Letters: Voters don't need posters to remember election's on

These placards make the city look tatty and as your story pointed out, some have remained up for almost six weeks after the event (News, June 16). This looks completely stupid and I wonder what tourists must think.

I note that some have concerns that low turnout might become even lower after a ban on placards. However, I don't think this will be the case. In this day and age when elections are constantly covered on TV, radio, in newspapers and on many internet forums as well as leaflets from the various parties through the doors, nobody has any excuse for not knowing an election is about to take place.

If people are not voting then I believe it is sheer laziness. If someone cares enough about an issue then they should get out and vote.

A by-election has recently been called and the people of the City Centre ward will soon get a say on the tram project. If you don't vote then you don't have a right to complain.

However, by getting out and voting for a person or party which is against the trams then at the very least you will have made a statement, and perhaps it will throw a spanner into the works.

Alastair Macintyre, Webster Place, Rosyth, Fife

Trouble in store for smaller shops

IT seems Sainsbury's is planning a "local" store on Morningside Road, just opposite the post office.

It will be the third supermarket in 100 yards, only half a mile from Tesco at Holy Corner. I've heard that three truly local shops are planning to close as yet another nail is hammered in the coffin of the independent high streets. If the city council planners want to exacerbate the problem of empty shops then they should grant planning permission to Sainsbury's.

But it seems that this is not what local people want, judging by the number of signatures I gathered for my petition on Morningside Road at the weekend. I hope others will join the campaign.

Andy Saunders, Comiston Drive, Edinburgh

Welfare changes create problems

DAVID Cameron's call for fathers to take a more active and responsible role in the development of their child has been welcomed by many. However, if actions speak louder than words then the actions of his own Secretary of State for Work and Pensions appear to be drowning out the words of his boss.

Changes to housing benefit mean that any father under 35 on low pay or out of work will have access only to shared accommodation possibly with someone they don't know.

This means they will be denied space for their children to sleep over, making it more difficult for them to share responsibility for child care.

This presumably unintended consequence highlights once again how chipping away at the welfare system too often simply creates new problems instead of solving old ones.

Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland, Edinburgh

NHS putting cash into operation

I AM writing in response to your article "Health chiefs 'must reflect population'" (News, June 15).

Far from failing to address the rising population needs in West Lothian, NHS Lothian has invested substantial sums of money over the past few years in St John's Hospital.

Our flagship 8.2 million short stay elective surgical centre, which opened in January, has seen a significant expansion in the services available at the hospital. Once fully operational, the unit will see up to 3000 patients a year from across Lothian for day surgery.

Any suggestions that St John's Hospital is being "downgraded" are completely unfounded, and St John's continues to be one of our three main adult acute hospitals.

Sandra Mair, director of operations and site director for St John's Hospital, NHS Lothian