Letters: Fix road craters before cars turn into clowns' jalopies

The RAC Foundation says "the council is either performing miracles or else drivers are not lodging claims". We can quite safely discount the former.

This indicates that many drivers are just taking the hit, paying for it and driving more carefully in future.

It's a depressing thought, but given that the council is likely to bind up any claims made against it in as much red tape and obstruction as possible, it's often easier to pay up, curse the council and move on.

Twice in the last couple of years I have had to have shock absorbers replaced in my car, which does not do a particularly hefty mileage.

And a friend whose private-hire car is kept in tip-top shape had his driveshaft come loose. Like me, his vehicle was paying the price for having so many potholes to negotiate, and let's not even mention speed bumps.

For some time councils in Edinburgh seem to have been anti-motorist, and the way things are going they will get their way.

So many drivers in Edinburgh are going at little more than walking pace, either to save on fuel, or to avoid craters which appeared in the road after winter to prevent their four-wheeled pride and joy being turned into a clowns' circus jalopy.

If you prefer travelling by car, make sure to steer clear of Edinburgh.

Mr K Welsh, Easter Road, Edinburgh

Vote Lib Dem and you get the Tories

THE Liberals of the past must be turning in their grave after the entry of today's Liberal Democrats into a coalition with the Conservative Party.

Ironically, the Liberal Party was formed in 1859 to overthrow a minority Conservative government and as such has been fighting tooth and nail with the Conservatives in constituencies across the UK ever since, a party it is now propping up at Westminster.

The party of Gladstone and Lloyd George had a proud history of radical measures, including laying the foundations of the modern welfare state.

It is, however, a legacy that has been blackened by jumping into bed with the Conservatives for the sake of a few seats in the Cabinet and without guaranteed electoral reform.

One thing is for certain, and that is that in signing up to this deal Liberal Democrats have committed suicide in Scotland, and their timing could not have been worse with the Scottish Parliamentary elections next year – vote Liberal Democrat and you get Tory.

Alex Orr, Bryson Road, Edinburgh

A price to be paid for opportunism

WE are all going to get spoiled over the next few months, only to illustrate how generous the new government is.

Thereafter, another general election will be called, and the Conservatives will get an overall majority in the Commons for their generosity. We will then all suffer.

Politically, no group will suffer more than the Lib Dems. They will be dropped like a hot potato once the Tories get the overall majority they seek.

The Lib Dems' bums will be out the window and they will have done irreconcilable damage to their standing with their own supporters for their opportunism.

I am hoping and praying for everyone to line up and shoot me down for being wrong. However, in the meantime, pay attention!

William Burns, Pennywell Road, Edinburgh

Victims of stench deserve payout

I AM not surprised residents are planning a massive legal action fight to claim compensation for the stench from the Seafield sewage works (News, 10 May).

I have passed many times along Seafield and the smell of it makes me feel sick. It's absolutely abhorrent.

I feel so sorry for residents who live in the area having to put up with the smell. They are surely entitled to be compensated.

Mrs June Fleming, Hercus Loan, Musselburgh