Sacred duties

This week it is education, though I am tempted to ask her what took her so long as she and her party have had eight years to recognise the problem and to do something about it.

Back in June 2011 she announced, as Cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing, that she saw “care of the elderly a sacred duty” and so a personal priority for her.

Then in December 2014, conveniently after the referendum and amid furore over NHS failings, she announced in our parliament that she would “never shirk her sacred responsibility to the NHS” (your report, 4 December).

Such phrases are either cliched and, hence, worthless apart from the attention they grab; a sign that the First Minister is taking on a high priestly role so perhaps, after accruing another couple of sacred responsibilities, there will be enough of them to fill a couple of tablets of stone and then we will be guaranteed they will be fulfilled.

Or perhaps it is a sign that it is time the First Minister lets some of her ministers get on with doing the job that we have been paying them to do for eight years.

(Dr) Alan Rodger

Clairmont Gardens

Glasgow

So Nicola Sturgeon is criticising the UK Government for its austerity measures.

Is this the same Nicola Sturgeon whose party will not provide enough money to allow councils properly to fund services such as schools (remember the SNP manifesto pledge to reduce primary class sizes to 18?), libraries, sports facilities etc and which will not allow an increase in council tax to fund these services?

No one enjoys paying taxes but buying votes at the expense of, in many cases, the most needy members of our society, flies in the face of her claim to stand for social justice and equality.

If ever anyone needed an example of political double standards they could do a lot worse than study Miss Sturgeon’s record.

Alastair Gentleman

Linlithgow