Readers' Letters: Nicola Sturgeon is not criticised so robustly because she's a woman

What about, instead, her own admission that, for her, an independence referendum “transcends” oil, Brexit, and the economy?

How about her ceaseless obsession with the constitution, with a continual focus on manufacturing grievances with Westminster rather than concentrating on what was her job – managing Scotland's public services?

And what about the consequences of this? Despite the efforts of frontline professionals, after her years in power we're left with a desperately struggling NHS, a severely weakened education system (though she claimed it to be her “priority”), inadequate public transport, a dangerous A9 and ferry procurement so badly handled as to be risible.

And yet income tax grew to even higher levels than elsewhere in the UK on her watch, with negligible payback in terms of improvement in public services. Sturgeon was, and doubtless still is, big on virtue-signalling and poor on delivery. Take climate change as an example – ambitious targets set, invariably slightly more challenging than England's, yet proving to be unachievable.

McDermid is a hugely talented fiction author – I have a more than sneaking suspicion that she knows claiming Sturgeon is disliked because she's a woman is a piece of fiction too.

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Roxburghshire

Green giants?

There is an obvious vacuum within the political scene in Scotland. Members of the electorate are struggling to understand the ongoing influence of the Green Party within the Parliament. It is apparent that the SNP need their support to maintain a majority at Holyrood – but surely that does not mean they have to be subservient to the unelected Greens.

The Greens prescribe measures against motorists, and domestic heating systems, which simply turn a blind eye to reality. Just what a haphazard future awaits us with the SNP/Greens on the deposit scheme, gender recognition, Highly Protected Marine Areas and generally wasting money on further independence plans which have been on backburner mode for some considerable time now.

And then, of course, not only will we receive details of their exciting plans for Scotland in English, we will be informed in Gaelic as well. Do they really suppose that the 1 per cent or fewer of Scotland's population who are still able to converse in Gaelic have no English? May I dare to suggest that for most of the time they speak English anyway.

In any case, language in Scotland has been derived from many sources over the centuries, whether that be from Pictish, Welsh or P-Celtic, Norse or Anglo-Saxon – Gaelic or Q-Celtic was never the sole contributor.

It seems that my dear birthplace of Scotland has been usurped by a bunch of extremists whose sole purpose is to undermine the successful 300-year-old UK.

They do so without any measure of public support, in the knowledge, of course, that the next Holyrood elections are not scheduled until 7 May 2026.

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

Double standards

Struan Stevenson (Opinion, 16 April) argues that “Iran’s history of abusing civilised behaviour and international norms underscores the urgent need for decisive action”. This, presumably, justifies the use of our air force to shoot down Iran’s missiles and drones before they reach Israel. It appears that Mr Stevenson believes such an argument is sufficient for the UK to become involved in a far-off conflict which presents only limited risk to our way of life.

If so, why are we not applying this same logic and shooting down Russian missiles and drones flying over Ukrainian territory, killing the civilian population and destroying the country’s infrastructure? I think we all know that Russia’s aggressive territorial ambitions and disregard for international norms is the greater danger to our way of life and we and the rest of the so-called free world are shying away from such difficult decisions at our peril.

Alan Black, Edinburgh

US lapdogs

I cannot understand why Rishi Sunak, with Keir Starmer at his heels, is so determined to involve us in hostilities between Netanyahu’s Israel and Iran. Israel is neither an ally nor a friend, its treatment of Palestinians is the cause of most tension in the Middle East and it has given Iran ample reason to retaliate, most recently by destroying Iran’s consulate and those within it in Damascus.

Meanwhile we demonise Iran, which would present no threat to us if we did not seize any possible excuse to alienate its rulers and its people. In this, we present ourselves as no more than the lapdogs of the United States which, under Trump, unilaterally destroyed a working accommodation with the West.

Meanwhile, the Israelis carry on killing children in Gaza and the West’s attention moves away from the war which does matter to us, namely Ukraine’s resistance to Putin’s attack.

James Scott, Edinburgh

What influence?

When asked why the UK government does not ban Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, an MP questioner was told that proscribing the group would “lessen UK influence in Iran”. When I read that I almost choked on my morning coffee. May I ask the UK Government to what “UK influence in Iran” they are referring? Perhaps there was 50 years-plus in the past but at the moment it is negligible. Was the answer given some kind of a joke?

Our major allies have urged the UK to join the rest and show a united front against terror, even if only as a gesture and indication of intent. Why the hesitation?

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Firing poetry

It seems the green urban green elite have lost touch with those of us who live in the less affluent green rural environment.

For many, a wood stove and perhaps an old Rayburn are necessities, not luxuries. There is some pleasure in foraging for fallen branches to chop up and burn and which would give out exactly the same amount of CO2 if left to decay on the ground, albeit over a longer period. I also burn wood briquettes made from compressed sawdust waste from lumberyards and furniture factories. If not recycled as fuel, this would presumably go to landfill or be left to smoulder in vast wood waste bings, again emitting the same amount of CO2 for no practical purpose.

Wood-burners are perhaps not appropriate in urban centres, although recent attempts in Sweden to ban them resulted in “the wood stove uprising” and a subsequent repeal of the legislation.

A defence of wood-burning stoves might also be mounted on cultural and emotional grounds – how much more interesting are the flickering flames of a fire than any flickering images on a screen, and what profound reveries of the soul may be ignited by their contemplation. There is no poetry in a radiator.

In any case, the changing climate we endure in Scotland will not be affected one iota by any measures we impose – we produce 0.1 per cent of global CO2. It may salve our consciences and make us proud to be doing our bit.

All very praiseworthy, but what the climate throws at us is unfortunately determined by America, China, India and the like, who produce 99.9 per cent of world CO2 and that is, as yet, outwith Holyrood’s control.

John Scarlett, Gorebridge, Midlothian

Hot challenge

The recent correspondence regarding wood-burning stoves, sparked off by Mandy Cairns (Letters, 13 April), includes their negative aspects, such as smelling your neighbour’s smoke entering your home.

Wood is still today the standard fuel used for cooking using a Mogogo stove in Eritrea – the country in which I spent my childhood and where I returned to work in 2010. For centuries the Mogogo used to fill the single-roomed residence, a Tukul, with smoke. Today, in the markets in towns such as Keren, camels can be seen bringing in chopped wood and donkeys leaving carrying the wood to individual homes in the villages.

The problem of smoke was solved in the 1990s by Debesai Ghebrehiwet Andegergish, who developed a smokeless wood-burning Mogogo which collects all the smoke particles so the residents do not have to inhale them while they cook their food. His invention is now installed in all the rural areas.

The only disadvantage of Mr Debesai’s wood-burning stove is that the fire cannot be seen, so it fails to provide that welcoming glow which raises the spirits of some Scotsman correspondents. Perhaps in a Scotland known for its inventive genius someone could adapt a Debesai Mogogo so that the flames would be visible and the neighbours did not have to inhale unwanted smoke.

Francis Roberts, Edinburgh

More or Ness

I took the boat trip from Fort Augustus around Loch Ness with sonar. It was explained that there are a number of monster fish in Loch Ness (Letters, 15 April). Maybe that explains a sonar contact one time of a large object. I don't think there is a dinosaur, maybe large eels or fish. It was also explained that a six-foot pike caught a seagull in the loch near to the boat one time.

David Steel, Dundee

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