HOW desperate must the relatively poor become before the relatively wealthy in the UK take serious note and admit that it is irreparably broken; morally, democratically and economically?

While the UK joins the US in arming an Israeli government that appears intent on obliterating any presence of Palestinians from Palestinian lands, the UK Government attempts to deny refugees with a legal right to come to the UK entry to the UK.

While Donald Trump maintains that as US president he had the right to do as he pleased, even to the extent of fomenting insurrection, the UK Government attempted to prorogue Parliament and is overriding the judgment of the UK Supreme Court trying to declare Rwanda a “safe country”.

While victims of the Post Office scandal, recipients of infected blood and Windrush sufferers have been allowed to die before justice has been served, never mind appropriate compensation paid, the establishment political parties continue to reward donors and cronies with disproportionate influence, favourable contracts and even elevation to the still-burgeoning House of Lords.

While the UK advocates democracy internationally, the people of Scotland are denied a democratic path to self-determination and are compelled to be governed by politicians representing another country without their own Parliament even having a voice in major decisions affecting all of the UK, such as with Brexit.

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While the UK “wealth gap” becomes increasingly obscene, food bank numbers explode, more people are condemned to homelessness in towns as well as in cities (many now verging on bankruptcy) and relative poverty continues to rise in supposedly one of the wealthiest states on the planet.

While interest on the colossal debt the UK Government has accumulated is currently costing around £300 million per day (and even a drastically shortened HS2 has just seen the estimated cost of the London to Birmingham section rise by another £10 billion), some in Scotland seem more concerned with the fact that an SNP Scottish Government has spent £150,000 on a series of papers informing the Scottish public on how Scotland could progress as an independent country.

Of course, there are those who are intent on distracting from the UK’s now dire straits but surely there must be a better way for the peoples of these islands to have their distinctive views properly represented while working to achieve higher levels of egalitarianism, social justice, wellbeing and prosperity in a more climate-considerate world.

Stan Grodynski

Longniddry, East Lothian

A CLEAR pattern has emerged over the quarter-century since devolution, of the Scottish Government making many and varied good calls where Westminster governments of the ruling English-focused administrations have got things catastrophically wrong – from resisting privatisation where possible to early correct calls on international horrors such as Gaza.

From not voting for Brexit or Boris Johnson to having a more humane attitude to migrants, the Scottish people seem endowed with more common sense.

No Scottish minister enriched their pals to the tune of £60 million for unfit PPE during Covid. Unlike Gavin Williamson – no Scottish minister told any hapless civil servant to “slit [their] throat”. And, as far as we know – no Scottish ministers are fantasising about deporting desperate people to Rwanda and spending £240m for no result in the process.

When is this going to be reflected in the deafening London-centric media? Don’t worry – that was a rhetorical question ...

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh

SO Labour’s big plan for Scotland is to amalgamate the regional health boards from 14 down to three – what an utterly useless idea.

There may be some merit in reducing the number but such a drastic change would have negative impacts, especially on those in rural areas.

Argyll and Clyde health board was abolished in 2006 and that has seen services in Renfrewshire play second fiddle to the Glasgow-based management of Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

This included ludicrous parking charges (hived off to a private company) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley following a decision made in the interests of Glasgow hospitals.

There has been little, if any, benefit for Renfrewshire residents from hiving off our previous health board to a Greater Glasgow model.

If this is what can happen in an area with a large urban population, think of the consequences for health services in rural areas where all the decisions will be made in Glasgow, Edinburgh and possibly Aberdeen!

There is an urgent need for greater accountability of each health board. I have serious concerns about the way health boards already act with regard to the joint health and social care boards – where all the emphasis on raising money and making cuts falls on local government.

Cllr Kenny MacLaren

Paisley

WHATEVER your position on Scottish independence, the Nicola Sturgeon-led SNP seemed at least reassuringly liberal and progressive.

In recent years, however, we have seen Kate Forbes, a leadership candidate, shamelessly proclaim her opposition to marriage equality and now First Minister Humza Yousaf is re-wooing the former support of Christian fundamentalist and well-known anti-gay campaigner Brian Souter.

We were prepared to excuse Yousaf when, a few years ago, he claimed to have missed the vote on marriage equality because he was too busy but this new accommodation for money is sad.

Neil Barber

Edinburgh

LIKE many of my friends I started this year depressed at the state of life in today’s world. Well, reading Sunday’s paper cheered me up no end! With columnists like Andrew Tickell, Alison Phipps, Ruth Wishart and Tommy Sheppard expressing what strikes me as sheer common sense, I am so grateful that these days we have a newspaper like this in Scotland. Thank You!

Catriona de Voil

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