Letters: Thank goodness for Gordon Brown

Any group less resembling desperados it is hard to imagine. It seems that in the mind of Mr McKenna all Labour politicians are by definition wrong and their words never to be taken seriously. Just to take one of his many misinterpretations of what was said: telling the world that “Scotland is not really a country”. That was the exact opposite of what all five speakers were saying. The group’s title implies there is a way forward that seeks the maximum devolution of powers to Scotland, giving not taking away Scotland’s identity.

Mark Drakeford was insistent that all the nations and regions of the UK are very poorly served by our highly-centralised model for government, which Labour has to admit has been the model for both of the large parties at Westminster. We can certainly see here in Scotland the damaging affect of the SNP’s equally-centralised system of governance.

The strength of the speakers’ argument was in the wish to decentralise as much power as possible away from both Westminster and Holyrood, and make local decision-making the key to a renewed democracy across the whole of the UK.

It has become increasingly obvious that our current models of government, north and south of the Border, are broken; examples of injustice and incompetence reach us almost daily. I, for one, am grateful for Gordon Brown’s commission, and others who are already working on realistic solutions.

The Edinburgh meeting, far from denying Scottish identity, was treating Scotland and all its people with respect. Some regions and nations that make up the UK have a clearer sense of identity than others, and we can be proud that the two nations, Scotland and Wales are leading the way.

Sarah Pennie, Castle Douglas.

Progressing human rights? Really?

IN his Diary, Kevin McKenna tells of an organisation with a “quack gender ideology” being refused access to Catholic schools. He doesn't go into details about the ideology, but expresses happiness that “at least one sector of our education system is keeping the lights of true progressiveness on”.

Mr McKenna is obviously talking about the Catholic education sector, which is run by the Catholic Church. I can think of several sectors of society who will be confused at the thought of the Catholic Church progressing their human rights.

Douglas Morton, Lanark.

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There is no point to the DRS

WITH the Deposit Return Scheme now being delayed until October 2025, this is the ideal time to ask whether there is any point to it?

Local councils provide every household in Scotland with a partitioned waste service and commercial waste companies enforce waste partitioning and recycling on every business in the country. Why then should we have to pay a deposit and return cans and bottles to the retailer, when we can recycle them just as well at home or at work?

At one time milk and carbonated drinks came in glass bottles which were returned to be cleaned and refilled. Dairies and drinks companies stopped doing this because it was uneconomic. Without this refilling of bottles by the supplier, there is no logic to returning them to the retailer.

The scheme puts substantial costs on businesses, which they will inevitably pass on to consumers.

And we now learn that the recycled glass is likely to end up as low-value material being used in roads.

It would appear that the only point to the Deposit Return Scheme is to allow the Greens and other narcissistic politicians to give the impression of taking recycling seriously. The scheme should be cancelled.

Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife.

SNP must be ruing Greens alliance

THERE are many reasons why support for the SNP is crashing but the utter shambles and chaos over the Deposit Return Schme has got to be a significant factor.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater has bungled her way through the introduction of the scheme and has finally conceded defeat. The SNP will be regretting the day it formed a coalition with the Greens as it sees support dwindling fast.

Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.

Money could be better spent

I WAS intrigued to hear the First Minister talk about the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow. He waxed lyrical about the benefits to the residents and those who visit the city on a daily basis or come to enjoy shopping, sightseeing and socialising.

What about the other problems that need more urgent assistance than this? The obesity, drinking, poverty and drug problems for example? I would hope that more could be done to stop these deaths as many more people suffer from those circumstances than from vehicle fumes. Our nation's death rates from these are still amongst the highest in Europe.

The only thing done for the drinking problem is that we who are responsible drinkers suffer from the minimum pricing policy and the deaths are still soaring amongst those who choose to make this their lifestyle as they are not willing to stop drinking but would rather stop eating and paying their bills.

The money poured into a failing shipbuilding yard that has botched the ferries contracts on more than one occasion could be better spent on the health of the nation.

John Russell, Airdrie.

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Think again on McArthur bill

IAIN McIntyre (Letters, June 4) takes to task the influence of Professor Jones’s religious beliefs without seriously addressing his arguments (Letters, May 28). After mocking his discussions on “God and angels” Mr McIntyre introduces his own specious belief – that ingesting poison with the intent to die is not suicide if the person has fewer than six months to live.

For someone who apparently follows “academic, scientific and medical analysis”, Mr McIntyre also seems to believe – with no evidence – that there is substance to Liam McArthur’s phrase “in the process of dying”. I’m sorry to inform Mr McIntyre and his fellow mystics that we are all “in the process of dying”. There is no magic line, in terms of suffering or disease, to be drawn between those with six months to live and all others.

Scots need to have less faith in Mr McArthur's unrealistic legislative proposal and look at evidence. In Canada the results of legalising death as medical treatment have steadily expanded from those few terrible cases where someone is suffering at the end of life to those with many more than six months to live but who suffer from poverty, homelessness, or disability. Or they might look to the Netherlands, where eight people have been euthanised solely because of autism and learning disabilities, or Belgium, where it is extended to children and those who are mentally ill. In every nation where legalised "assisted dying" has been in place for some time, the remit has expanded well beyond those who are terminally ill.

It is very easy to mock people’s religious beliefs (though I notice few of these secular warriors attack Islamic opposition to assisted suicide). It makes the whole discussion on assisted suicide simple. The reality is more complex than that.

We ask the people of Scotland to think again on this vital issue.

Professor Kevin Yuill, CEO Humanists Against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, Mildenhall, Suffolk.

Other causes of greenhouse gases

CLIMATE scientists, those on the climate gravy train, politicians, eco-demonstrators and Uncle Tom Cobley and all keep telling us that mankind must reduce greenhouse gases or we will fry. Why do they not disclose how many greenhouse gases are created by wars and conflicts across the globe and the greenhouse gases created in rebuilding the devastated countries? Why do they never disclose the greenhouse gases created by Mother Nature? Hurricanes, typhoons, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, monsoons, tornadoes and wildfires all have a huge carbon footprint.

There are other huge elephants in the room. Why do they not disclose the greenhouse gases from sporting events? Why do they not disclose the greenhouse gases from the entertainment and music industries? All this yet the UK believes that EVs, heat pumps, no gas cookers and fewer sheep and cattle will save the planet. Meanwhile, whilst the UK is heading for bankruptcy, most of the world is burning fossil fuels and have no intention of stopping.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.