Readers Letters: Wake up and smell the SNP failure

The most incompetent, ineffective and inept government in history, as confirmed again by the appalling crime statistics just released.

A surge in shoplifting and violent crime and rape numbers up. Domestic abuse cases and offences involving images of children up by 25 and 20 per cent respectively.

The SNP offer a solution involving releasing prisoners early – you couldn’t make it up.

Further, we have drugs deaths still at a shocking level, and dare I mention the ferries fiasco costing hundreds of millions, a failing education service and a National Health Service on its knees. Then there is a list of first ministers – Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Humza Yousaf – you would not wish on your worst enemy!

It simply beggars belief that this chaotic shambles of a governing party seems likely to be re-elected in the May election. Come on Scotland, wake up and smell the coffee!

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

Dump devolution

We hear rumours that John Swinney may hang on to power at Holyrood. Surely not!

The suggestion is that he has steadied the ship after a tumultuous period under firstly Salmond, then Nicola Sturgeon. What absolute rot! Swinney was always part of the hierarchy responsible for the downfall of most aspects of Scotland's administration. The current support for a continuation of SNP power at Holyrood has been dreamt up by the SNP's own spin doctors.

John Swinney may well be seen by many Nats as a safe pair of hands, but to most of the rest of Scotland's electorate he is somewhat uninspiring.

Yet another period of SNP administration at Holyrood would be a huge mistake. This northerly part of the UK badly needs a change of administration, and direction. One might have thought that the best way forward would be a Labour/Lib Dem coalition. But, if we Scots are going to be subjected to more folly on the part of the SNP cause, surely the answer must lie in favour of a return to Westminster as the Parliament for the whole of the UK.

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

A new Nicola?

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon claims her book publication and tour may have reawakened her “verve for being involved in political debate”. Have I missed something? She is still receiving an MSP's salary for representing her constituents at Holyrood and that has never halted since her election. So where, I wonder, has the “reawakened verve” come from?

Her appearances at Holyrood are, ahem, infrequent to say the least, even for the movie star salary she is paid. Will she manage one or two special appearances before the election?

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Baby joy

It was so fantastic to read the uplifting story about the baby boy born to a mother who received a womb from a dead donor (24 February). In times where negativity and bad people seem to dominate the headlines, it's a fantastic example of the good that humans can do for fellow humans.

Thank you to the donor's family for ensuring their daughter's legacy lives on through baby Hugo and for providing an important reminder of the importance of ensuring we are all registered to donate organs when we pass.

I wish the young family all the very best.

J Lewis, Edinburgh

Newborn dismay

The news that, for the first time, a baby has been born to a women with a transplanted womb from a deceased donor is great news for the new mother concerned and offers hope for others in the same position.

However, it must be galling and frustrating for the scientists who have researched and developed in vitro fertilisation techniques over many years, and for the surgeons and support staff who have studied and honed their skills continuously for this to be described as a “miracle”.

Brian Kelly, Currie, Edinburgh

Party time

The article “Poll: SNP on track for historic Holyrood majority thanks to tactical voting” suggests, among other things, that Nigel Farage's Reform UK party will collect a number of regional list seats in the upcoming Holyrood election.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Reform UK-er Rupert Lowe has come up with a competitor for his former party, currently named Restore Britain.

As many followers of both of those far-right parties seem convinced that Scotland is bleeding the UK dry, might I suggest they are both missing a trick when chasing tactical votes themselves, and that they should stand on a ticket that says “cut Scotland loose and we'll save loadsamoney for England's NHS”. I'd further suggest the name they're both looking for is actually “Reject UK” – that way they'll collect regional list votes from independence supporters as well as disgruntled Tories.

Ian Waugh, Dumfries

Step up, Europe

Your 24 February editorial is filled with well-intentioned arguments for maintaining support to Ukraine but does not suggest how to bring the now four-year-old war to an end. If the past year has told us anything it is that Donald Trump’s interest in Ukraine is about securing a deal for his own political ambitions rather than putting pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop the war. While Putin apologists like US envoy Steve Witkoff are negotiating there won’t be a deal. It was welcome that the more Europhile US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, signalled a greater willingness to partner with Europe at the Munich Security Conference this month. He then went on to Slovakia and Hungary and expressed US support but, crucially, stopped short of condemning the continued purchase of Russian oil and gas, instead backing pro-Putin Hungarian President Viktor Orban over the pro-Nato opposition leader.

As The Scotsman’s editorial argues, US aid to Ukraine has completely evaporated so European nations must do more. Slovakia and Hungary need to be threatened with EU expulsion if they continue to trade with Russia and block EU measures to assist Ukraine. Action to impound Russia’s shadow fleet needs to be accelerated, Russian frozen assets should be used to fund missile defence for Ukraine and additional sanctions imposed to further weaken the Russian economy.

The US can no longer be relied upon, it’s time Europe stepped up the pressure on Putin to end the war.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Ukraine praise

A “military operation” which was meant to last a few days has turned out to be a hard-fought war, now into its fifth year (your report, 25 February). The biggest loser, so far, is Vladimir Putin, as the Russian forces struggle to overcome the doughty resistance of the Ukrainians. No praise is high enough for Vlodomyr Zelensky, who shunned the offer of a safe haven for the duration of the war to lead, very much, from the front.

The cost in manpower on both sides has been horrendous, especially the Russians, who have seen over 1.2 million killed or wounded, approximately double the number of the Ukrainians.

Far from losing the war, the Ukrainians are slowly, but surely, regaining territory they had lost, not least, in the Donetsk region. They are in an increasingly strong position to negotiate a peace treaty.

One statistic we never hear about is the unease over, and even outright opposition to, the war among much of the Russian public, far too many of whom have lost sons in the conflict. Here's hoping that the fifth year of this war turns out to be the last and the indomitable Ukrainian spirit gets its reward. They deserve no less.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Funicular science

On the Scottish mountains sub-Arctic conditions affect their slope behaviours that often show evidence of instability. The science of geomorphology – the formation of landforms – is a branch of geography that considers such matters, but possibly engineers know less about it

There are no surprises that the Cairngorm Funicular has experienced structural problems and will continue to do so (your report, 24 February). A replacement for the original chairlift was ruled out in the 1990s on account of possible exposure to high winds, but how often is the gondola system on Aonach Mor shut?

For the funicular, a structure of concrete beams and piers was selected, and a train was seen as the answer for coach parties visiting the mountain. The inexorable forces of freeze-thaw and gravity then began to affect the heavy but vulnerable structure where very few piers make contact with bedrock. The slopes are deeply mantled in boulder debris.

The Cairngorms are also exposed to occasional cloudbursts, torrential rainstorms that can occur in high summer when much erosional damage can be done in a short time.

(Dr) I A Glen MBE FRSGS, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire

Gun deaths

Doug Morrison notes that there were some 47,000 gun-related deaths in the USA “in a year” (true for last year) and that is why US police carry handguns (Letters, 24 February). However, most of those deaths were suicides. No action by police could change that, although making guns less available might.

In the UK, where gun ownership is strictly controlled, there were only 24 gun deaths in 2023.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

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