Readers' Letters: Why Swinney might be wise to order inquiry into SNP finances

One can understand why, as the stench of corruption grows ever stronger. However, the First Minister should be very careful as to what he wishes for. If the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster decides to hold an inquiry, they have the powers to insist on attendance by witnesses who are called to appear.

This Committee has far sharper teeth than anything that Holyrood could come up with and the thought that both the First Minister and predecessor Nicola Sturgeon would be called to appear must be very tempting for this committee.

Richard Allison, Edinburgh

Fore Scotland

Here is a suggestion for Jenny Gilruth, Scotland’s hapless Finance Secretary. Tax all foreign-owned golf courses in Scotland at 25 per cent of their turnover. Rich people and their assets can move themselves and their assets abroad to avoid taxes, but land cannot be moved. Alternatively, let foreign-owned golf courses hand over 20 per cent of their equity every year for five years.

It is iniquitous that foreigners can earn money from ownership of Scottish land and send the proceeds abroad, thus diminishing our national income.

Colin McAllister, St Andrews, Fife

Grounded

I read Kenny Linn's letter, “Focus On Growth”, in Friday's Scotsman with some interest. This August with be my 20th year in Canada – this time. I've lived here in three different spells. Between the first and second spell I worked in Saudi Arabia.

I first moved to Canada way back in 1981, flying initially from Glasgow Airport.

I had to come back to Scotland for a funeral last month. Landing at Glasgow Airport I noticed there is still no railway connection from Glasgow city centre (or anywhere else) to the airport.

What is the problem?

Andy Morrissey, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, Canada

Take the risk

Fusion – as the name suggests – is getting atoms to fuse together. It apparently results in many times the power of fission. But we have had fission for nearly 100 years and it is a proven and safe process that could power the world for free.

No doubt the green brigade will ban fusion on the grounds that it is more dangerous than fission, because the basic truth that the advance of life carries risk no longer seems acceptable.

Flying – for example – has its spectacular accidents, but is statistically safe per capita, so the risk is accepted. Knowledge and experience continue to reduce that risk.

Same with driving, and rail. Risk and its casualties are an accepted part of progress and all this consideration for future generations is nonsense. It is their job to take over risk management until it reaches an acceptable level in its sphere, and allows them to progress as we have.

Probably to interplanetary travel in their case as – for whatever reason – they become obliged to colonise the universe in order to preserve and progress human life.

Malcolm Parkin, Kinnesswood, Kinross-shire

Read the signs

The internal woes of the SNP seem to have successfully deflected attention from far graver issues. Literacy levels have dropped, and the Covid generation are suffering - all on the watch of a First Minister who claimed to be a 'great reader'. But to be a great reader, you have to be able to read.

There was evidence from war-time evacuations of the effects on children's learning. As a volunteer adult literacy tutor in the early 1970s, I remember meeting some of those affected; often intelligent people who had missed critical stages in their education, and felt shame at their lack of literacy. The dinner lady who couldn't read TV programmes or write to her brother in Australia, but gave me some super recipes verbally; the dedicated social worker who had never learned the difference between a noun and a verb and was having to write reports as social work 'professionalised'. A colleague helped a long-distance lorry driver who could read road numbers but not destinations with long names.

Over the years, I have been very aware of the ways people have tried to disguise their inability to read; the missing spectacles, the lost letters.

As far as I can discover Scotland does not even have a national volunteer scheme to help with children's literacy. The Scottish government I campaigned for had a mission to improve education and health. Let us hope it will waken up to the needs of our children. Literacy and numeracy are essential life skills. In a harsh economic climate, those who do not have them will face a very unequal future.

I count myself fortunate that I had no break in my education. My chosen career as a librarian and book indexer brought great job satisfaction. I enjoyed also serving as a city councillor for 13 years. However, I was always proud to be a librarian; much less so to be a politician.

Moyra Forrest

Edinburgh

Seeking peace

Reader Andrew Turnbull's interesting letter (“Soft on Israel?”) in Saturday's Scotsman is completely one-sided.

He talks of the United States arming Israel yet has amnesia over Iran arming a number of belligerent organisations. Worse than that, he accuses Israel of not seeking diplomatic solutions.

This has been proved demonstrably wrong, even just in the last few days, as the Israel/Lebanon peace deal was rejected outright by Hezbollah. The key to Middle East peace is to remove the influence of the current Iranian government. Israel always seeks peace, Iran doesn't.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

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