HOW tiresome it is, after every election or referendum, to have number-crunchers re-interpret the results in the light of the actual turnout, so that, for example, the substantial majority of 62 per cent in Scotland who voted to remain in the EU can be reduced to 41.7 by Anne Kegg (Letters, July 27) only to be adroitly countered by Steve Inch extending the same logic to the overall UK result. How satisfying for someone who seeks such small reassuring comforts. But this is the way of it, in our so-called democracy, as we have to make the best of the turnouts we have, and are left wondering why people don’t bother to vote at all.
Would it not be better to focus our energies on understanding how, in our “democracy’” we still have a ludicrously bloated House of Lords, with members for whom none of us voted at all? Or understanding why bankers are so feted by our governments and allowed to keep their snouts in the trough? And why they and their friends in the corporate world can have so much say in the political running of our country? Or why the needs of the rich are prioritised above all else? These may be some of the reasons why people don’t trouble to vote in the first place.
But I guess it’s so much more difficult to attach numbers and percentages to hypocrisy, duplicity and self-interest.
Dr Angus Macmillan,
76 Georgetown Road, Dumfries.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel