Government must now act to crack down on social media

Is it any wonder that the UK has just been subject to some of the worst multiple rioting by extreme right-wing thugs that we have seen in a generation? Without doubt much of the responsibility for this has clearly to be laid at the door of social media given their actions (and inactions) in accepting such postings in the first place. Indeed if Facebook is anything to go by, by not only willingly accepting the postings of such virulent racist content but refusing to remove it when requested, they could be deemed to be complicit in the subsequent behaviours of others. I’ll bet The Herald would not have contemplated carriing such content.

Some 90 years ago, it was German Jews who were subjected to the continuous virulent anti-Semitic outpourings of the era and specifically from the infamous publication of the time, Der Sturmer. This media had unfettered licence to publish as it liked. Not only did this encourage Nazi thugs to attack and beat up Jews but inexorably led to their mass murder and extermination. And this included many of my own very close relatives.

I suggest that there are significant parallels between these most recent of our events and those of the Nazi era.

Whereas the courts are now meting out significant sentences to many of the direct perpetrators of the riots, and rightly so, we cannot afford to ignore those organs which must share some culpability. Their impact should not be underestimated. However, it is obvious that social media has singularly failed to self-regulate. It therefore becomes an imperative for Government to now legislate and regulate acceptable social media standards and codes, this analogous to that of current media and broadcasting.

To not so do is a recipe for future and more dangerous confrontations.

Ian Fulton, Clarkston.

READ MORE: Enough is enough: time to crack down on the rioters

READ MORE: The right have had enough. It's time to expose the far left

READ MORE: The British have shown once again that they have a backbone

A two-tier justice system

TWO sets of “fanatics” are processed through the criminal justice system.

One set has been involved in peaceful protest. No violence was used, no vile invective hurled at police and no one injured.

However, they caused massive disruption in the south-east of England, bringing traffic to a standstill on the M25.

The second set have been involved in brutal thuggery, assaulting police and one is convicted of arson into the bargain. In the riot in which they were involved, police suffered a variety of injuries including a broken jaw and lost teeth having had bricks and other missiles hurled at them. Many police are suffering from panic attacks as a result of these riots, we are told.

One set received sentences of between four and five years, the other between 20 months and three years.

Any reasonable person when asked would have assumed that the heavier sentences were meted out to the thugs involved in Southport. Of course, they would be wrong.

The Just Stop Oil protesters received the heavier sentences for the M25 demo.

So it seems that, if you engage in peaceful protest for a cause that has the proof of science behind it which says that we are going to climate Hell in a handcart unless governments do more on emissions, this is deserving of more punishment than the stirring up of hate, the vilification of ethnic minorities and generally causing violent mayhem in a grieving community.

So, a two-tier justice system then.

But of course, as we know, the courts and Establishment are presided over by liberal lefties (for the benefit of your EDL readership, that is an example of irony).

So what more can we expect?

William Thomson, Denny.

Talking sense on 'free' benefits

IT was very refreshing to read Andy Maciver's piece last Friday, "Time to get real on 'free' benefits" (The Herald, August 2) and the fact that they all cost money, which the UK and/or Scottish governments can't afford and shouldn't really be spending without raising taxes - but how many votes would that win? The recent sensible decision to make the winter fuel payments available to only those who need them is a perfect example of the sort of sensible correction needed.

While it's unfortunately very rare to read such common sense these days, there was one glaring error in my view. Irrespective of what Mr Maciver thinks all politicians believe, the only way the pensions triple lock is or will ever become "intergenerationally unfair" is in the event that it is now halted or watered down, thus preventing future pensioners (and the current younger generations) from receiving the same benefit.

Tom Bryson, Cambuslang.

Population worries

NATIONAL Records of Scotland (NRS) has recently issued data showing that the number of births registered in Scotland in 2023 is the lowest since records began in 1855 (“Scots baby births hit record low”, The Herald, July 31). I am surprised that there has been little reaction to this.

Life expectancy has increased very significantly over recent generations. A person born at the end of the Second World War on average could expect to live to the age of 64: the equivalent figure for someone born now is 81 years of age. It is stated that, for a population to replace itself, the fertility rate must be 2.1; NRS reports that, in Scotland, it is currently 1.3. Very serious implications arise from the fact that people are living longer while the fertility rate is the lowest ever recorded.

The proportion of the population who are older and who tend to be more reliant on the state for support in areas such as health and social care is increasing; the proportion of economically active people and the tax revenue they generate is reducing. Something has to give.

Yet politicians of all parties seem oblivious to this situation. Policies to extend the range of “free” services (from bus travel, through prescriptions to health and social care) and the triple lock on the state pension appeal to the grey vote. Revenue is required to fund these policies but raising tax levels for a reducing number of taxpayers is not a sustainable approach to generating these funds.

It would be good to see debate on this critically important issue. To face up to the situation requires joined-up thinking across a whole range of policies encompassing economic growth, taxation, health and social welfare, employment, immigration and housing. It means politicians moving beyond their comfortable slogans and familiar rhetoric and engaging honestly with the electorate. They should aim to build a consensus towards the difficult decisions which, inevitably, will have to be made.

George Rennie, Inverness.

The Just Stop Oil protest on the M25 in in November, 2022, for which sentences of four and five years were handed down (Image: Getty)

Time to ease tenement rules

WHEN 40 per cent of Scotland’s homes are tenements, it’s concerning that stringent access requirements hold back this vital housing type from important upgrade opportunities (“SNP members urge ministers to reduce obstacles on tenements”, The Herald, August 7) Many of the same challenges identified around solar panel provision also apply to the installation of full fibre broadband in tenements. Most notable is the need to secure written agreement from every flat-owner to put new equipment in communal areas. Anyone who lives in a tenement will understand the challenge of simply identifying every owner on the stair, let alone securing 100 per cent agreement for decisions like this.

Moving to a majority approach to consent to access would make a huge difference in overcoming some of the barriers to modern living tenement residents can face. If we are truly to have 21st century tenements, and avoid a new digital divide, we must urgently consider how access can be reformed, to make sure tenement tenants and homeowners have equal access to the best connectivity and sustainability options in the market.

Robert Thorburn, Partnership Director, Openreach Scotland, Glasgow.

When words don't really matter

HOW much do words really matter?

If Liam McArthur's Assisted Dying Bill is passed and I have a terminal illness I may choose to make use of its provisions. Whether the process is termed "assisted dying", or "assisted suicide" or "legalised euthanasia" is irrelevant ("‘We quibble over words; assisted dying is really legalised euthanasia’", The Herald, August 5, and Letters, August 8).

The intentions of the bill are clear to any literate person.

David Campbell McInroy, Kirkintilloch.

Glasgow's slippery slope

GLAGOW'S present “slippery slope” is set to continue, it seems.

Our 2018 Art School trauma’s aftermath now results in the proposed loss of the old Regal cinema’s Art Deco façade (“Historic ABC cinema building in Glasgow is et to be demolished”, The Herald, August 8).

Bridge Street has recently witnessed the fall of the 1876 India Building, and one of Oswald Street’s originals may be about to follow suit.Yet another scar is about to blight Sauchiehall Street as a further jewel in her crown is consigned to history. Could there be an inspired future, for the site, perhaps, with a cinema-orientated slant?

Surely worth a thought. Anything to reverse our current trend.

Brian D Henderson, Glasgow.

Going the extra mile

I'M sure many readers will have enjoyed watching the Olympics over the past couple of weeks and would like to congratulate all who have participated, and not just those who have won medals.

The British team has done well to secure 14 golds and 52 in total at the time of writing. However, recent letters (July 27, 30 and 31) debating the pros and cons of imperial versus metric measures, made me wonder if some of our athletes could have been even more successful had former UK distances been used, rather than metres?

Having watched GB's race favourites edged out so narrowly from securing Olympic gold medals for the 400 and 1500 metres, could Matthew Hudson-Smith have won the equivalent 440 yards event or Josh Kerr the mile? Sadly not, as my calculator tells me they are 2.3 and 109.3 metres longer, respectively. So, instead of silver, they might have slipped to bronze position instead. On reflection, I think we should stick with the metric system.

David Bruce, Troon.