Readers' Letters: Time to put Scotland's baby boxes to bed?

But is it right that she's so excited? Baby boxes cost nearly £9 million every year across Scotland, and sadly, there's negligible evidence in a reduction in infant mortality rates, as Nicola Sturgeon believed would happen.

Undoubtedly, some hard-pressed expectant parents will find the box's contents useful. However, many who receive it will already have a home jam-packed with baby clothes, toys and related paraphernalia, often provided by generous friends and relatives. So is this universal benefit really a good use of taxpayer cash at a time the SNP Holyrood administration insists it's having to make tough spending choices?

Wouldn't it be better for John Swinney and colleagues to target according to need rather than arguably wasting public funds on this universal giveaway? Or doesn't the SNP really care as long as it attracts a handful of extra votes?

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Roxburghshire

Too many MSPs

Why is it that Scotland needs to have “Regional” MSPs at Holyrood who are not elected by any voting constituent and therefore represent no-one other than themselves?

Surely Scotland has enough pundits in Holyrood coming from the Civil Service and the many special advisors and quangos appointed?

The current policy seems a total waste of taxpayer money. At the last count there were 56 regional MSPs in Holyrood, doing precisely what, no-one knows, but drawing a salary that would be the envy of many.

A case in point is Patrick Harvie, whom I understand has been an unelected politician for more than 15 years while contributing nothing whatsoever to the wellbeing of Scotland and its people.

Surely it is past time to stop this silly charade and simply return to the constituency basis alone for election to parliament. Surely it remains the case that the primary role of an MSP is to represent the constituents who elected him or her and reflect the majority points of view. That is democracy. The Regional “List” system has little to do with democracy and more to do with jobs for the boys and girls and the financial rewards that such appointments bring.

Derek Farmer, Anstruther, Fife

Spend wisely

I see that our national treasure, sorry, national treasurer Rachel Reeves is expected to announce changes that will allow the billions locked up in pension funds to be released for spending on projects that will benefit the country.

If the thought that this government get involved in any way with the investment of this money doesn’t fill you with trepidation and horror just consider that lurking in their recent past was the good idea of huge pay increases to civil servants and others while pensioners just over the income level to claim additional support that would help them through winter were savaged.

If money invested in pension funds is allowed to be invested in projects that would benefit the country then a guaranteed rate of interest for the term of the loan has to be in place. In addition, there has to be clear understanding of the expected outcome for the investment. No vague comments of benefit to the UK’s standing in the world but cold, hard investing in infrastructure that will be of use to protect the country from outside influences, for a start.

I understand that planning agreements for earlier wind turbine locations were granted for a defined period – 25 years springs to mind – but these will now be up renewal and it is opportunities such as these that could be used to take back control for the benefit of us all.

The one thing that must not happen is that any government has control over how this money is distributed and invested.

Just think how the SNP used the windfall from recent seabed leases, if you need convincing.

A Lewis, Coylton, Ayrshire

Election autopsy

The political pundits are mustering their forces to identify how Kamala Harris went from being slightly ahead in the US presidential election polls to losing by a landslide.

Evidence suggests that Donald Trump won because he focused on the economy and illegal immigrants, the things that matter to many Americans, while Kamala spoke about culture and abortion.

The Vice President also had to cope with the fact that she only had 100 days to hone her plan and put it into practice, and it would not have been very sensible to disagree with any of Joe Biden's policies which were already in law.

She also thought that she could win the African-American and female votes, but was wrong.

In the end Donald Trump won the election, but Kamala Harris definitely lost it, which allowed Trump to win by a landslide.

James Macintyre, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Trumped

The election of Donald Trump was achieved by a disenfranchised public, poor campaigning by the Democrats and multiple lies by the Trump machine. What does that remind you of? Of course, Brexit.

Let us hope the same situation of the realisation that Brexit was a disaster will come about by the mid-term in America.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has a corrupted Supreme Court to assist in his autocratic quest.

Ian Smith, Troon, South Ayrshire

Lavvying up

Highland Councillors are proposing a visitor levy, and consultation, which will inevitably damage our already beleaguered hotels and B&Bs, and discourage homegrown “Staycationers” with yet another tax.

They have consistently encouraged hugely damaging wind farms, completely wrecking our greatest tourist asset – our glorious Highland scenery – to supposedly save the planet, yet won’t spend a penny to save the pan!

Ever wondered what the “NC” in the much-vaunted NC500 stands for? Answer – No Convenience 500! Communities in the North have been so starved of cash by Central Belt SNP politicians there is hardly a public toilet remaining open on our number one tourist route.

Surely it is time the entirely parasitic wind industry, with their obscene level of subsidies, stumped up and handed back what is effectively our own cash.

This could be used to prioritise pothole repairs, road improvements and essential services such as toilets, car parks, campsites, and so on. Just compensation for our tourist industry in total desperation, and blessed relief all round. Legs crossed.

We do not need a tourist levy. We need a tourist lavvie!

George Herraghty, Lhanbryde, Moray

Climate clues

Apart from the fact Baku in Azerbaijan, the COP29 conference host and chair, relies on oil and gas for almost half its GDP, and has little incentive to support many proposals, three other recent events should provoke a reality check and rethink of UK – and Scotland's – “just transition” strategy.

The first is the tragic Spanish floods, which could have been mitigated by better warning systems and damage limitation procedures, and possibly prevented if the area's gorges that enable water run-off hadn't been “rewilded” and choked with vegetation, and Spain's previous strategy of dam building to produce electricity and manage floodwater hadn't stopped. Especially if construction of a dam to protect Valencia hadn't been cancelled in 2004.

Even if Spain's 0.7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions was zero, without investment in “resilience” measures such as dams this disaster would still have happened.

The same is true of the UK where the estimated cost of global warming to the economy is currently 1.1 per cent of GDP (£33 billion) per year but only around £1bn is spent on, for example, flood and erosion defences .

This leads to my second “event”: at 4pm on 5 November only 4 per cent of UK electricity was provided by renewables, meaning 63 per cent had to come from gas.

My third “event” is – you’ve guessed it – Donald Trump's opposition to the Paris Agreement and, I suspect, a collective sigh of relief from many western democracies looking for a lead to enable them to roll back on their unachievable commitments

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

History lessons

I have long drawn inspiration from the past for the future of humanity, as suggested by Roman Krznaric about matters small, medium and large (Scottish Life, 11 November).

Regarding matters large, even in the last couple of millennia and broadly within the confines of Europe and the West, you find that when it comes to dominant economic systems, slavery was replaced by feudalism, which was replaced by capitalism, which is now becoming increasingly volatile and threatening ecological catastrophe.

Regarding dominant political powers, the Dutch Empire was replaced by the British Empire, which was replaced by the US hegemony, and now the US is in turbulent decline and on a trajectory to be replaced.

I could go on, but in short, as Karl Marx said, “all that is solid melts into air”. It seems that unless all of history is wrong neither capitalism or the US hegemony are forever.

We just need to do better the next time. Perhaps the most fundamental inspiration from the past is that history never stops.

Stewart Sweeney, Adelaide, South Australia

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