Why not let marches go ahead, but without the music?

I totally agree with the decision of Glasgow City Council on the basis it is for the greater good of the Glasgow public.

However, there is a right enshrined in European law that people can march to protest/demonstrate and display whatever beliefs they may have, political, religious, gender equality or inequality, whatever.

All perfectly reasonable!

What is not perfectly reasonable is the sectarian music (singing and shouting) that accompanies these parades. Ban all music at these parades/demonstrations, which is the principal source of sectarianism the public have to endure.

When Uefa and Fifa can instruct football clubs to close off 3000 seats at their stadium, or stadiums are closed, even have games played behind closed doors, because of sectarian singing and other similar offences, why not ban all and any music at these parades which are producing the same sectarian offence?

No flutes, drums, accordions, whistles, in fact anything that produces music, and that includes protestors singing. It is exactly the same as if I was walking down a road on my own or with a few friends singing The Sash or The Soldier’s Song or any other sectarian song –

I would be arrested and charged with breach of the peace. If the law applies equally to all then it should also apply equally in the circumstance of these sectarian parades. Time to ban the music that fuels this poison on both sides.

Jim Todd

Cumbernauld

SCOTRAIL’S poor performance has seen the Scottish Government stating that it is ready to take over the franchise as an “operator of last resort”. While on the face of it this may appear to be a good move, it is one that will have the Unionist opposition rubbing their hands with glee. All their Christmasess will come at once if this goes through, and for good reason.

Scotrail’s performance is not anticipated to improve for a considerable period of time. Every single incident on Scotland’s railway will be used to bash the SNP, day in, day out; and there will be no shortage of incidents to choose from. The SNP will have to box clever if they are to come out of this unscathed. While they may rightly be able to point to the significant amount of delay which is caused or exacerbated by Network Rail, the travelling public generally doesn’t see that distinction. When you are thrown off a train halfway through your journey and told that there may be a replacement bus service to take you forward at an unspecified time, it doesn’t help to be told that it’s the fault of the infrastructure operator.

Scotrail’s policy in recent years has been focused on service recovery, and this has been to the detriment of the actual passengers. You as an individual don’t count. What matters is their performance targets. If the Scottish Government is serious about taking on the franchise then it must reverse Scotrail’s policy and ensure the priority must be getting those passengers who are disrupted to their destination as quickly as possible. Scotrail’s lack of spare rolling stock and staff does not help matters.

Network Rail’s undermanning of response teams and cuts to maintenance teams is also a critical factor in increasing the amount of delay generated each time there is an infrastructure incident; and even though they must make sure that if Network Rail is responsible it is highlighted, they must still ensure that their response is to manage it better, not simply to finger point and demand more powers.

One final word of caution. If the Scottish Government take on the role of rail operator then any future franchise must remain in house. To give the franchise back to the private sector would be seen by many as re-privatising the railway. This would give a huge boost to our opponents who would not only be able to point to the SNP’s failure to manage delay, but at their willingness to offload their responsibilities to the private sector at the first opportunity. That must not happen.

Joan McNiven

Cumbernauld

FURTHER to your story regarding information on the picture in which reader David Mitchell asks readers to help, I can be of some assistance (Help us solve this SNP mystery, September 12).

I was fortunate enough to archive a lot of Hugh MacDonald’s pictures and memories. In his collection there was a copy of the said photograph. I also noticed that on the reverse side Hugh had written down a few names, so I decided to scan that as well. From memory, it was from Bo’ness. I also have a press clipping from Linlithgowshire Journal & Gazette, December 1961.

I can make these available for your reader if he wishes.

James Glass

via email

CAN I ask Dave McEwan Hill (Letters, September 12) to put the boot on the other foot. If England is dragged back into the EC against its wishes, partly by the actions of Scotland, where will his friendly and accommodating neighbourliness be then?

Ian Richmond

Dumfries and Galloway