Readers' Letters: Only permanent residents should be able to stand for public office

It’s important to read The Scotsman to understand the latest thinking of our government in Edinburgh.

Temporary residents should not be allowed to stand for public office in Scotland, says reader (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

For example, in yesterday’s Scotsman (Letters, 25 January) we see that one of the latest proposals includes the suggestion that 16 and 17-year olds will be excluded from holding office in local or national government.

Most would accept that children are not yet ready at that age to participate in important discussion with real implications on the general population. Obviously there could be quite a vociferous disagreement with that statement but nevertheless the exclusion of that age group is the suggestion.

But where I take real exception is the suggestion that those residing in this country on a temporary basis will be allowed to stand for public office.

The rationale for this suggestion escapes me totally. Am I to understand that this is considered a sane, rational decision by those in control?

Of course these same people have put forward several policies in the not-so-recent past which appear to be totally contrary to the general public view so they do have form in this respect, but this does not excuse a continuance of drafting legislation that just doesn’t make sense.

Obviously this is merely my opinion but I suspect that Human Rights might be at the back of this suggestion somewhere.

A Lewis, Ayrshire

XL Bully dogs

It appears that the recent horrific attacks on members of the public in Scotland by an out-of-control XL Bully-type dog could only be stopped by an armed police unit - tasers were ineffectual (25 January).

If, as seems certain, this was a dog moved to Scotland to avoid the changing law down south, then who could blame these victims taking the Scottish administration to court and seeking damages?

This kind of attack was such a certainty after the SNP minister concerned refused pleas to extend the law UK-wide but held out - in what was surely an effort merely to please the SNP extremists who wish no more than to be different from England - that it barely needs saying. You have to shake your head in disbelief at the stupidity and incompetence of the decision makers.

May I suggest that, in these circumstances, the minister and decision-makers responsible, or the SNP's strategy section, are liable for any fines and compensation payment, not the taxpayers of Scotland.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Dog attack

Armed police killed a dog after it viciously mauled two men leaving one with serious injuries. Although it is still to be confirmed, it was thought that it might be an XL bully recently rehomed from England where a ban on XL bullies is in force.

After much dithering by the Scottish Government it was only last week that it said it would replicate the Westminster legislation. Between 2017 and 2022 there have been 23,826 complaints of out-of-control dogs in Scotland with, it is estimated, even more not reported. Scottish Ministers could, for the first time, be ahead of the UK Government by introducing legislation that all dogs must be muzzled and on a lead when outside and that those breaking the law would be fined £1,000.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Foodbank clarity

Stan Grodynski (Letters, 25 January) clearly needs to be told, yet again, two things (at least).

First, every developed country has foodbanks. It is developing poor countries that do not. They depend on support from international aid, and starvation haunts some of their populations.

Second, Mr Grodynski refers to the UK having ‘among the lowest state pensions in Europe’, whereas the OECD in 2021 recorded in December 2021 that in terms of payout as a percentage of average wages, the UK was just below the OECD average. Countries below us on their scale included those with whom Scottish nationalists wish to compare Scotland, such as Norway and Ireland, as well as Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. As the fullfact.org website shows, comparing UK state pensions in crude money terms with those elsewhere is like comparing an apple with bananas and oranges.

Mr Grodynski dodges the fact that, in the latest PISA rankings, attainment is lower in Scotland than in England, and also the fact that those waiting longest for hospital treatment in Scotland were in such straits that the English health secretary offered help with treating them to reduce their interminable wait in Scotland.

The UK has its problems, but pretending that Scotland is better, or would be better outside the UK, as Mr Grodynski routinely does, is neither helpful nor honest.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

New Horizon?

Fujitsu, they of the Horizon Post Office scandal with their software, is the company chosen by the SNP government to oversee counting of votes in local elections.

Now why should we be surprised at that crazy decision, it’s SNP Ministers after all who have form on madcap ideas. But this one, which at first glance seems just stupid, could be a little more sinister.

Let’s not forget that there’ll be a back door access, there always is with computer programmes to allow “FIXES”, so what kind of fixes do we think SNP could get up to when counting votes?

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

Rosyth Ferry

It is very disappointing that government funding is not being provided so that the Rosyth ferry project can continue to progress. Unfortunately the Scottish Government is struggling financially due to UK Government Austerity Economics policies, deliberately intended to cut funding to public services.

Set up by the Conservative / Liberal Democratic Coalition UK Government in 2010 and continued by UK governments Scotland didn’t vote for. As a result the Scottish Government is already having to juggle finances to try to support the NHS, education etc.

It is to the detriment of local people and potential businesses that the UK Government has chosen not to support progressing the Rosyth Ferry project. Similar to their decision not to take public ownership of Scotland’s only oil refinery at Grangemouth instead of letting is close.

They are, however, supporting the proposed erection of infrastructure including huge pylons, very large sub stations and battery storage fields, adversely affecting areas in Scotland, to provide an east coast link facilitating the transfer of renewable electricity, enough for 2 million homes, to England. They are also supporting progressing the erection of a large plant at Kintore converting electricity to hydrogen gas including piping down to England. While providing some jobs more could be gained by supporting more local plants near electrical generators to benefit local people and attract businesses wanting to use renewable energy.

None of this suggests the UK Government is interested in benefitting Scotland and its people. They seem only interest in continuing to exploit our resources to benefit private industry and England, where the vast majority of their voters live.​

James Stamper, Bearsden, Glasgow

Rose-tinted

Scotsman reader, Michael Campbell, is fulsome in his praise for both Nicola Sturgeon and Jason Leitch during the pandemic (25 January).

According to him they did a “brilliant job” and he speaks for “many” in this instance. Perhaps Mr Campbell ought to wait for the rest of this inquiry to finish. Only a few more days to go. I suspect Mr Campbell might well be in a minority and that dismissing missing WhatsApps might not be quite as irrelevant as he thinks.

His rose-tinted view of the handling of this awful pandemic might need to be somewhat altered by the truth, not SNP spin.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Marx my words

A suggestion that “Communist” should replace the word ”National” in the SNP’s title is not without justification (David Millar, Letters, 24 January).

This is the party which nationalised Prestwick Airport, ScotRail, Ill-fated Ferguson Marine and which set up the National Investment Bank for Scotland. A small start admittedly, but in line with Marx’s teaching that the means of production, transport and exchange be state-controlled.

The Scottish Government isn’t keen on private enterprise, as demonstrated by its taxation policies and persecution of landlords through rent controls and rules aimed at making it almost impossible to evict tenants.

Their horrendous forthcoming Land Reform Bill seems an attempt to effectively fragment and collectivise most of rural Scotland,while the failed Named Person Scheme has been described as the kind of legislation implemented by Eastern Block countries during the Cold War.It’s very hard to see any difference between the Continuity SNP/Green coalition and the far-left Scottish Socialist Party.

And despite their fondness for condemning Britain, Israel and Donald Trump, we don’t hear Comrades Sturgeon or Yousaf criticise the regimes in Beijing, Pyongyang, Havana or Caracas very often.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

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