Professor Malcolm Macleod is described as an eminent doctor of medicine in the interview by Tom Gordon (In The Hot Seat, August 24).
Let's just hope his bedside manner with his patients is a bit less patronising and aggressive than his attitude towards the readers of the Sunday Herald and supporters of independence.
We learn from Macleod that Scots in general and particularly those of us who support independence are "delusional" and "vicious and juvenile", and that we "don't yet have the national maturity to claim the right of acting as an independent country". With that level of political nous, it comes as no surprise that Macleod ended up in fifth place in the Labour regional list in Ochil.
Macleod also says he has stepped back reluctantly into the independence debate on the NHS and says that the NHS in Scotland "Is immune to changes in England". And he calls us delusional? Putting to one side the issue of whether the NHS in Scotland can have privatisation imposed on it and the Barnett Consequentials, the nub of the matter relates to the block grant.
If we vote No, and when the Tories make more cuts (which his erstwhile Labour colleagues have promised to "honour") and spending on the NHS is ring-fenced or increased, where would Macleod suggest that £4 billion of cuts are implemented?
Would he suggest education, social work, the police or the justice system, or would he go for means-testing free personal care for the elderly and prescriptions?
This is the line promoted by Johann Lamont, and in a line which reads a bit like a punt to get back into his first career, Macleod says he is certain that Lamont will be First Minister in 2016. The prospect of that will send a shiver through the SNP, Conservatives and Greens.
Douglas Turner
Edinburgh
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article