Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, I despair. When I was young I adopted an attitude that if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Sometimes, of course, one does overspend a little and things quickly start to get out of hand, but I soon learned not to let it go too far. It’s amazing how much stability can be achieved in only 12 months with a bit of discipline.
So, how does the government deal with the financial crisis which ‘we’re all in together’? Well, first of all let’s build another Forth Road Bridge, and how about another Tay Bridge, in Perth? I know, let’s spend another £32 billion on a faster rail route from Birmingham to London, we can extend the route to Scotland eventually. Haven’t they noticed that Scotland, if Mr Salmond is to be believed, is in no hurry to make the links with England any quicker or stronger?
And let us also take the tolls off the bridges and make even the people who don’t use them pay for their eternal upkeep (a major victory?). Free prescriptions for everybody! Even those who can afford to pay for them. And let’s change the Scottish police force from eight partially local funded units, to one nationally funded force. Even changing the stationery will cost millions of pounds.
For pity’s sake, the UK can’t afford to be doing all these things at the moment remember we’re all supposed to be tightening our belts. Successive governments have got us into this mess, the biggest mess I can remember in my lifetime, yet they still don’t seem to be taking a realistic approach to getting anywhere near a solution.
Meanwhile, in some areas of our cities, a quarter of children are suffering ”Victorian” levels of poverty.
Please, stop spending money we haven’t got, and make better use of the money we do have. Politicians, look around and see what people do when things get to a stage that they no longer trust the governments. It frightens me. You should pay attention.
Stephen G. Gilham.Grange Road,Errol.
Fallen into Salmond’s traps
Sir, You have to hand it to Alex Salmond he has got what he wanted. Mr Salmond has prepared the political ground carefully and the Westminster parties have dutifully fallen into his traps.
We now have a Tory government once more interfering in Scottish matters, in this instance opposing a popular mandate for a Scottish built and run independence referendum.
Also, by dangling the prospect of a second referendum question he has managed to get both Labour and Lib Dems to abandon and then oppose their own positions on handing more powers to a Scottish parliament and have them stand shoulder to shoulder with the Tories on the matter.
We will now see Mr Salmond appeal to all Scots that the SNP are the only party that can realise Scottish aspirations and to defend the nation from obstructive and damaging London rule, be it Tory, Labour or Coalition.
That has always been Mr Salmond’s intention and since he is a betting man he has probably laid down good money on a majority ‘yes’ vote in the forthcoming independence referendum. Who is to say now that the odds have not shortened in his favour?
Malcolm McCandless.40 Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
Supposed to be a safety feature
Sir, I strongly object to the habit of some drivers stopping in the advanced stop lines at traffic lights. These are supposed to be a safety feature for cyclists and are well marked but are often occupied by buses and taxis whose drivers are professionals and should know better.
When cycling I make a point of stopping in front of them when possible.
One bus driver did not take kindly to this in Meadowside he deliberately cut in on me in Victoria Road then veered into the cycle lane further on in front of me which looked very much like intimidation to me, which is another traffic offence.
Three traffic offences in less than half a mile does not equate with professionalism to me.
John M. Richmond.12 Shamrock Street,Dundee.
Vital vote is extended
Sir, Now the Scottish referendum date has been set it is vital that the franchise for this be extended to 16- and 17-year-old voters. As you will be aware, this age group is already entitled to vote in some elections in Scotland and there will be no election more important to Scotland than this one.
This current group of 16 and 17-year-olds are, in many cases, already paying their taxes, fighting our wars or studying to ensure our nation has a brighter future. To deny them a voice in this generational and historic poll is morally wrong.
Kevin Cordell.2 Nevis Place,Broughty Ferry, Dundee.
Prefer the Holyrood ‘air’
Sir, George McMillan complains about ”coarse, uneducated speech” at Holyrood (January 11), but perhaps he should listen carefully to the six-weekly half-hour event at Westminster laughingly called Scottish Question Time.
He will hear the same mixture of accents as at Holyrood, but what is more revealing is the increasing uproar in the chamber as the non-Scottish MPs file back into the chamber, and continue conversations with those around them, much to the exasperation of the Speaker as he struggles to maintain order.
Personally I prefer the business-like atmosphere at Holyrood to the rudeness too often evident at Westminster, which many MPs seem to treat as their own, private club.
John Crichton.6 Northampton Place,Forfar.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.