Central Belt thinks of the Highlands the way London thinks of Scotland

More often than not, Scotland is seen as a homogenous region from south of the Border, completely ignoring its size and diverse make up. The geographical size of the new Westminster Highland constituencies is simply of Gilbertian farce and shows just how out of touch Westminster really is. Two MPs are expected to cover the Highlands plus many dozens of islands, yet London with 73 MPs would fit into the Highlands 20 times over.

This does not let our Central Belt Scottish politicians off the hook; they are equally myopic thinking of the Highlands as one great cohesive area. The Highlands and islands comprise 33% of Scotland and 11.4% of Great Britain. They are 10 times larger than Luxembourg, 20% larger than Wales, and nearly the size of Belgium. There will have to be different solutions for separate Highland areas.

There are those who, however well intentioned, resort to political speak. The Herald articles have highlighted numerous issues, especially on the west coast and island communities. The Inverness and Cromarty Freeport plan was highlighted in one of the articles by Calum Macpherson ("Freeport aims to 'reverse alarming decline' in Highlands workforce", heraldscotland, February 3) who said: “It is an unprecedented opportunity to reverse the alarming decline in the working age population of the Highlands”. This new Freeport is to be centred on relatively prosperous Inverness and Cromarty some 24 miles distant. I cannot see how this will help the badly-connected west coast and far-flung island communities at all and is another classic example of “one shoe fits all”.

Hopefully your articles will lead to some action beyond talking a good game.

Alan M Morris, Blanefield.

Read The New Highland Clearances series here

Local control is key

CONGRATULATIONS to Caroline Wilson and the Herald team on the excellent project highlighting many of the problems facing the Highlands.

I have been involved for five decades in isolated rural development and agree with many of the basics you identify; infrastructure of roads, rail, ferries and health care facilities for starters.

First, why has so much capital investment been spent in the east of the country: Edinburgh trams, the Queensferry Crossing, the V&A, Aberdeen bypass, Dualling the A9, the Cromarty Freeport and more while the A82 remains neglected, the Belford unbuilt, the ferries allowed to fall into a shambles amongst many unfunded West Coast projects?

Perhaps the centralisation of so much power to Edinburgh is a large part of the reason. I have been involved in various local community developments - village shop, healthcare, education - and with local control and joined-up thinking things can be done to ameliorate our problems. Ferries should be run from Ullapool, Oban and the Clyde with a unitary authority; community transport should be run locally and major investment should go into railways (rolling stock especially) and roads.

We encouraged holiday home owners to invest in our community enterprise in the 1980s (as they understood shared ownership) to support our community in saving our village shop which, supported by the HIDB with a pound for pound grant, was an amazingly successful way to fund a community allowing local employment and generating profits for community development (approximately a quarter of a million pounds over the past 40 years) which is all locally controlled.

We are a privileged community here but part of that is because we have created a coherent community. We do face problems: housing, lack of people to do jobs (hospitality staff, carers) and the inevitable ageing population. However we are an optimistic community and I think with more local control the Highlands could look to a brighter future where people can get work and bring up families in our wonderful land.

Please keep remembering us.

(Dr) Iain McNicol, Port Appin, Argyll.

Dorothy Bain KC (Image: free)

Changing jury verdict rules

LORD Advocate Dorothy Bain KC told Holyrood’s Justice Committee she had particular concerns over the proposal to switch from a simple majority verdict to a two-thirds verdict ("Lord Advocate 'concerned' over SNP plan to reduce jury size", The Herald, January 31. However, perhaps we should all be concerned, not over the proposal for a two-thirds majority verdict, but over the absurdity of the current simple majority verdict as noted by Lord Matthews.

How can a verdict of guilty be “beyond reasonable doubt” when almost half the jurors (seven out of 15) clearly do have doubts? The current not proven verdict does make some sense under that simple majority arrangement, as a way for juries to avoid a verdict of guilty by a single vote. However, the way forward should surely be a verdict somewhere between the proposed two-thirds majority and unanimity, with any other result producing a verdict of not guilty.

After all, where guilt has not been established beyond reasonable doubt, it is surely better that some possibly guilty people retain the presumption of innocence than that a single innocent person is convicted. As for retrials, since 2011 they have been possible under three narrow exceptions to double jeopardy, and that should be sufficient.

David A Collins, Cupar.

Read more: Don't blame SNP: UK and Brexit have worsened Highlands' ills

Waxing Lyrical

WHAT an evocative item on the Lyric Theatre of 100 years ago, courtesy of your "Past and Present" feature (The Herald, February 2).

The curtain fell, eventually, as the YMCA, around the early 1960s, I think; but as the Royalty, vintage 1879, rose with popular comedian JL Toole.

Surreal to think that Sauchiehall Street boasted the Royalty/Lyric, north-side, and the Gaiety (1874), Empire Palace (1897), and Empire (1931), south-side. Indeed, March celebrates 150 years since the Gaiety first night: the Apple Blossoms players, the first scent of success at Glasgow’s best “little bandbox”. Gone, now; but not forgotten.

Brian D Henderson, Glasgow.