Letters: Local knowledge credibility gap a vote loser for Lib Dems

I wonder whether they actually spoke to each other at the away day as the Lib Dems move from one gaffe to the next.

Monday's News reported Lib Dem election leaflets for Edinburgh North & Leith being delivered across Edinburgh East.

This is only the latest blunder highlighted in the press – to add to their catalogue of errors, such as "supporting local jobs" on leaflets printed in England!

The Lib Dem candidate in North claimed to be an environmentalist whilst being paid to campaign for airport expansion.

The Lib Dem candidate in Edinburgh West campaigned against airport expansion, saying you cannot be green and for it.

The Lib Dem candidate in North also had the most public of slaps from his party leadership after he called loudly for a referendum on independence.

Not knowing that Lower London Road is in Edinburgh East, not knowing that the south of England is not local, not knowing that there is contradiction between airport expansion and being an environmental champion and not knowing that independence is SNP policy, it's no wonder their claims of credibility are disbelieved on the doorsteps.

Iain McGill, West Annandale Street, Edinburgh

Wardens should use their discretion

ON SUNDAY morning I parked on a single yellow line at an out of use bus stop on the east side of the top of Broughton Street to go to church.

I was incensed when I got back to my car to find I had a parking ticket, when there were other cars parked in the "Keep Clear" area at the top that were not ticketed.

Are not wardens expected to use their discretion? How can they say I was breaking the law when the bus stop is out of action? I was hardly causing an obstruction when the road is closed. I have an artificial hip, and several parking spaces in Albany Street where I usually park have been removed.

HM Rae, Grange

Builders punching above their weight

ALARMING reports of Scottish unemployment rates outstripping the rest of the UK should prompt government at all levels to look afresh at their strategy for bringing this country out of recession.

UK-wide, the figures show construction hit harder than any other sector – the result of a collapse in private housebuilding and commercial and industrial construction. They also show young Scots aged 16-24 hit particularly hard. But the fact remains that construction employs more modern apprentices than any other sector in Scotland.

Meanwhile, separate statistics show Scottish construction needing to recruit an additional 36,000 people over the next five years to avoid a skills shortage.

Those in control of the public purse strings looking to trim the fat from the public sector need also to channel additional resources back into supporting strategically important industries. Construction ought to be a priority, punching above its weight in terms of its contribution to the Scottish skills agenda and GDP.

Michael Levack, Scottish Building Federation, Crichton's Close, Edinburgh

It's time to ratify treaty on bombs

THE UN announcement that a treaty banning cluster bombs will enter into force in August is to be welcomed. Burkina Faso and Moldova became the latest states to ratify the treaty, which bans the production and use of cluster munitions and obliges states to compensate victims.

The treaty is, however, binding only on countries that have signed and ratified it and since the convention was opened for signature in Oslo in 2008, 104 countries have signed it but only 30 have ratified.

Some of the biggest stockpilers, including the US, Russia, China and Israel, are not among the signatories. And while some major European states, including France, Germany and Spain, have ratified the convention, the UK and Italy have signed, but not ratified.

The treaty's entering into force demonstrates the world's collective revulsion at the impact of these terrible weapons, and it is time the UK Government, and those who have not yet ratified the treaty, do so immediately.

Alex Orr, Bryson Road, Edinburgh

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