Letters: parking the curse of the high street

Now Edinburgh City Council wants to push it on to residents in South Morningside where shops are reflecting the very problems Mary Portas has pointed out. The residents have a very different attitude to this scheme from the council, with 23.8 per cent in favour and 76.2 per cent against.

It is rather refreshing, however, from the point of view of electors in this area of Edinburgh that we have local elections coming up very soon. In fact, they will be following on, not long behind the February meeting of the council when a decision will be made.

If the residents of South Morningside find that the council imposes the proposed scheme on our area, it will clearly confirm the utter contempt that elected councillors in this city hold for their masters, the electorate.

In light of the similar tram scandal, I hope that the electors of the city will hold their local councillors accountable for their actions. In South Morningside, we have a strong, cross-party position on this subject.

The votes of each individual councillor in the proposed parking scheme vote will be noted and the residents will be notified of those who vote in favour.

Andrew HN Gray, Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh

Soft system must be toughened up

A 19-year-old Manchester youth who bunked jury service was sentenced to 14 days in prison, but prison regulations saw him released after four days.

It’s not the bench or judges that are soft, it’s the administration system that must be speedily reformed.

Colin C Maclean, Hillpark Avenue, Edinburgh

Gold-plated deal is MPs’ preserve

THE public sector strike in November was possibly one of the greatest dates in the history of the trade union movement.

The pensions deal on offer was far from great when compared to the likes of Francis Maude MP and others who are set to retire on figures of more than £500,000. Now I don’t know about you, but to me that is a gold-plated pension – what was offered to the public sector unions was not.

Richie Veitch, South Lorne Place, Leith, Edinburgh

Foreign ID card brings trouble

I HAVE had a really unpleasant situation at a supermarket in Edinburgh.

Staff refused to sell a bottle of wine to me even though I was sober and despite the fact I’m 28 years old. I had my ID card that I presented to the check-out girl and to her manager. I was told that my ID card (issued by the Polish government) can’t be accepted.

As I failed to understand the reason for this situation, I made an official complaint (in writing) but also without a success.

The supermarket responded that the shop policy is to accept driving licences, UK passports or ID cards that have photo, date of birth, signature and hologram/symbol.

My ID card has all of the above plus all information is translated into English.

I still don’t understand the situation. As a EU citizen living in Scotland for more than five years, I’m not allowed to buy alcohol in a shop due to the lack of a British passport?

It’s an example of a lack of equality and fairness, which I’ve always believed are fundamental qualities within the multicultural society in Scotland.

Ilona Szczupak, Edinburgh

Action needed to recover our cash

THE House of Lords has recently agreed that disgraced peers guilty of wrongly claiming expenses would be banned from parliament until they repay the money.

This is excellent news since Lady Uddin, who was suspended for 18 months, has not repaid any of the £125,000 she was ordered to repay.

This ruling effectively means she cannot resume her seat in the Lords and claim a tax-free daily allowance of up to £300.

When will firm action be taken against Lady Uddin to recover taxpayers’ money?

Clark Cross, Springfield Road, Linlithgow