'We now live in a one political party state'

He has completely failed to justify how the essential emergency services at the Vale of Leven have been systematically degraded to the point that closure is now a real and perpetual threat. I wonder how Mr McCormick would feel if he was taken unwell or he was involved in a serious accident in an area further north in the constituency and he faced a minimum thirty minute drive to the RAH A&E. It is not the actions of Jackie Baillie MSP that will take us back to the 19th century rather it is the failure of the SNP to properly fund local services whether it is in education or health care. Perhaps Mr McCormick can justify the recent freeze and budget cuts that are now emanating from Edinburgh and which will have a drastic effect on education and health care in this area.

We now live in a one party state where criticism of the SNP invokes a rabid reaction of aggressive arrogance and Mr McCormick’s correspondence proves it.

David Dobbie

Cardross

May I extend my wishes for Happiness and Prosperity to everyone for this Chinese New Year, the Year of the Monkey.

People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterised as quick-witted, curious and innovative, but it is also believed to be one of the most unlucky years in the Chinese calendar.

Perhaps it is fortunate that John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, was, I understand, born in the Year of the Dragon with the characteristics of lucky, flexible, artistic but eccentric.

And eccentric seems to be his most prominent feature at present. A Finance Minister who is against austerity but does everything in his power to reduce vital services and force local authorities to pay off staff. A Deputy Leader who wants greater fiscal power, but is deliberately stretching out negotiations, so as not to have to explain his plans for taxation prior to the Scottish elections.

When the Scottish Liberal Democrats showed him how he could have £475 million extra each year to invest in education and Scotland’s future, he refuses to consider it. This is the gentleman who under spent the budget by over £300 million last year, but still complained that Westminster keeps him short!

Mr. Swinney has always favoured the rich rather than those less well off. Those who pay higher tax bands of local taxation are better due to the council tax freeze. The Lib Dem 1p for education would have no negative impact on lower paid workers but would ensure those on higher incomes would pay their fair share. Mr. Swinney is determined to support the upper classes.

Let’s just hope that Mr Swinney’s other characteristics come to the fore and that the Year of the Monkey is not an unlucky one for us all.

John Tacchi

via email

I WILL be voting Yes/Yes for the SNP in May. Give the rest both barrels. The Independence movement is the social justice movement in Scotland.

Clearly, we have a collective social choice to make regarding the Vale of Leven Hospital. Do we put our health and safety first and make that our top priority? Or, do we let the free market rip and allow the ruling class to dictate how we live and die?

You already know the answer. So, get up, get out there and get active. Do it.

James Graham

via email

It is a pity that Michael Fallon, the Secretary of State for Defence, was not rather more closely questioned by you during his recent visit to Faslane. His claim that 1,400 new jobs will provide a multiplier in our local economy, when the rest of the submarine fleet arrives by 2020, would not have stood up well to such questioning.

In 2014 Babcock management blew a hole in the claim that the existing 3,600 service jobs made a huge contribution to our area when it was disclosed that a breath taking 85 per cent lived in the base during the working week and then returned home to their families elsewhere each weekend.

It has since emerged from the same source that little preparation is being made to resettle service families when the rest of the fleet comes. Instead the MOD is building more accommodation blocks within the base.

Simultaneously the planned closure of Braeholm hardly encourages local confidence in the reality of commitment to our community.

Mr Fallon appears to have joined Ms Baillie in a variant of simply ‘thinking of a number’ (usually huge) of jobs and then using it as propaganda to blind your readers against reality.

I urge people to look at Mr Fallon’s plans more closely. The evidence points in the opposite direction to his grandiose claims.

Alasdair Jamison

via email

It is often said that a lie can go around the world before the truth has got its boots on. This is particularly true in reports on the EU, where coverage is often distorted by confusion and misinformation.

I would like to reiterate to your readers that the EU has no plans to criminalise holidaymakers who act as Good Samaritans and rescue struggling migrants off the coast of Greece.

It is somewhat disheartening that other news outlets are willing to suggest an organisation that has donated millions in humanitarian aid would give people no choice but to watch others drown.

Yes, the European Council conclusions should explicitly acknowledge that some actions have a humanitarian reason and should never be prosecuted or treated as smuggling. However, the package is a work in progress, and acknowledges that trafficking is a growing problem. That’s why it calls for member states to share knowledge and raise awareness on mapping criminal organisations.

Migrant smuggling is a serious form of organised crime, and we cannot simply accept that shoving families on an overloaded boat and leaving it to fate is a viable option. There is a huge difference between migrants and refugees, which has also been glossed over by certain quarters.

I would respectfully encourage your readers to get in touch whenever an EU story strikes them as suspicious, and I’ll be happy to give them the inside scoop. alyn.smith@ep.europa.eu

Alyn Smith MEP

via email

The continued racist policies of Israel continues unabated.

Their bulldozing of the peoples hopes and aspirations will only continue and spread the hate. Israeli forces on Tuesday morning demolished two Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

The ability of Palestinians to build homes or expand existing structures legally has been severely limited by the Jerusalem municipality since Israel occupied the city in 1967. A study reports over 3,000 Palestinian structures demolished in East Jerusalem since 1967.

One-third of Palestinian land has been confiscated since 1967 to build illegal Jewish-only settlements. Christians and Muslims are banned from these areas.

Last month, Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved recommendations for the “enforcement of regulations” in occupied East Jerusalem , in what Israeli daily Haaretz reported would likely prioritise the demolitions of Palestinian homes.

The daily reported that the new recommendations could expedite the demolition of around 50,000 houses in Palestinian communities in Israel and Jerusalem .

B McKenna

Overtoun Ave

Dumbarton

Animal Aid’s campaign for mandatory, independently monitored CCTV in slaughterhouses has now gained record political support.

134 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion in support of the initiative, and 46 MPs have been photographed holding our campaign banner.

We have conducted undercover investigations in 10 randomly-chosen UK slaughterhouses, and found evidence of cruelty and lawbreaking in nine out of these 10.

This included animals being kicked, punched, burned with cigarettes and having their throats hacked at with a blunt knife whilst still fully conscious.

While slaughter can never be cruelty-free, we believe that independently monitored CCTV is a vital tool for curbing the kind of gratuitous violence that we filmed during our investigations.

To find out how to support our campaign for slaughterhouse CCTV, and for free information on how to adopt a cruelty-free diet, readers can telephone 01732 364 546 or e-mail isobel@animalaid.co.uk.

Isobel Hutchinson

Campaign Manager (Animal Farming and Slaughter)

I AM writing to say a huge thank you to everyone in your area that has run, swam, walked, abseiled, hopped, held their breath or baked for the Stroke Association over the last year.

We have seen some fantastic support and recently saw the local Royal Mail team complete 5k runs, wash cars, play in cricket tournaments and Bubble Football matches to help raise an incredible £1 million. It is a fantastic achievement and we are so grateful.

Every year there are around 15,000 strokes in Scotland. Stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer, more men than prostate and testicular cancer combined, and is one of the largest causes of disability – half of all stroke survivors have a disability.

But thanks to the millions of pounds raised by our supporters and charity partners, like Royal Mail, the Stroke Association has been able to support stroke survivors in their life after stroke and invest in ground breaking research.

Since September 2014, Royal Mail staff have been raising money so that we can continue to provide Life After Stroke Grants to stroke survivors and their families across the country at a time when they need us the most. These grants help survivors take their first steps back into the community.

We will be continuing to work with Royal Mail over the next year to raise a further £1 million to fund up to 10,000 recovery and activity grants.

On behalf of stroke survivors and their loved ones, I would like to say thank you to Royal Mail for their time, commitment and support.

Jon Barrick

Chief Executive

Stroke Association

The Scottish Conservatives are beating Labour in Scotland in the latest YouGov survey putting Labour at third place in Scotland.

With the Labour party both in Scotland and the rest of the UK falling to pieces and fighting with itself, more and more voters north of the border are rightfully turning to the Scottish Conservatives as the true Unionist party.

Labour have continued to betray Labour supporting Unionists by allowing Labour MSPs and Councillors a free vote on independence in a future referendum, Labour have also betrayed our military tradition and risk our security by voting to scrap Trident.

The Conservatives in Scotland have more and more former Labour supporters joining us every day and I would encourage others to do the same.

Don’t waste your vote on Labour and their republican leader Jeremy Corbyn instead help protect our Union and our Trident deterrent by voting for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party.

While Labour these days seem ashamed of their part in protecting our Union during the Better Together campaign the Scottish Conservatives are so proud of our Unionism It’s in our party name.

Alastair Redman,

Islay