Allowing drink into grounds would increase violence around football

Scottish Government data from 2017 revealed that “of the 377 charges, 373 (99%) involved a male accused”. Let there be no mistake: we are talking about male violence, and we endure more than enough of that in our society.

I believe it is a form of reverse classism to invoke rugby in this debate. While it is true that rugby generally sees less violence and crime associated with it, the writer's use of rugby as an example stems from a perception that it is a middle-class sport. People from all walks of life attend a variety of sporting events, and it is disingenuous to attempt to frame this as a matter of class oppression.

Frankly, we already witness enough violence and disorder in Glasgow city centre, even with the current ban in place. Mr Fowler's wish to introduce more alcohol into the equation is quite staggering. We already see an alarming amount of violence and destruction linked to football; surely it won’t kill anyone to wait 90 minutes until their next drink?

Gemma Clark, Paisley.

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Questions over school problems

NEIL Mackay addresses the rise in numbers of "special needs" children in schools and associated problems of violence and its management ("Will it take a calamity before violence in schools is tackled?", The Herald, October 8). His column raises several issues.

First, it is clear that more resources are required in schools to tackle the concerns he raises. But in a context where every organisation in the country is crying out for more resources, where is the money going to come from?

Second, he indicates that the rise in the last 10 years of the number of children with additional support needs now amounts to over a third of the mainstream school roll. Really? This seems to be a category with ever-expanding boundaries as more and more diagnostic terms proliferate and come under this amorphous umbrella. Give it another 10 years and much of the school roll will be included.

Third, I find it astonishing that nowhere in the column is the matter of parental responsibility addressed where issues of behaviour management are concerned. Increasingly, it seems, schools and their staff are expected to deal with wider societal problems, many of which would in the past have been dealt with within the home and family, though it's important to acknowledge that families also are under severe pressure.

I hope that Mr Mackay can address some of these matters in a future column.

Dr Angus Macmillan, Dumfries.

Miliband's folly

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has initiated three projects costing £22 billion which will capture 2% of the UK's CO2 emissions and store them under the North Sea and Liverpool Bay. This must rank as one of the worst wastes of public money ever conceived by a UK government, a government which removed winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners to help fill in a supposed £20bn black hole.

Mr Miliband, who has no scientific or engineering qualifications whatsoever - his one job outside politics a year working for Channel 4 - intends to increase the number of solar farms three-fold, double the number of onshore wind farms, and increase by four-fold the number of sea wind farms, while closing all gas-fired power stations by 2030, and all nuclear power stations bar one by 2028. The problem with the intermittent power of wind and solar is that it is very difficult to maintain the Grid at 50Hz, and if this is not done it will go down.

While turbines of coal and gas generators provide stable power, wind and solar do not. Incredibly, one scheme already under way to stabilise this brave new unstable grid and to minimise blackouts is to build over 100 giant flywheels each weighing hundreds of tons placed around the country and driven by giant lithium batteries. What could possibly go wrong?

William Loneskie, Lauder.

Edinburgh's advantage

IAN Szymanski (Letters, October 8) suggest that the lack of development at Glasgow Airport relative to Edinburgh Airport may be caused by unfair financial incentives and perhaps even its proximity to Holyrood.

The actual reasons are accidental and geographical: both Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport grew out of military airfields, Turnhouse in the case of Edinburgh, and Abbotsinch with Renfrew in the case of Glasgow.

That all three airfields happened to be on the west side of their respective cities meant that Edinburgh Airport was relatively closer to other major towns like Stirling, Perth, and Dundee, while Glasgow's situation meant that it was necessary to traverse Glasgow city to get there; it takes almost as long to get from some parts of the east of Glasgow and Motherwell to Glasgow Airport as it does to Edinburgh by road, maybe even longer at certain times of the day.

John Jamieson, Ayr.

Ed Miliband (Image: PA)

Hospices must be backed

YOUR article "Hospices relying more on charity" (The Herald, October 7) prompts me to suggest that perhaps those who so vehemently protest against assisted dying could direct some of their fervour towards persuading the Government to provide adequate financial support to hospices which are projected to have a £60 million shortfall this year. A first-class palliative care service is vital.

Mrs Merle Slater, Edinburgh.

Thrilling times

IN today's edition, I read that the Easdale Brothers are thrilled ("Easdales buy land in upmarket village for housing") and that Robin McBurnie is absolutely thrilled ("Accountant giant set to move into plush city centre office", both The Herald, October 8).

I look forward to reading soon of a businessman who is elated or even ecstatic.

All is not doom and gloom after all.

David Miller, Milngavie.