Like many of Putin’s victims, Navalny’s death made no sense as he no longer posed a threat and was a potential bargaining chip. Putin, no doubt enraged from the loss of another warship, will be scathing of the limited advances in Ukraine. He suggested recently that the war it could be argued “was our mistake” and “it was us that intensified the situation and decided to put an end to the war that started in Donbas in 2014”.

This may sound like war weariness but a Trump electoral victory would ensure a Putin victory in Ukraine, hence why Putin said he would back Biden, strengthening Trump support. If Biden does not act decisively Navalny’s death will be in vain, Putin will be emboldened and Biden will appear weak, strengthening Trump’s presidential bid and weakening Nato. Putin will win in Ukraine and the West will face humiliation.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

People lay flowers paying respects to Alexei Navalny at a monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established (Picture: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Nursing skills

I almost choked on my coffee when I read Tim Flinn’s letter concerning the lack of nurses (16 February). How many other professionals would accept the suggestion that they should rely only on their “desirable qualities”, whatever that means.

Florence Nightingale would be turning in her grave if she had read those words. She wrote 150 books and pamphlets, including Notes on Nursing, which laid the foundations for modern nursing practice. Nursing was not considered to be a respectable profession prior to her impact. She advocated for the education of women to ensure the elevation of the nursing profession, and she succeeded.

Now, in the 21st century, we have auxiliary nurses who have an important role in the wards. They administer medication, wash patients, record vital signs, apply clean dressings, and carry out many more duties. The trained nurses have many duties, including preparing care plans for each patient, educating patients about medications, diet and exercise regimes, and many other tasks. They can also be helpful to trainee doctors – in fact, senior nurses often take over clinical work previously done by junior doctors.

I worked as a psychiatric nurse for more than 20 years. I’m confident that I had the relevant desirable qualities for the job, as well as the academic qualifications. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have lasted long in a challenging sector.

Carolyn Taylor, Broughty Ferry, Dundee

Interest rates pain

The headline that “Interest rates could be cut this spring” (Scotsman, 14 February) was overtaken by the Chancellor’s pronouncement the next day that the public should not expect any cut in the present rate (5.25 per cent) until headline inflation has met the Bank of England’s target of 2 per cent.

Rather than spring, financial markets now expect four successive base-rate cuts by the year end starting no sooner than June – maybe later – leaving the base rate 4.5 per cent. And based on current five-year forecasts, markets expect interest rates to stay in the range of 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent (remember the base rate was only 0.1 per cent in November back in 2021 before the rate rise began). Moreover, the yield on ten-year government bonds (gilts) – the proxy benchmark for mortgage rates – has also been rising more or less steadily since December 2023, trading currently at 4.1 per cent.

None of this is good news for existing mortgage holders who will be porting off low fixed-rate deals on to new higher rates (fixed or standard variable). That’s expected to be around 1.5 million holders in 2024 and 1.6 million in 2025. Add to that the 3 million mortgage holders who have already ported on to much higher rates over the last two years – then double it – and that’s a lot of unhappy voters whose household budgets have been put in a vice not of their making.

Ewen Peters, Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire

Not-so-great Scott

So Mike Scott has “curated” a reissue of The Waterboys’ biggest selling album, This Is The Sea. 95 tracks (64 unreleased previously), a mere 86 more than the original release in 1985, which according to Mike will take the listener through a journey of creativity to see the full evolution of the final album we all know and love.

Of course it is, Scottie, and its in no way cynical stuffing of a classic with not so much melodious as malodorous bin rackings to recoup your losses after your last album, All Souls Hill, proved 2022’s mega-turkey.

Ageing “artists” insult the fans who made them rich by expecting us to pay premium for their waste offal.

Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Road rage

I agree with Ken Currie (Letters, 17 February) about the state of Edinburgh’s roads. Together with lane closures, road blocks, trams, bus lanes, cycleways, it has become an anti-car city.

The A8 past the airport looks as if it had dropped in from Azerbaijan. Perhaps not, as the roads in Baku are probably smooth and well-maintained. Nor are Midlothian’s roads any better. How deep do the potholes have to get before they are filled? And of course when they are eventually filled they are turned into humps. John McAdam would birl in his grave.

Road maintenance and improvement have a low priority in Scotland given the SNP’s “world-leading commitment” (another one) to cut car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030.

William Loneskie, Lauder, Scottish Borders

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Readers' letters: Vladimir Putin must pay for Alexei Navalny’s death

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