I am very pleased that our local MP, Martin Docherty-Hughes has finally woken up to the fact that local maternity services are under threat. Only a few weeks ago he was telling everyone that the birthing unit was ‘safe’ with the SNP.

It is frankly quite extraordinary that he believes that I should spend more of my time persuading councillors on the health board to stop the cuts because that would be a complete diversion.

What he doesn’t tell your readers is that there are 7 Councillors on the health board and that there are about 20 more members of the Board all appointed by the Cabinet Secretary.

The Labour Leader of Renfrewshire Council, supported by West Dunbartonshire’s representative on the board, Councillor Gail Casey, has already forced a vote on the cuts proposals not once, but twice.

Each time they have been outvoted because the majority of the health board’s members are appointed by SNP Ministers.

That’s why I have been calling on the SNP Cabinet Secretary to declare a Major Service Change.

This would mean greater scrutiny for the proposals and, crucially, she would get to make the final decision on any changes.

The Scottish Parliament united last week to demand that the SNP Health Secretary takes responsibility for these service changes, only the SNP didn’t vote for that.

If Mr Docherty-Hughes is serious about protecting local services at the Vale of Leven Hospital then he should join me in calling on his government to step in.

Jackie Baillie MSP|, via e-mail.

FOR many the headlines from the Tory conference relating to immigration will have caused considerable dread and alarm.

Firms forced to list the number of foreign workers they employ, doctors from overseas told they are not welcome and Liam Fox commenting that EU nationals living in the UK will be used as “negotiating cards” in the Brexit negotiations.

The previously thinly veiled xenophobia has been shamelessly turned up a notch and is now very much to the fore.

Indeed, on this issue I was struck to what degree home secretary Amber Rudd’s speech reflected Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical work, Mein Kampf.

The latter stated: “It is very important that firms declare how much of their workforce is foreign because they're just domiciled in this state simply as earners of their livelihood there. They're not members of the nation, they're not members of the foundation and the support of the nation's existence and greatness.”

We must continue to reiterate to those living in Scotland, wherever they are from, that they are welcome here.

In 2002 as Chairman of the Conservative Party, Ms May commented that the Conservatives were being called “the nasty party” by some. Little it appears has changed and in fact that party just turned considerably nastier.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh. Via e-mail

MR Coleman’s letter, Reporter, 4/10/16, is an exercise in defeatism.

In his race to the bottom and the “dangers of corruption,” we are all doomed to fail the moral absolutes’ test he has set.

Predictably, Mr. Coleman harbours “expectations.”

That means it’s going to take an eternity and a miracle to get us out of the tangled web he’s woven.

For example, he says, “There is nothing wrong with religion...” But that is a one sided religion and morality. False, wrong and evil are also moral judgements. All of the major world religions include their cesspools of evil and corruption. The Bible is stuffed full of evil, wrongdoing and Satanism. What’s moral is doing the “dos” and not the “don’ts.”

Being immoral is knowingly and wilfully doing the opposite.

Being amoral means you don’t give a hoot, e.g. you’re led by other external material incentives, motives or imperatives and not your conscience.

He says he is not a Christian but he believes some sort of “creator” existed before man and the material world. Who knows, maybe it was a whale and we came out of it’s dung. This is sorcery.

I like the idea of forgiveness of sins. But I don’t know if it’s Christian, exclusively, and I don’t know what it’s got to do with freedom.

It just means sin is inherited from others in the past and because the blame is shared no one person can be wholly responsible for it. But you have to ask for forgiveness; and too bad if the Sheriff is having a bad day,

In capitalist societies “freedom” is often associated with order, command, power and control, e.g. “every law(order) is a liberty(freedom).” It’s conditional. That’s the “ball and chain.” But freedom is very easy to know. There is only one word for it; all of the other words are in order.

Mr. Coleman has got it the wrong way round. Human freedom, reason, morals and conscience were not imported to us by some external super-human alien “creator” or religion from outside of our existence. The idea that this “creator” GAVE man free will and choice to be under orders and behave like the slave of some vacuous superior authority is just preposterous. When people invoke their freedom that exists and they know it. When you accept or reject an order that’s that. The sun doesn’t stop shining when you look at the moon and the free don’t stop being free because orders also exist.

Your readers may recall these exchanges started when the Christian lot, amongst others, put their privacy first before the interests of children at risk from child molesters and opposed the Named Persons Scheme. Small wonder, given what they had to hide. Jimmy Savile wasn’t even at the races.

I am not fooled by the God Squad.

James Graham, Elm Road, Clydebank. via e-mail.

AS the autumn nights start to draw in, I’m writing to ask your readers to enjoy a night in with friends and family and raise vital funds for Target Ovarian Cancer.

Around 4,100 UK women die each year from the disease, and many are diagnosed too late.

Target Ovarian Cancer is here to change that, and we need your help.

Host a movie marathon or board games evening, relax with a pamper party, or light up the night sky with a fireworks night, and you’ll be supporting women with ovarian cancer.

Raising £10 could give six newly diagnosed women a comprehensive guide to ovarian cancer, and raising £50 could enable 100 GPs to update their knowledge of ovarian cancer help early diagnosis.

Plus you’ll get a November Nights kit, which includes a free gift to get your night off to a great start. To sign up, readers can visit www.targetovariancancer.org.uk/november

Simon Taylor, Target Ovarian Cancer, City Road, London.