Letters: It's time SNP owned up and stopped hiding behind Calmac

The real problems with the Clyde and islands ferry service are not operational, they are strategic. A succession of SNP transport ministers, including the current First Minister, have failed to provide that strategic vision, resulting in the current series of failings and island protests. The SNP did introduce a subsidy for ferry journeys, but then never planned the increased ferry tonnage to meet the resultant increased demand. When it tried to do so, as at Ferguson's of Port Glasgow, the result was, and still is, disaster and calamity.

Instead of CalMac being the constant fall guy for these strategic Scottish Government failings, isn't it time for SNP ministers and SNP MSPs with islands and ferry routes in their constituencies to take the blame and to provide a loud, heartfelt and sincere mea culpa to the islands, their residents and ferry users generally?

Alex Gallagher, Largs.

• THE public have been invited to name the new ferry (“Ferry owner launches name contest”, The Herald, August 3, and Letters, August 4). I suggest "Isle 8". When mouthed a few times you will no doubt understand most of the problems facing CalMac.

Robert Andrew Jenkins, Giffnock.

Keir Hardie would vote SNP

PRINCIPLED Labour Party supporters of the recent past will have the opportunity in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election (UK Parliament constituency) to demonstrate that their votes, and the votes of Scottish voters, must not be taken for granted by Tony Blair’s political disciple, Sir Keir Starmer.

They will have a choice either to vote for a party that has moved so far to the right that most Tory Party supporters in this constituency will happily now vote Labour, or to remain true to their socialist principles and vote for a left-of-centre party that is genuinely committed to egalitarianism and to ending child poverty while also espousing the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future.

If he were alive today it is obvious which party Keir Hardie would vote for and it would not be the current Labour Party, regardless of the disingenuous sound bites of the ever-smirking Scottish branch manager.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry.

Read more: Sir Iain Livingstone: 'Sooner SNP probe ends, the better for everyone'

A timely end to police probe?

I HEARTILY agree with the outgoing Chief Constable ("Police chief in call over SNP cash probe", The Herald, August 4) when he says that the sooner the investigation into the SNP's finances is done, "the better for everyone involved". Unfortunately, Sir Iain Livingstone could not say when the investigation would be complete, or even give a hint as to the timescale; after the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election perhaps? Or maybe after the upcoming General Election?

I note that the BBC has cleared its broadcaster Fiona Bruce from bias for opening an edition of Question Time by declaring that the SNP had "gone off the rails", claiming that "the SNP had publicly acknowledged the severity of the difficulties it faced" ("Bruce cleared of bias for saying the SNP had ‘come off the rails’", The Herald, August 4). The other side of that coin is that the party had also welcomed hundreds of new members within the same period, but Ms Bruce made no mention of that.

Finally, I must refer to Kathleen Nutt's Politics Unspun article, in which she comments on two photographs taken of the SNP and Labour candidates campaigning at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election ("Campaign pictures that hinted at sea change in mood of rival parties", The Herald, August 4). Ms Nutt tells us that when his photo was taken the Labour candidate was smiling, while the SNP candidate wasn't smiling in hers. Ms Nutt admits that there are other photographs of the SNP candidate in which she looks happy, but mysteriously, she pitches on the one in which Katy Loudon wasn't smiling and gives it some peculiar significance. (Memo to all the by-election candidates; from now until election day, smile until your jaw aches.) I sincerely hope that this non-story is not a sample of the way in which this by-election is going to be reported.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

There are growing calls for a publicly-owned bus service in Glasgow and elsewhere (Image: Newsquest)

Solving city transport problem

BETWEEN them, Catriona Stewart ("Cyclists will hope better road relations are a legacy of UCI", The Herald, August 4) and Roz Foyer ("It’s time to stop asking nicely - and take back control of our buses", The Herald, August 4), have the solution to travelling around cities such as Glasgow.

Driving in cities is stressful, leading to poor decision-making and there just isn't the space for us all to drive a car in town, so we need a better solution. A good, publicly-owned bus service with cheap, or even free, fares for all, would take the stress out of driving and remove the hassle of trying to find a parking place for those who currently feel there is no alternative but to drive.

It would also make our streets less congested and thus safer for people to cycle for their daily commute or getting to the shops. Wins all round.

Patricia Ford, Glasgow.

Back to the future?

ONCE again Catriona Stewart has been given almost half a page of The Herald to attempt to take us back almost a century regarding transport.

As a middle-aged man, I have neither the health, fitness nor inclination to resort to a push bike to get to work or go shopping. I am appalled that Glasgow's roads are cratered with potholes, while fortunes are spent on largely-unused cycle lanes.

Every time I see deliveries by pedal bike, I am reminded of the old Hovis bread advert of the young boy pushing his bike up a hill. I am no supporter of Rishi Sunak, but he is 100% correct about the war on motorists.

M Carr, Glasgow.

Read more: It makes no sense to vote Labour at this by-election

Short-changing football fans

MATTHEW Lindsay’s special report on persistent time-wasting at the highest levels of Scottish football ("SPFL urged to crack down on the players 'cheating the punters'", Herald Sport, August 2) highlighted one of the reasons why I regrettably now think twice about going to games as regularly as I used to.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson made a similar point last year when he drew attention to a statistic that the ball is in play in our top leagues for only 50% of the regulation 90-plus minutes per game. What both he and Matthew Lindsay failed to note, however, is that as well as persistent cheating, the players as a group will often make as many as four errors (misplaced passes, poor ball control, inaccurate dead ball deliveries, off-target attempts at goal, dispossessions and so on per minute of actual playing time. Is it any wonder that BBC Sportscene producers often find it difficult to put together a five-minute highlights package for some matches? Forty-five minutes of actual play with four mistakes made per minute. Are supporters being short-changed? Isn’t the inferior standard of play as much to blame as deliberate time-wasting?

Of course, going to a football match is about an awful lot more that just getting value for money based on what happens on the pitch; the tradition of meeting up with your mates and enjoying a couple of post-match pints can be every bit as important as the football itself. However this is becoming increasingly uncomfortable due to games being played in stadiums that seem to have become safe spaces for some of those around you to hurl the kind of abuse at players and officials that would surely get them arrested if they did a similar thing to staff in their local Marks & Spencer; don’t clubs and the SFA have a duty of care to their employees?

Clubs are clearly aware that there’s a cultural issue since most now dedicate one part of their grounds to families who don’t want to witness the poorest behaviours. Now, I enjoy a spot of profanity as much as the next man but I prefer to restrict my sweary outbursts to when I’m watching The One Show on the BBC in the comfort of my own home.

So, Mr Lindsay is right: cheating and time-wasting are indeed issues for the football authorities to deal with but, if we want to keep punters attending matches without them feeling short-changed, coaches and managers must address the multitude of mistakes players are repeatedly making … that’s if they know how. And, for decency's sake, clubs should begin to make efforts to rid grounds of some of the worst nonsense that goes on in the three stands not reserved for families.

I often go to Scotstoun to watch Glasgow Warriors now rather than New Love Street to support St Mirren. No need for a segregated family stand there. For whatever reason, rugby fans have adopted the policy of moderating their language and abuse is something that is very rarely experienced. Some football fans have much to learn in this regard.

Kenny Gow, Lochwinnoch.

A seat of earning

IT'S funny how an article in the paper, for example, Russell Leadbetter's terrific story of the Rolling Stones concert in the Chantinghall Hotel ("'This was my first and last beat concert. From now on I will stick to organising jazz dances'", The Herald, July 31) which prompted a response from Hugh Phillips (Letters, August 3), can bring other things to mind.

I was reminded of something I had long forgotten. In 1963 as a first-year apprentice painter and decorator, I was working at a nightclub in Hamilton; I think it was called the Trocadero or similar.

My first job in the morning after arrival was to go round all the fitted banquette seats to stick my hand down to find any loose change left behind by last night's dancers.

This usually resulted in about 10 bob (50p) which was enough for me to go and bring pies, rolls and cakes for the squad of painters.

Needless to say the poking around also resulted in somewhat less appealing items which I won't go into here.

Brendan Keenan, Glasgow.