Sir, – Last week the knives were out again for our former First Minister, Alex Salmond, because he was not at Westminster to debate the latest warmongering by the United Kingdom Government.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be a huge own goal for the unionists as it only served to highlight the charitable work Mr Salmond does around the country.
Not only was he assisting in raising more than £50,000 for CLIC Sargent, a very worthy cause, but he was also attending Holyrood, followed by a veterans’ reception.
Of course, his work and donations to charity do not stop there as a quick search by anybody willing to find facts will soon ascertain.
I am sure Alex Salmond will be back on the SNP benches in plenty time for important votes.
But that will not stop the regular, desperate deriding taking place in the letters pages by the remaining faithful who still do not want to see the wood for the trees.
Richard Clark. Craigton, Monikie.
Unfair attack on Alex Salmond
Sir, – Crivens, it is just dreadful that Gordon Kennedy (November 30)should feel ashamed to be Scottish just because Alex Salmond was not present at the Syria debate last week.
My heart goes out to the man. My bottom lip was trembling as well before I realised that it is Angus Robertson who leads the SNP at Westminster and it was he who had responsibility for speaking, not that villain Salmond who was up in Scotland hosting a pre-arranged veterans’ reception on Thursday night last week.
Mind you, he did unveil a portrait of himself, so I suppose that does mean he deserves a public scourging at the very least.
Now that’s bad enough but in Mr Kennedy’s view it is the whole shebang that’s the talk of the wash-house and the SNP is intent on destroying Scotland no less.
George White. 2 Cupar Road, Auchtermuchty.
Time to head for the exit
Sir, – I have to feel sorry for Gordon Kennedy for being compelled to admit that he is ashamed to be Scottish on Saint Andrews Day, all because he has taken offence at the actions of a parliamentarian who fails to live up to his expectations.
I am particularly proud to be Scottish. It is said there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are Scottish and those who wish they were.
He goes on to suggest that the SNP are ruining the country but forgets to add: with a lot of help from Westminster.
David Cameron knows Scotland could be a successful independent economy and is determined not to let it happen.
Despite the rhetoric, he has not delivered the Smith recommendations in full, but it wouldn’t really matter if he did because Westminster would still hang on to a veto to keep the Scots in line.
He also knows that the desire for independence has not died and is determined to kill it off before another referendum by taking every opportunity to weaken Scotland’s ability to support itself.
The closure of Longannet because of the high transmission and environmental charges is one example.
Westminster, not the Scottish Government, controls energy policy.
If Mr Kennedy is so ashamed of being Scottish and fears the country’s eventual ruin, it might be time for an exit strategy before the sad day dawns.
Allan MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.
Cyclists help cut pollution
Sir, – It seems that your anti-cycling correspondent Clark Cross has finally given up his crusade against those who like the great outdoors.
However, he could not have picked a worse time to promote his advocacy of motoring.
This week, newspapers and television have reported on the smog which is crippling Beijiing and other cities in Asia.
These cities have experienced a boom in car ownership and their populations are suffering.
I am sure many of us saw the photographs of Beijiing this week. Residents had to wear face masks and you could barely see the sun through the smog.
Pollution there stands at 56 microgrammes per cubic metre. Pollution levels in London are 16, Paris 17 and Melbourne just five.
But Delhi tops the world’s pollution shame list at 156 microgrammes per cubic metre.
Delhi is home to 8,000,000 cars plus coal-fired power stations.
We have much to be thankful of in this country and cyclists are playing their part in cutting down pollution.
Robert Anderson. Kirkton, Arbroath.
Arrogance of commentators
Sir, – Much as I enjoyed watching the Great Britain team win the Davis Cup, I had to watch much of the final with the sound turned off.
It was not the boisterous crowd, it was the endless opinions of the commentators. John Lloyd had the result of each matched worked out before the first one had finished. He was correct but what arrogance.
Andrew Castle, on seeing David Goffin pictured beside the trophy asked: “Will that be the nearest he gets to it this weekend?”
He later added: “I hope we have a large trophy cabinet.” It was disrespectful to say the least.
Bob Macdonald. Craiglinn, Abernethy.
Poor suffering in Scotland
Sir, – In the build up to the 2014 referendum we heard a lot from the nationalists about in-equality in Scotland.
We heard about how life expectancy in deprived areas was far lower than in affluent neighbourhoods.
The nationalists assured Scots that independence was the answer.
Now, a year after the referendum, we find that the SNP Government provides GP practices in deprived areas with less funding than their colleagues providing healthcare to middle-class Scots (December 1).
The difference in funding equates to around 2,000 fewer appointment slots per year in each practice serving deprived communities.
The news will not be a surprise to avid Courier readers.
In December 2012 it was reported that Audit Scotland had said health inequalities were long-standing and entrenched throughout the country and that resources should be better targeted.
The BMA urged the SNP to “use the unique relationship that GPs have with their patients and in their communities to target healthcare to those who need it most”.
The SNP established a taskforce. Although this is welcome, it is clear that the most basic recommendation made by Audit Scotland has not been delivered three years later. Healthcare resources are not being targeted where they are needed most.
It appears we have a government in Scotland which is long on rhetoric but short on action.
Dr Scott Arthur. 27 Buckstone Gardens, Edinburgh.
Why should we pay for Gaelic?
Sir, – I am reading a book written by Bill Bryson at the moment.
The general subject is language and in the first chapter he observes that the number of people in China who are learning to speak English is greater than the number of people who live in the USA.
This prompted me to think about the number of people who speak Gaelic in Scotland,which is slightly more than the number of people who live in Livingston and ask myself, why is the Scottish Government forcing Gaelic into the workings of Police Scotland?
They have a huge problem keeping to their budget and are making cuts in the service they provide.
I have every respect for people who choose to spend time and money in their desire to revive this almost-dead language.
I do not believe, however, that this is in any way a matter of concern to the majority of taxpayers in Scotland, nor do I believe it is reasonable that the Scottish Government should use our taxes in this manner.
AA Bullions. 6 Glencairn Crescent, Leven.
Return police to local control
Sir, – Good luck to Phil Gormley on his appointment as chief constable of Police Scotland.
He is taking on a hard job following the creation of the single force and the cash restrictions it has faced. Our officers have been starved of the resources they need to do the job they want to.
Many feel local connections have suffered under the centralised structure.
Let’s hope the new chief constable can convince the SNP to return a measure of control to either regions or districts.
Bob Ferguson. North Muirton, Perth.