Letters: Minimum pricing is not the answer to booze problem

Published on Friday 26 November 2010 09:02

IN a letter to the News, G R Mason claims Labour's main aim in voting down minimum alcohol pricing was to see the defeat of this proposal simply because it was put forward by the SNP (Interactive, November 22).

For me, common sense prevailed – for once our parliament worked by stopping a fundamentally flawed measure.

This proposal would have done nothing to control binge drinking. The increased price would still have been paid, but likely at the expense of food, heating and potentially even child welfare.

The extra price charged wouldn't have gone to the Exchequer – just fuelled increased retailer profits instead, and done nothing to fund the real and essential solutions to Scotland's binge drinking problems. Isn't this what Labour understood when voting?

The only real solution is to defeat the destructive forces of alcohol and drug dependency through education and example, and by building a nation that cares, encourages personal aspirations, creates the opportunities to realise them and rewards achievement.

Jim Taylor, The Murrays Brae, Edinburgh

Tax power move is a red herring

WHILE finance secretary, John Swinney has apologised for not explaining to the Scottish Parliament his decision to allow tax-varying powers to lapse, this is a red herring.

It was the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat Government that allowed the powers to lapse, with Scottish Government documents revealing that at the 2007 election it would have taken two further years to get the tax collecting system up to date.

Curiously, no statements were made by Labour or the Liberal Democrats to inform parties in advance of the election or to tell the Scottish Parliament that the system didn't work.

Alex Orr, SNP candidate for Lothian, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

Climate change 'crisis' is a scam

THE SNP's claim to be at the forefront of climate control through exclusive use of renewable energy is a truly original tactic; leading from behind. Nothing else can explain its enthusiasm for windmill expansion when Denmark, Europe's most experienced country in that field, has declared it a disaster.

Neither Denmark nor Germany has reduced its carbon output through wind power and both are allowed to open new coal-fired power stations. This is because carbon is the new international currency. When firms were given allowances of carbon production it should have been a bonus when some used less, but they are allowed to sell their excess amounts to others.

When the Spanish building boom collapsed, firms went bankrupt yet still made millions from their unused allowances. The deliberately contrived global warming/climate change "crisis" is no more than a commercial scam.

Robert Dow, Ormiston Road, Tranent

Don't put the cart before the horse

YOUR report on the council's planned tram traffic orders (News, November 18) did not mention Leith Walk.

When the proposals were first published, Leith Central Community Council (LCCC) submitted a 13-point objection to the tram traffic regulation order (TRO) for Leith Walk, addressing issues such as bus stop locations, bin lorry access, pavement narrowing, retail logistics and cycle provision.

The council's response did not accept a single argument, apparently oblivious to the council's own commitment to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent over the next ten years.

In response, LCCC requested a postponement of the TRO until there is more clarity as to whether and when trams will be running down Leith Walk. Since the council still has not decided whether the tram route from the airport will initially stop short of Leith Walk or whether track construction will proceed at least to the Foot of the Walk, LCCC continues to call for a postponement of the Leith Walk TRO, hoping transport councillors do not wish to put the cart before the horse.

Harald Tobermann, LCCC