scotland's real modern needs.' Mr Ewing continued: 'Over the 14 years as a Scottish Government Minister I tried every day, to help ordinary people, and to improve their lives, in each of the portfolios in which I served. 'But over the past decade, the party seems to have deserted many of the people whose causes we used to champion. 'In oil and gas, farming, fishing, rural Scotland, tourism, small business and many other areas of life. Betraying generations who fought for women's rights. 'It's time for Holyrood to live up to the high expectations people rightly held for it, when my mother, Winnie, reconvened our own Parliament in 1999. 'It came of age some years ago – surely now it's time for it to grow up. To act with maturity. 'Over the past four years on the backbenches, I sought to offer advice as a critical friend. 'Warning Nicola Sturgeon at the outset, that to enter a pact with the fringe Green Party was a strategic blunder which would only damage us by association. 'Then we saw the Bute House Agreement, negotiated by the present First Minister, gradually disintegrate as inherent flaws in its promised policies were inevitably exposed as manifestly impracticable and wholly unaffordable. 'These failures – plus a strange preoccupation with issues regarded as largely irrelevant to most people' lives – have all cost the SNP much loss of electoral support but also something else which is priceless. Public trust.' Mr Ewing's family is an integral part of SNP history. His sister Annabelle is MSP for Cowdenbeath and his late mother Winnie won the Hamilton seat in 1967 which was a pivotal moment for the party. The SNP have selected Emma Roddick who sits as a regional MSP to contest Mr Ewing's seat in Inverness and Nairn. Fergus Ewing MSP. Credit: Colin D Fisher/ Like this: Like Related

Glasgow Times

6 hours ago

• Glasgow Times

'Russian roulette': Councillor speaks on Glasgow road crossings

Councillor Robert Mooney, Labour representative, said disabled Glaswegians are treated as an 'afterthought' as many crossings don't have working rotating cones — a tactile device which lets visually impaired people know when it is safe to cross — or audible signals. He has warned that someone will be killed if action isn't taken to address the problem. The council's transport convener, Angus Millar, SNP, said the council is 'committed' to replacing or installing the cones across the city. 'That will be done on an ongoing basis as the funding is available,' he added. In late 2021, it was revealed that 403 of 890 signal-controlled junctions across the city did not have a tactile cone. By July 2022, the council said 150 did not have features like rotating cones. Councillor Mooney said crossing roads in the city is 'like playing Russian roulette' for visually impaired people. 'Russian roulette': Councillor speaks on Glasgow road crossings (Image: Newsquest) READ NEXT: I tried Glasgow's newest food and drink tour - my verdict He explained: 'I was up at Cathedral Street a few months ago, I couldn't see whether the green man was on. 'The tactile cone wasn't working. I'd waited for some amount of time, there was a bus stopped at the traffic lights. "I said to myself, 'the green man must be on', I walked out and a bus came in the next lane, stopped about an inch from me. 'If I'd walked out a bit later, I wouldn't be here today. Somebody is going to get killed if this isn't addressed.' He also said the council's accessible design forum has not met since October, but the redevelopment of the city's public realm is 'moving on at a massive pace'. Millar said the forum holds talks about 'general principles around design' and lessons are fed into the design of different projects, which are then subject to consultation. He added: 'Disabled people and others are engaged with on active travel projects. "We have, on active travel projects, a really robust process of engagement with the local community and all stakeholders, including disabled people and their representative groups.'

Daily Record

7 hours ago

• Daily Record

Fettes College may cut jobs after Government's VAT decision

The private school in Edinburgh said it needs to run its operations "as efficiently as possible". Jobs at a prestigious Scots private school may be lost as it looks to cut costs following the UK Government's introduction of VAT on school fees. Fettes College in Edinburgh said the decision was one of the reasons it took the 'difficult' decision to 'right size our staffing model'. ‌ The Scotsman reported that the school – attended by former prime minister Tony Blair – has opened a consultation process for both teaching and operational staff in order to reduce numbers. ‌ The most recent accounts show 751 students in August 2024, down from 780 the previous year. academic year, inclusive of VAT. The Labour government imposed VAT on private education and boarding fees, effective from January 1. Ministers argue that removing the VAT exemption will benefit the wider education sector, including the 94% of pupils who attend state schools. A spokesman for Fettes College said the sector is facing a 'tough time' and appealed for privacy for the staff involved. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The spokesman said: 'Various factors have conspired to increase costs on all organisations and schools are not immune, particularly with the recent imposition of VAT on school fees and rise in national insurance contributions. ‌ 'Despite being financially very well managed with a strong student roll, these factors are having an impact on our costs and numbers, and we are obliged to run our operations as efficiently as possible. 'These headwinds obviously affect our families too and our parents need to be certain that we are taking the necessary decisions to run the school efficiently and to use their money effectively. 'A consultation process began in May to right size our staffing model. This difficult decision may result in some redundancies. 'We will continue to provide the highest standard of educational experience, delivering our innovative vision for the school and maintaining our position as a leader in the sector.'