Interactive: Dancers' figures better than those bodged by the council

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Evening News, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS

WHAT is it that women such as the Scottish Nationalist MSP Sandra White have against lap dancing (News, 12 May)?

I wonder if it could be one of the seven sins promulgated by Christianity, namely envy, that motivates her.

The bars where these girls work are part of the entertainment industry. You know, the thing our so-called betters have tried to demolish via the smoking ban and giving supermarkets the right to sell alcohol at the price of lemonade.

With schools closing in Edinburgh thanks to the failure of our SNP/Lib Dem experts' failure to understand basic arithmetic, I don't see anything wrong with attractive girls heading to the gym and making the most of what they have been given to make a career for themselves, displaying attributes the supposedly clever politicians can only envy.

Douglas Hunter, Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh

Build stable future for construction

PRELIMINARY statistics for the first quarter of 2010 show the number of construction firms becoming insolvent has doubled compared both to the last three months of 2009 and to the same quarter last year. Bad weather may have been partly to blame but I fear that many more Scottish building companies could be forced into administration over the coming months.

Politicians now need to rapidly re-focus their attention towards building a sustainable recovery.

As the construction industry has always argued, at the heart of a successful strategy must be a consistent and comprehensive programme of capital investment – coupled with swift action to get the banks lending again.

Given the huge number of jobs that depend on its success, the national interest would be well served by quickly implementing policies designed to give the construction industry a more certain and stable future.

Michael Levack, Chief Executive, Scottish Building Federation, Holyrood, Edinburgh

Make sure we keep polls apart

AFTER Westminster agreeing to a new fixed term of sitting MPs, this could cause the unwanted chaos that happened before when multi-parliament elections were held.

I refer to the fact that the Scottish Parliament elections are due to be held in 2015.

I would urge Scottish MSPs to bear this in mind and to come to an agreement not to allow both elections on the same day.

Ivor Birnie, Gentles Entry, Edinburgh

Single mums can be a success story

HELEN Martin really went to town on single mothers, singling them out with statistics which do not hold water (News, 10 May).

There are single parents in this world by a fact of life – we don't choose what we are, and one cannot say they will get pregnant to get a house, that is ludicrous.

I am a single parent and my daughter has done very well.

More help should be given to single mothers who child care when they want to work.

A child care agency could be set up to help single mums and dads, and married parents going out to work.

Single mums should not be left scared of how society thinks of them as I was, but I went through with my pregnancy and wouldn't change it.

Pamela Burton, North Bughtlin Gate, East Craigs, Edinburgh

Edinburgh .. zone of incompetence

I CAN only agree with the Leith Links Residents Association's spokesman that the attitude of the city council is beyond the pale – or should it be the pail? (News, 10 May).

The council has only reinforced my opinion that the people of Edinburgh should submit a petition to the European Court of Human Rights to be saved from this collection of buffoons who could not organise a bottle fight in a brewery.

Edinburgh should be declared a zone of incompetence.

David Burgess, Balbirnie Road, Glenrothes