Letters: Politicians must be held to account over zombie facts

Politicians need to be held to account when partaking in spreading zombie facts.

Jane Lax, Aberlour.

A PLAGUE ON BOTH THEIR HOUSES

I WISH I could blame the heat, but sadly the situation is not quite so simple as that. Why on earth is our Boris Johnson allowed to continue in office? Of course I am aware that General Elections are held every four or five years, when it is our right to vote and elect the party of our choice to govern us. However, we are unable to change the leader of a party, and I am at a total loss as to why we are not hearing more from the Conservative ministers, party members and MPs (many of whom voted him to that position in the first place), who must surely be in the van to rid their party of this liar, hypocrite and fantasist, currently holding the great Office of State as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Likewise in Scotland, it is becoming more and more obvious that all is not well within the ranks of the SNP Scottish Government; I know the Scottish Parliament is on holiday, but obviously our First Minister has disappeared, except when forced to make some announcements about Covid figures. She is frantically trying to sort out the horrendous mess which her party has brought upon all aspects of Scotland over the past decade, as she tries to change our Government into a dictatorship led by her good self. Again I am at a total loss as to why we are not hearing from the (admittedly anonymous) SNP ministers, party members and MSPs, who must surely realise that they have to get rid of this First Minister as soon as possible. Even this morning out shopping in her constituency, where I live, it is so interesting to see not SNP posters or flags (thank goodness) hanging from tenements, but to see the emergence of posters and flags for the Alba Party, whose leader, as he has frequently told us recently, is not quite so friendly as he used to be with his erstwhile colleague.

At least Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister, says what he and his party are going to do, does it, and answers questions promptly, articulately and gets on with things – unlike the bumbling ramblings of the schoolboy PM and the never-ending ramblings of the "why say something only once when I can repeat it ad nauseam" First Minister.

Walter Paul, Glasgow.

SALUTE NATION'S HGV DRIVERS

THE current worry about stocking supermarkets ("Shoppers urged against ‘pingdemic’ panic buying", The Herald, July 23) underlines how important heavy goods vehicle transport is in the UK, and what a great job our HGV drivers do 365 days a year, trunking from one end of the country to another.

As we sleep, drivers will be clocking-on in the middle of the night or at dawn checking tyres, air lines, lights and tachographs and planning their route to their drop-off points, where they may find a difficult blindside reverse awaiting them.

A heavy goods vehicle driver is a professional who has the safety of other road users as a priority when driving 44-ton trucks with a long stopping distance and poor traction in bad weather. Drivers also have to meet deadlines and if late may have their cargo rejected, and have to park up, often by the roadside, even if they exceed their working time limit by a minute. Traffic congestion and road closures add to the stress levels, as do spot checks, while the infrastructure to cope with heavies to allow drivers to rest, wash and refresh is sorely lacking, and even finding a parking spot is problematic.

HGV drivers are unsung heroes of the long roads.

William Loneskie, Lauder.

WE DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

THE Westminster Government declared “freedom day” and let slip the dogs of Covid when infections were running at 40,000 a day and conservatively (with a small “c”) predicted to rise to 100,000 per day. It should have come as no surprise that large numbers of close contacts are being identified.

The Government’s strategy (if that isn’t an oxymoron) of gaining herd immunity through a mixture of vaccination of those perceived vulnerable and infection of those considered less liable to be seriously ill may be high-risk and morally questionable but logically they should have cancelled any self-isolation requirements to further their aim.

Or perhaps the PM is just lurching along out of his depth and out of meaningless three-word slogans, making it up as he goes along and when he says they are following the science he means Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle .

Of one thing we can at least be certain – we deserve better from our elected representatives.

Grant McKechnie, Glasgow.

VACCINE RECORDS SHOULD BE PRIVATE

GIVEN that any vaccination is part of a person's medical records and history, and as such, protected by law not to allow anyone other than medical professionals access to them, why should people be forced to disclose their legally-protected medical history to any Tom Dick or Harry who asks for any part of them ("Nightclub owner raises vaccine certification fears of ‘two-tiered society’", The Herald, January 23)?

James Simpson, Erskine.

SHAME ON GLASGOW SHOPKEEPERS

AS a regular Glasgow walking tour guide I am becoming increasingly ashamed of my city’s streets as I conduct guests around it.

I have visited similar cities across Europe – Rome, Florence, Barcelona and more – where it is not unusual to see shopkeepers and council workers washing down the payments and their shop fronts after the previous day’s activities in the early morning. Whilst all these cities are not perfect by any means, this attempt by commerce and council to maintain a standard is laudable.

But take a stroll from Glasgow Cross along the Trongate to Argyle Street, Gallowgate to the Barras. It’s an affront to decency. Shop fronts filthy and in poor repair, broken shop windows held together with gaffer tape. The pavements littered with excretions. Litter, particularly food packaging, abounds.

This is not a city to be proud of and the shopkeepers themselves need to do something about it. Yes, retail is in pain but it will not attract trade if customers have to wade through filth.

Yes, the council needs to up its game, I rarely see any attempt at cleaning. But there’s no excuse for a shopkeeper to have a filthy shop front. A bucket, a hose, a brush half an hour before trade.

In taking guests round the city I try to avoid the worst areas. But this is not helping; I’m taking potential trade away from the shops who need it most, because I’m ashamed.

C’mon Glasgow, pick up your game.

Gordon Hart, Hamilton.

PROBLEMS WITH CHANGING LANGUAGE

MARTIN Axford (Letters, July 21) is entitled to disagree with me on language, but should not distort what I wrote (Letters, July 19). I do not “look forward to Gaelic’s demise” – I hope it survives and thrives – but that should not depend on taxpayers in non-Gaelic areas if it is dying out in Gaelic-speaking areas. My parents returned to Barra in 1998 on the 60th anniversary of their honeymoon there, and my father who had learned Gaelic at his own expense tried to converse with the local lady serving in the Post Office, who admitted she could not speak it.

Of course language and meanings change over time. I have read that in Oscar Wilde’s time “earnest” was used as “gay” is now, so his famous play’s title was maybe a triple play on words. The problems with some such changes are that initially the intended meaning is unclear, and then the word cannot be used in its original meaning, as with “gay” (though maybe it will revert as “earnest” has).

Moreover, a problem with some “grade inflations” in meanings is clear from our politicians who cannot talk of the NHS without feeling they must precede it with “fantastic” or “incredible”; whereas in other countries with better health results than the UK’s, their health services are respected without treating them with near-religious fervour. Unlike Mr Axford, I do think it wrong to use words that “imply unlimited approval” for any government service, even the NHS from which I have greatly benefited for most of my life.

However, I doubt Mr Axford will be convinced if he is relaxed that “for my team and I” is now “the general rule in modern English”.

John Birkett, St Andrews.

MAKE THE ROYAL YACHT A TALL SHIP

A NEW vessel to represent the UK has been sanctioned and procurement has commenced. What form should it take?

Clearly, if this vessel is to represent the UK then it should impress in every port which it enters. Sadly, it is a fact of life of the superyacht industry that any such vessel is likely to be eclipsed by a superyacht owned by some rich individual. What is the alternative?

In the present situation (as Glasgow hosts the climate summit) it might be a good thing if a "green" vessel could be procured.

In fact, every country should have a sail training vessel. The charities who supply these in the UK are struggling.

For the same money, it would be possible to procure a working tall ship with magnificent accommodation below. That would be the most impressive vessel in any port.

It would also be appropriate if this ship was built in the UK (as a result of recent events one applicant need not bother applying)

Richard Anderson, Glasgow.

PINT OF ORDER

I WOULD like to record that I have just thoroughly enjoyed a pint of local beer in the sweltering Arran sunshine. I look forward to this being reported in your paper as recently happened regarding a fellow pensioner, Charles in Devon ("Prince Charles cools off with a pint of local beer on scorching Devon visit", The Herald, July 22).

Gavin Stewart, Milngavie.

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