Letters: Scotland is a more divided and intolerant society

Just the other day, while waiting at various junctions at one of the city’s universities, I saw multiple cars run red lights, one after the other, as if the rules no longer applied. This is a daily occurrence at notorious spots like High Street, George Street, and Duke Street, where drivers consistently ignore red lights with little fear of consequence.

I have contacted Police Scotland on a few occasions over the past three years to raise my concerns, but was met with the baffling response that only one offender had been caught at these locations. This statement flies in the face of reality as I know hundreds of vehicles violate these laws every day, yet there is a woefully inadequate response to the problem.

Police Scotland’s lack of meaningful deterrent has allowed a culture of lawlessness to take root. Why is it that so many drivers feel emboldened to run red lights with impunity? Either the system is not catching enough offenders, or those caught are not being sufficiently penalised to change behaviour. 

Whatever the reason, it is obvious that the current approach is not working. Cyclists, too, have adopted this attitude of impunity. Many regularly ignore pedestrian crossings, weave dangerously through traffic, and run red lights as if the laws were optional. Pedestrians are left vulnerable, dodging both cars and bicycles in what feels like an increasingly lawless environment.

But this behaviour extends far beyond the roads. It reflects a noticeable selfishness that has taken root in society over the past decade, in particular. 

Whether it is throwing litter away rather than using bins, pavement parking that blocks access for prams and wheelchairs, or able-bodied individuals shamelessly using disabled bays without a blue badge, the lack of consideration for others has become pervasive.

Responsibility for this decline is mainly on the individual, but Police Scotland must do more to enforce laws. Local councils must actively address issues such as littering, illegal parking, and public safety on the streets. Most importantly, the Scottish Government must prioritise the enforcement of public order over political distractions such as independence. 

The 2014 referendum has, in many ways, deepened divisions in society, with an increasing focus on constitutional debates rather than addressing the pressing everyday concerns that affect our communities.

Only through a combined and concerted effort can we restore respect for the law and create a safer, more considerate society before it simply becomes too late.
Richard Brown, Glasgow.

Read more letters:

• The Better Together empty promises robbed us of hope
• David Cameron's stupidity nearly cost us the Union
• Things might've been very different if we knew more in 2014

Dismal lack of political integrity
I HAVE admired Kevin McKenna’s writing for some time. He is straightforward, open and frank in his views. Saturday’s column (“‘Scots had independence in their grasp but SNP blew it’”, September 14) was no different and I agree with much of what he wrote.

As he led me through his last ten years and more of monitoring the SNP administration‘s ‘development’, what I was most struck by was his telling of the exchange he had with Kevin Pringle, the SNP communications chief at that time in 2015, when the SNP had just returned 57 MPs.

On offering his congratulations on the SNP achievement to Mr Pringle, Mr McKenna suggested that it might only be a matter of time until independence was achieved. Mr Pringle’s response in hindsight was rather chilling yet prophetic: “I don’t know an awful lot about some of these people….”

The article went on to describe the mess that many of “these [57] people” and other more established politicians made of the wave of the optimism and enthusiasm of 2015. Above all, this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make the most of that platform was gradually squandered.

That single comment of Mr Pringle made me stop to consider what checks and balances, what selection processes and what life experience did these 57 new MPs have to equip them for representing their constituents and, indeed, the overall case for independence? 

Much of the above could as easily be applied to Holyrood. How many sitting Westminster MPs could the average man in the street in Scotland have named before the last general election – and, for that matter, could name those who sit in Holyrood ?

The ideology, the politics, of a movement have to be managed by genuine honest adherents to the cause. Self-serving, selfishly motivated, controlling egos have no place in politics. Unfortunately, as Kevin McKenna points out so poignantly, our major political party in Scotland of the past 15 years has fallen victim to these most damaging traits. The fruits of this are there for all to see now in the face of police investigations and legal actions being threatened against the Scottish government.

So although I may not always agree with all of what Kevin McKenna writes, he has highlighted for me that there may be good in all/any political ideologies, but at the end of the day success comes down to the calibre and integrity of the people who drive the policies, which is sadly lacking across the political spectrum of the UK.
Colin Allison, Blairgowrie.

Echo of the grim days under Thatcher
THE Herald’s front page last Friday – “ An act of industrial vandalism” – made sobering reading for many of us who lived through the Thatcher era in this country. During that time we witnessed the death of Gartcosh and Ravenscraig and the deindustrialisation of most of Scotland’s manufacturing base. The announcement of the proposed closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery is a sad instance of  déja-vu.

It was with this thought in mind that I almost fell off my chair when I read the latest attack on Scottish independence from the pen of Jill Stephenson (“Cameron’s stupidity in 2012 nearly cost us the Union”, letters, September 13).

Ms Stephenson’s hatred of the thought of Scottish independence is well known but it seems that she may have allowed this to cloud and colour her memory somewhat with regard to what actually did take place during the referendum campaign.

She accused Alex Salmond of spreading a “tissue of lies” during the campaign, yet the absence of any single fact or example to support her assertion was noticeable. It is a fact that the biggest lie told during the campaign came from the Better Together camp when it said that if Scotland wanted to stay inside the EU, we would have to vote against independence. I wonder what happened to that?

Ms Stephenson also stated that if Cameron had acted appropriately Scotland “would have been spared the miseries of the past 10 years”. Yet again she provided absolutely not a single fact or example to support this. I would gently point out to her that during these past 10 years Scotland has been dragged out of the EU against its will and endured many years of austerity imposed by Westminster governments, led by a series of the most incompetent Tory prime ministers in UK history, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss being the absolute worst.

The proposed closure of Grangemouth is a recurrence of what took place during the Thatcher years. At that point many Scots began to realise that when the really important decisions that affected their lives were being taken, they were being taken in London and not in Scotland.

The recovery of the SNP’s fortunes during the 1980s stemmed from that realisation. What is currently happening at Grangemouth is not lost on many of us.

Ms Stephenson may think that independence “is off the table for the foreseeable future”. My message to her is that although the tide may have ebbed for independence in July, tides always come back in. The next one may be quite rapid.
Jim Finlayson, Banchory.

Where’s my coat, Lord Alli?
ANY chance Keir Starmer could send me Lord Alli’s address? His Lordship might look favourably on sending me a free winter coat if he had any dosh left after clothing Keir’s wife, Victoria. It’s going to be Baltic this winter with no heating allowance .
Michael Watson, Rutherglen.

Who would want to meet the Greens?
I NOTE (September 16) your online article, “Scottish Greens co-leaders told to resign over cash for access claims”. Would it not be amusement enough that some people or organisations actually paid the £700 to meet Mr Harvie or Ms Slater? “Green” would be one word for that.
Kenneth Reid, Edinburgh.