PERMIT me to dream as I conflate two items in The Herald.

First, you report that MSPs have voted “in principle “ in favour of tax increases, with the SNP abstaining for its own reasons.

Secondly in your editorial column you express sadness about the QE2 lying decaying and unloved in Dubai (“Sad end for stately queen built with pride on Clyde”, September 21).

Is it beyond possibility for our MSPs, in the spirit of consensus, to put their political differences to one side and work together to raise a one-off, ring- fenced tax to buy the QE2, bring it back to its birthplace where it belongs and restore it as a magnificent tourist attraction ?

Alan Fitzpatrick,

10 Solomon’s View,

Dunlop.