Readers Letters: King trying to appease Trump would be waste of time

I doubt it. Mr Trump is so fickle that while he will enjoy the prestige of His Majesty's attendance, rest assured that in a week or so it will be business as usual – America first and devil take the hindmost.

This is a president who wrote, referring to the Prime Minister's refusal to join his war against Iran: “We don't need people that join Wars (sic) after we've already won”, preceding that by the ominous remark "but we will remember". Does the King really need to be put in a position of having to appease this dangerous and vengeful man?

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire

Unsafe ‘safeguards’

Liam McArthur claims his Assisted Dying Bill is “more heavily safeguarded than any assisted dying bill anywhere in the world” (“Assisted dying Scotland: MSPs poised to ‘wrestle with their conscience’ with crunch vote on knife-edge”,11 March).

This is not true. The law in Victoria, Australia contains more safeguards, for example, prohibiting doctors from raising the subject with patients and restricting provision of the lethal drug to medical professionals rather than registered nurses.

Other jurisdictions also have safeguards not in the bill, for example, the Netherland requires a medically trained professional to be present when the person dies and has a comprehensive system of review boards.

Most striking of all, there are no conscience safeguards at all in the McArthur bill, as these have been stripped out and it is uncertain what the scope of future protections (in a Section 104 order) might contain. Even before the conscience provisions were removed these were weaker than comparable laws in the United States, most of which do not require doctors to provide information about assisted dying, and all of which have more detailed and more robust protections for institutions such as hospices and care homes than was present in the earlier version of the McArthur bill.

In short, this bill is not more “safeguarded” than other laws of this kind and neither should MSPs be confident that the safeguards that are included (like the six-months prognosis) will remain once the law has been passed. What we are seeing in Australia and New Zealand, jurisdictions McArthur has cited repeatedly, is that safeguards that were conceded to get the bill passed were afterwards labelled “barriers to access” and are now being abandoned. The “safeguards” in this bill are not safe.

(Prof) David Albert Jones, Professor of Bioethics, St Mary's University, Twickenham

Terminal only

The Scotsman published an article (10 March) on the currently debated assisted dying bill and highlighted the opinions of a woman who argued against its proposals.

She recounted her own experiences after a devastating spinal injury, when she felt she wished to end her life but subsequently changed her mind while undergoing treatment. The point of her argument was that people with severe disabilities may be inappropriately “self-coerced”.

However, this argument in her case has no bearing as it is clear that only persons with a terminal Illness would be considered within the terms of the proposed bill. Disabling injuries would not qualify unless they had a terminal diagnosis.

I understand some people will never be reconciled to the intentions of the proposed bill for moral, religious or practical reasons of their own. I accept this. But The Scotsman has a responsibility to report the facts clearly so that everybody can set their opinions based on truth rather than disinformation and emotion.

David Morris, Dalkeith, Midlothian

Water charge

I received my updated water charge bill with my council tax demand and was astonished to see that the water and sewerage charge for my Band G home now exceeds £1,000 a year. An astonishing amount, and because of the way Scottish Water charges metered water, there would be very little saving by moving to a meter.

We often hear about the beauty of Scotland’s public water, but all too often it is held to a lower standard than privatised water companies in England – particularly around discharges where we seem tolerant, whereas protests against private water companies in England are frequent and loud, and justified. We Scots seem much more tolerant of failures in the public sector than taxpayers and customers elsewhere in the UK.

A few years ago I lived in Berwick-upon-Tweed, where all new homes had to have a water meter fitted. My bill, albeit in a Band D home, was less than £250 a year.

Furthermore, the water meter undoubtedly made me think about water usage, whether it was frequency of washing dishes, my car or watering the garden.

We now see water shortages in Scotland, and more frequently than ever was the case previously. Scottish Water needs to urgently review its charges for water meters, encourage their installation, and just as must happen in England, fix the leaks as far too much water that has been through an expensive process of collection and cleaning simply ends up being lost.

Let’s encourage reduction in demand – it’s better for the environment and much less costly than creating more capacity only for it to ‘go down the drain’ thanks to leaks.

Get your act together, Scottish Water! Apparently, we own you – but it most certainly doesn’t feel that way.

Brian Barbour, Haddington, East Lothian

Push electric

The Scotsman reports that Edmund King, president of the AA, has urged motorists not to take “non-essential” journeys because fuel prices will rise (10 March).

His concern for the average motorist's running costs is touching, but it’s a matter for them. However, Mr King seems to have overlooked the fact that drivers of electric cars are unaffected by fuel prices and so do not have to worry about the rising price of fuel. Why doesn't he urge greater use of electric cars?

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

A vote for all

Historically I suppose Scotland has always had leanings towards being an independent country. From our history books we have learned about the struggles of William Wallace and Robert Bruce to achieve such an objective.

But just how much of their effort was in vain, and from a purely economic point of view, how successful would it have been in any case? I realise just how unpatriotic this must seem, but one has to be realistic.

The SNP has emerged in modern Scotland as a political force for a somewhat outdated cause, thinking that the UK north of Hadrian's Wall should become a state in its own right.

But surely the rest of the folks of the UK must have some say in any proposal to break up the 300+ year old United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It most certainly is not just a matter for consideration by the people of Scotland alone.

Just how much thought has been given to Scotland's future as a separate state, politically, economically and from a defence point of view? Precious little I would suggest!

Robert I G Scott, Ceres, Fife

It’s a nightmare

It is like a nightmare when a restful sleep would be far better: the SNP's showcase project, the Glen Sannox ferry, needs £3.2 million of repairs after only one year in service (your report, 10 March).

If the SNP win in May's election it will be less than one year before repairs are needed all over Scotland, not just its ferries, and the costs will be enormous. The ferry saga mirrors the tale of the SNP – promising much but delivering a lot less, and with a big price tag. The big question now is will Scottish voters wake up before, or after, the election?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Keeping Mum

Mother's Day has come around again, to make children of all ages feel obliged to present their mothers with cards and gifts, no matter how well or otherwise those mothers treated them when they were children. I’m a mother, but I told my adult children not to feel obliged to send me a card on the day. I know it’s not easy for children to opt out of this annual occasion, so whatever they want to do, I would respect their choice.

Mothering Sunday, as it was known in the UK of the 16th century, was originally a time when people returned to their “mother” church – the church or cathedral where they were baptised, or attended services when they were children. Religion no longer plays a part on the day for most people, and it’s just an excuse to have a good meal washed down with a few glasses of wine.

I’ll be quite happy to pour myself a glass of wine or two (not a whole bottle) on the day, and raise my glass to all women who deserve to be thanked for their mothering years, and who are quite happy to rest now that they’re “free”.

Or are they?

Carolyn Taylor, Broughty Ferry, Dundee

Modest dream

I can imagine few things more horrific than winning £181 million, as someone in the UK just has in some Euro lottery.

It would destroy the relative peace of mind it's taken me 67 years to achieve. I'd be quite happy with, say, £10m – enough to keep me in chocolate and gin, basically.

Steve Hayes, Leven, Fife

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