Readers' Letters: Don't light up the sky with any standard of fireworks

The way in which the public think about fireworks should change. No longer should they be seen as something to be enjoyed – though a vicarious, fleeting and doubtful pleasure it is and then only to some, not all.

Instead they should be seen for what they are: they are wasteful, they cause noise and air pollution, they cause flashbacks to our veterans, and they terrorise animals domestic and wild. The next step should be, as The Scotsman editorial of 31 October suggests, a complete ban on selling fireworks to the general public.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire

Having a Laffer

I can’t let Jamie Livingstone of Oxfam’s cry to “tax the rich” pass without pointing out the economic naivety of his assumptions (Letters, 31 October).

I applaud the work his and other charities do, but what he is suggesting would create more inequality, not less, by reducing funding available for both charities and public services. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, no country has ever taxed its way to growth. There is ample evidence globally to confirm that when taxes rise to a level those targeted feel is unfair, behaviour changes. Just ask the 17,000 High Net Worth people who have left the UK since Labour came to power, and taken their enormous tax contributions with them why they left.

This is basic economics. Sadly, the reset needed on taxes doesn’t play to the messaging of those in power both north and south of the Border, who are presiding over a stagnating economy with out of control public spending and no real plan to encourage the growth we badly need.

Mr Laffer and his famous curve hold the solution...

John Hall, Archerfield, East Lothian

Farage foolishness

Despite the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa and the assertions by scientists that it was made much worse by human-emitted fossil fuel carbon dioxide, on social media people are putting up clips of record snowfall in Iceland “proving” global warming is all a “con”. They confuse weather with climate change. It seems that the latter is not a problem because Donald Trump says it's a hoax.

What has Nigel Farage got to say? He says he doesn't trust the scientists. Is this because he doesn't understand the science, or is it because thanks to the wonderful scientific invention of the internet he can spread lies and misinformation against results of science without understanding them?

What is he going to say to British farmers when they get hit with a worse drought next year than the one they've already had?

H Belda, Edinburgh

Whose fault?

Judith Campbell makes an impassioned plea for an end to the Israeli military action in Gaza (Letters, 31 October). Does she ever consider why it is happening and how it could be ended? Since 1948 Israel has been under constant bombardment by its neighbours, culminating in the atrocity of October 2023 – should it not defend itself? All it wants to do is live peacefully with its neighbours, following their religion, just as as they do.

Perhaps if the neighbouring countries were to stop supporting people such as Hamas, the peace she seeks could be gained.

Charles Lowson, Fareham, Hants

Failing peace

When does a ceasefire cease to be a ceasefire? The two related answers are “Gaza and the West Bank”, where atrocities are being committed. In defiance of any possibility of a Palestinian State, Israeli settlers are establishing permanent homes in the West Bank, under the name "Judea and Samaria”.

The bulk of Israelis long for peace, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far right government is simply paying it lip service. US President Donald Trump's 20-phase peace plan for the region seems to be stuck in the groove of Phase One.

It all feels like the calm before the storm. Even now, over 100 Gazans have been killed, including far too many women and children, some of them by starvation, while aid is being withheld.

Donald Trump himself, with his famously short attention span, seems to have lost interest. Phase One of his peace plan was seen to be the easy part, prior to going on to the far more challenging Phase Two. The pressure on Israel and Hamas, which was applied on October 10, has eased, hopefully, not beyond recall.

Otherwise the outlook is, indeed, bleak.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Harsh voice

Jill Stephenson goes on a Halloween rant about why Scots are so ready to “take offence especially when there is little cause to do so” (Letters, 31 October). This followed my letter of 29 October which stated the fact that the Director of BBC Scotland did not, and to date has not, come forward for questions about feedback from 65,000 viewers from Scotland responding to a BBC questionnaire when asked to respond by a BBC Scotland reporter.

Ms Stephenson was referring to the fact I had stated, referring to a key finding from a BBC Scotland questionnaire, that no newsreaders with Scots accents have appeared on flagship national news programmes in over 50 years. This Ms Stephenson did not dispute, but she reeled off names of Scots, many going back several years, who have appeared on the BBC during which time there must have been thousands from across the UK.

She appeared to find my point offensive, however, to the extent that she felt it had cause to “disparage people from other parts of these Islands”. I find that deeply disappointing, having moved here from England and having many friends and colleagues from across the UK and beyond. I am shocked by her use of language and the unfounded assumptions she has made. It is her, not me, taking offence when she has no cause to do so, and if she had read my letter properly she may have come to a different conclusion.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

We need to talk

Nigel Farage while running UKIP, the predecessor of Reform UK, proclaimed that Brexit would make us better off and enable the UK to take control of its borders. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar stated before the last General Election that the Labour Party would deliver “change”, with public services improved and the “cost of living” made more affordable (helped by £300 off of our energy bills).

To me they are both snake-oil salesmen who have been exposed, as it’s clear that Britain is broken economically, devolution is failing and no amount of vitriol aimed at immigrants or the SNP will fix a corrupt system of UK governance that is essentially undemocratic.

Those who are honest and serious about finding a way forward that progresses the ambitions of the people of all of the nations of these islands should back a call for a citizens’ convention to debate Scotland’s constitutional future, along the lines of the convention chaired by Canon Kenyon Wright prior to devolution. Whether independence or federalism or increased powers for the Scottish Parliament, such as the legal authority to conduct a constitutional referendum, is preferred must be a choice for the sovereign people of Scotland and they/we must be able to determine their/our future destiny.

In the meantime those who do not have a clear view of the way forward for the UK and who may be thinking of voting for either London-controlled Reform UK, or London-controlled Labour, should question why the numbers of boats crossing the channel have increased exponentially since Brexit and why, with Labour in power in the Welsh Parliament since devolution and now also in power at Westminster, the people of Caerphilly (who have voted for Labour for 100 years) voted for Plaid Cymru by a ratio of more than 4:1.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

It’s a start...

The belated measures taken by “Charles Mountbatten-Windsor” against his disgraced brother probably have less to do with justice or “doing the right thing” and more to do with self preservation in the face of dwindling support for the monarchy, with its obscene level of inherited wealth and privilege.

We have now seen that it is possible to strip someone in the monarchy of all titles, honours and privileges and then move him out of his palatial home. When can we begin to repeat this action with the rest so that we can begin to build a future for an independent Scotland based on social justice and equitable outcomes for all, not just those who by an accident of birth consider themselves entitled to privileges that others can never attain?

Ni Holmes, St Andrews, Fife

Gift of love

Laurels to The Scotsman for shedding a light on the altruistic acts of donating organs to save lives and assuage human suffering (your report, 31 October).

We are all human beings, with emotions, feelings, fears, anxieties, dreams and aspirations. We should put ourselves in others' places and empathise with them and make sacrifices without expecting any favour in return.

Donating organs to save human lives and soothe their predicament exemplifies humanity, stoicism, understanding, intrepidity, compassion, kindness, generosity and fraternity; all are pillars of a resilient society.

(Dr) Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London, United Kingdom

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