Sir, The Scottish Government is trying to pass a law to protect children up to the age of 18 from smokers in a car?
At 18 no, 15 even I considered myself a man and put away childish things. I started work at 15, like many others in 1961.
How things have changed. My father started working down a pit at 14 and my wife’s grandfather was down a pit in Motherwell at 13. Do the young men and woman of 16, 17 and 18 think of themselves as children?
The politicians have given them the vote at 16 and they are a lot more mature size-wise than we were, but they are treated like children.
I used to go for my grandchildren at secondary school and some of the so-called children had beards!
We were treated like men and expected to do a day’s work for washers. It’s time the government started preparing them for a life of hard work and stopped paying for hobby degrees.
Those that can pay should pay. Why should working people pay for middle class rich people’s kids when most of us have no one at university?
We need men and woman in real jobs. How many poets or historians etc, do we really need? Pay the essential workers training at university a wage and bill them if they drop out.
The government should stop treating 15-year-olds as children. They are young adults.
John G Phimister. 63 St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy.
Bonus culture is immoral
Sir, How naive is the Labour Party and Jim Murphy? It is not only top bankers who receive these excessive bonuses; it seems that most top executives in industry are also recipients. If their bonuses are taxed, these powerful individuals will raise their bonuses by 5% more than the rate of tax to ensure that their take remains the same.
What makes this bonus culture obscene is that those who have put in the grinding hours of work to improve the company performance and profit receive the going rate for the job. It is on the back of their hard work that the executives claim their bonuses.
The bonus culture is immoral and should be stopped. All who are employed have an agreed salary or hourly rate this should be enough to inspire diligence.
However, if an incentive is required then perhaps there could be a profit share scheme in which all are rewarded equally.
If Mr Murphy and the Labour Party truly believe in social justice, they need to do some serious rethinking on the matter of bonuses.
Brian Rattray. 124/2 Gylemuir Road, Corstorphine, Edinburgh.
Accept defeat gracefully, Alex
Sir, Alex Salmond is plotting to disrupt the UK political process by aligning with Labour. This is absolutely ludicrous since in the Scottish Parliament the SNP’s main opposition is Labour.
Can Mr Salmond not just accept that he was unsuccessful on September 18 2014 in his referendum bid to isolate Scotland from the UK?
The “yes” vote was subscribed to by only 1,617,989 members of the electorate, which represented 39.27% out of a total potential number of voters in Scotland of 4,120,007. The majority of voters opted for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Why can he not just accept defeat gracefully, and let Nicola Sturgeon get on with her job as First Minister?
He really is an embarrassment!
It would be an absolute tragedy if Mr Salmond were to be elected as MP for the Gordon constituency of Aberdeenshire on the retirement of Sir Malcolm Bruce.
Surely the voters in the Garioch would be better served by a Member of Parliament whose main task was related to local concerns and needs than by Mr Salmond whose only priority is his craving for independence from the UK and for his legacy in the history books.
In the political scene in Scotland today the SNP obviously has a key role to play in administering the additional devolved powers but Mr Salmond is yesterday’s man. Can he not just retire gracefully into the mist?
Robert I G Scott. Northfield, Ceres.
Why not go the whole hog?
Sir, In his letter (March 24) RMF Brown advocates that people over 60 should be denied the vote as he believes their views do not agree with his own nationalist views. Why doesn’t he go the whole hog and propose restricting voting to SNP members only?
GM Lindsay. Whinfield Gardens, Kinross.
Be very careful, councillors
Sir, I have never written to a newspaper in my life, but the recent furore over the desecration of the resting place of ashes within the grounds of Perth Crematorium has compelled me to do so.
I feel those councillors who voted for this sacrilege had best take heed of the wrath of relatives, or they may all find they are out on their ears at the next local elections.
Ignore us at your peril, councillors. Voters have long memories, especially if we feel you ignore our displeasure at this insensitive act.
There are alternative routes for them to consider for the roadway. Leave the memorial gardens alone.
Sheila Ireland. 7 Muirfield, Perth.