Readers' letters: Upgrade Edinburgh City Bypass before building a second tram line

Recently the city council announced that a consultation exercise would take place relating to the routing of a second tram line in Edinburgh. This remains a vanity project for some members of the transport committee and continues to ignore the cost implications at a time of scarce finance .

Sooner rather than later traffic volume on the bypass will see standing traffic as the norm on a daily basis. Priority, and a sense of urgency, should be focused on the upgrading of Sheriffhall juction before the city bypass becomes completely inadequate for the purpose for which it was intended.

Edinburgh can survive without a second tram line, but not an effective bypass.

Derek Stevenson, Edinburgh

Information age

Could the current obsession with artificial intelligence be blinding us to other problems of finding facts in our information society?

Think of the websites with out-of-date information; there are even some which do not include essential information. If you suspect something should be there, it's always worth checking in person or by other means.

Common sense is always useful. I've derived vast amusement from one social media site which managed to look at my profile and decide there was an ideal job on offer as an art and design tutor. Surely the terms librarian and book indexer are self-explanatory? And the word 'retired' just might have indicated this one wasn't even job hunting?

In the year when we celebrate 100 years of our National Library, it's worth remembering what libraries are and what librarians do. Libraries are collections and repositories of information in many formats; librarians are trained to assess, organise, retrieve and deliver trusted information. So why, oh why are we cutting back on school libraries? What an indictment of the SNP’s governance of Scotland. Council tax freezes, and insufficient central government funding have led to impossible strains on local government budgets.

As I sit at my desk, I take daily inspiration from the words of Albert Einstein on the postcard above it: “The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” In our modern world, that does not mean a physical building alone, but the wondrous wealth of digital information worldwide. Learning to navigate it should be an essential part of the education system.

Moyra Forrest, Edinburgh

Notable difference

As in previous years, The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland distinguished itself during a sell-out concert In Berlin's Konzerthaus. The audience response was impressive.

The same programme had been performed in Scotland during the previous week where the audience was similarly appreciative, but sadly hugely depleted in numbers.

I wish I could explain this discrepancy.

David Rimer, Edinburgh

Ballantine blame

It was heartbreaking to read that 40 jobs have been lost at the long-established Ballantine Castings foundry in Bo’ness (Scotsman, 9 August). The reason given was “increasing energy costs”. Courtesy of Ed Miliband and his journey to net zero, British industry now pays the highest electricity prices in Europe. These won’t be the first redundancies caused by Green zealotry, nor, tragically, will they be the last.

The Scottish Government can also take a share of the credit for this closure, thanks to its rejection of nuclear power and an ongoing obsession with wind turbines.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Peace plan

Trump is meeting Putin in Alaska. Perhaps he can give Russia back Alaska in return for a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine?

Colin McAllister, St Andrews, Fife

Demo dismay

The number of arrests at Saturday's Palestine Action demo, rose from an initial 365 to over 400, before settling on 522 . What exactly is their “crime”, if not “showing support for Palestine”? The Palestinians, from where I’m standing, deserve all the support they can get.

I have some sympathy for the vast numbers of the police, enlisted to make these arrests, legally for “acts of terrorism”. This law is an ass, right enough. Many of those arrested were pensioners in their 70s or even a few 80-year-olds.

Meanwhile, a much more raucous demonstration took place in Tel Aviv, protesting against the Israeli government’s escalating actions in Gaza.

Forgotten in all this is the plight of the Israeli hostages, captured in the horrors of October 7. Benjamin Netanyahu bears some responsibility for allowing that massacre to happen on his watch. One way or another, he has a lot to answer for, not least to the increasingly restive Israelis themselves. The Hague awaits.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Right to protest

More than 400 people are arrested at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action. Whatever happened to our right to protest and to organise protests? This right is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Our right to freedom of expression is protected under Article 10 of the ECHR. Our right to freedom of assembly is protected under Article 11.

Doug Clark, Currie, Edinburgh

Enviable option

Marketing gurus preach the need for a brand name to capture the driving spirit of an organisation or product. Perhaps a suitable choice for Jeremy Corbyn’s new party would be Envy. We might then look forward to a future alliance known as Green with Envy.

It is to be hoped that Jeremy’s party will attract defections of Labour supporters and MPs who favour rapid expansion of the welfare budget. This could free Sir Keir’s party to pursue a more balanced economic course. At the same time it would expose Labour to vote splitting, which has such crippling effect under the first-past-the-post voting system. But this is also an opportunity: Labour has the parliamentary time and majority to introduce a proportional or a preference voting system which would avoid this. There is a happy combination of means and motive for reform.

That is sufficient basis for me to wish Mr Corbyn success in preparing his party for the next general election. I will even moderate my naming suggestion from Envy to Resentment.

John Riseley, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Economic reality

The unfolding financial collapse under Starmer's Labour government is predictably leading to more calls for wealth redistribution, and demands to tax the rich.

To illustrate the folly of that policy, I have made my argument reductio ad absurdum. Assuming a UK population of 69 million, for every millionaire whose wealth is redistributed, everyone in the UK would receive £1.45. Useless. For every billionaire, the sum would be £14.90. A packet of cigarettes and that's it. A once-only payment. No more. Ever. The billionaire can only be destroyed once. What then? The investments the billionaire might have made will not now happen. The businesses he/she might have started, the jobs that might have been created, all gone.

The rebellions by Labour backbenchers over winter fuel and PIP have demonstrated beyond any reasonable argument that they neither know nor care about economic reality. Starmer and Reeves have tried to rein back the UK's out-of-control spending, but they have been defeated by the ignorance of their own MPs. Economic reality dictates that wealth requires investment, and investment requires wealth. As the saying goes, you have to speculate to accumulate. Very few people on benefits start businesses. If the rich are taxed out of existence, investment collapses, and with it the economy.

Graham M McLeod, Kinross, Perth & Kinross

Scottish cringe

It is sad to see the “Scottish cringe” so prominent amongst contributors to the Scotsman’s letters page, with some correspondents making it clear they would like to see the Holyrood parliament abolished!

Why are so many of us so "feart” at the prospect of taking control of our own affairs?

It really would be enlightening if some of those who constantly denigrate the Scottish Government and the SNP could outline what they perceive to be the benefits of Westminster rule over the past five years or so. Boris Johnson’s contracts for cronies and Partygate? Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget which cost the economy around £30 billion? The massive overspend on the HS2 project? Sir Keir Starmer promising change but instead enacting more Tory policies than the Tories? Liz Kendall’s attack on disabled people’s benefits? The UK Government prioritising weapons expenditure over welfare spend? Labour refusing to scrap the two- child benefit cap despite soaring child povert? Rocketing energy costs? I think we are entitled to know.

Alan Woodcock, Dundee

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