Readers' letters: Cyclists should take more responsibility for their own safety

The first thing to be done is that all cyclists need to wear high-vis clothing. They, by venturing on roads built for cars and lorries, are inevitably exposing themselves to danger, and need to take all reasonable steps to minimise this.

I see some – far too few – suitably dressed, and see them in plenty of time because of this. Lorry drivers especially would be much more likely to catch a glimpse of a high-vis cyclist coming up his inside, and take appropriate care.

Too many cyclist wear dark or varied colours which are almost invisible against most backgrounds.

This is clearly a case not for saying “something must be done” etc, but for those directly involved – ie cyclists – to just get on and do it for their own protection.

That said, there is still plenty of room for all of us on our roads if we behave sensibly.

Adair Anderson, Selkirk, Scottish Borders

More devolution

I fully endorse Brian Wilson’s call for devolution from Holyrood to new, more powerful local authorities with significant funding (Scotsman, 6 April).

I appreciate the challenges faced by any party proposing such a fundamental solution. But, the wasteland that is now Glasgow city centre cries out for root and branch reform. And it is the citizens who are doing the crying. Is no-one in power listening?

I know from discussions that the private sector is desperate to help. It has done so in the past. Enlightened self-interest it is called. But the initiative must lie with the public sector.

The political solutions proposed by Wilson must be combined with appropriate economic policies. Coherent regional strategies are still missing from policy proposals – though they are easy enough to adapt from other successful examples.

On the subject of directly elected political heads, my experience is that when you assume a position of representing a city and its people you do acquire a responsibility that is moved somewhat beyond party politics. That’s the best reason for introducing elected provosts. They have a freer hand. Why not use the Glasgow city region as the test bed? It will work and then everyone else will want one.

Michael Kelly, Giffnock, East Renfrewshire

Not to be sniffed at

Jim Dungan’s light-hearted letter (9 April) is an excellent example of the widespread misunderstanding of the recent hate crime legislation.

Farting, per se, is not a crime and someone being offended cannot make it a “hate crime”. However, if the young man in Mr Dungan’s example had approached him, dropped his pants and farted in his face that may well cross the threshold into a crime. Had he also shouted something along the lines of “Sniff on that ya silly auld git!” it might well become a hate crime due to the specific reference to Mr Dungan’s age.

But farting, whilst offensive, is not a crime and neither is causing offence.

Because Mr Dungan’s original example contained no comment made about his age it would neither meet the threshold for a “non-crime hate incident”. Being old and offended is not sufficient reason to make a police report. Were it so, would anyone have time to write to The Scotsman?

Robert Farquharson, Edinburgh

Policing by consent

I fully support MSP Murdo Fraser’s continued efforts to seek an explanation from Police Scotland in relation to the “non-crime” hate incident complaint made against him and the perceived lack of clarity about how the issue was handled and recorded.

It’s long been recognised that “the power of the police to fulfil its functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect”. This principle of policing surely covers a police force being held accountable to the public with a duty to satisfy an aggrieved party that the actions taken in relation to any particular case were lawful and consistent.

Media reports would suggest Police Scotland’s policies regarding the Hate Crime Act are far from consistent but it would be unfair to wholly condemn the force which has been left to implement legislation which has received widespread criticism and likened to a dog’s breakfast. It’s relevant to note that the former eminent Scottish judge, Lord Hope, reportedly considers the Act to be laudable in its intentions but unworkable, placing an extraordinary burden on the police and an example of gesture politics. It’s hard to disagree with these sentiments.

Bob MacDougall, Kippen, Stirling

Tax avoidance

So once again Labour sees a crackdown on tax avoidance as the key to the financing of its programme (Scotsman, 9 April). The problem is that laws are, of course, written in words and words are open to interpretation. This is provided by judges when tax disputes come before them. Long ago one learned judge opined that “Income tax is a tax upon income” and since then much ingenuity has been spent devising schemes whereby money received is not regarded as income for tax purposes.

I am sure HMRC, as was the Inland Revenue before it, has been diligent in combating such schemes with some success but it is a lengthy and uncertain process.A solution might be to give HMRC the power to decide what constitutes income and some moves have made in that direction but it runs up against the concept of the rule of law which is seen as a bulwark against arbitrary government.

Another broad area of tax avoidance has been opened up by the tendency of some Chancellors to boost activities the government wishes to encourage by giving tax breaks on money invested in them. The widely reported forestry scheme and more recently the film financing one come to mind. Perhaps Shadow Chancellor Rache Reeves could eschew such tax breaks despite pressure for them from those engaged in the relevant enterprises.

In short, while it is no doubt right to suppress tax avoidance doing so is such a long and uncertain process that it is not going to provide the steady stream of funds needed to finance more NHS treatments, free breakfast clubs or other such recurring expenditure.

S Beck, Edinburgh

Higgs remembered

Those of us who were privileged to be taught by Peter Higgs will feel a mixture of sadness and joy at the news of his passing: sadness that he will no longer contribute to be making the world a better and more understandable place and joy in the memories he has left behind, memories that are now over 50 years old yet as fresh as they were the day after one of his mathematical physics lectures.

Dr Higgs, as he was then known, had the ability to explain in simple terms how abstract mathematical structures described the structures of electro-magnetic and gravitational fields and the behavior of objects in those fields. He did this both with humour and humility.

One incident in the last lecture just before Christmas illustrated both these qualities. While he was describing some aspect of field theory someone threw a paper airplane labeled RAB-69 and it flew across the room and hit the sodium square on the display on the periodic table of elements. Dr Higgs’ response was to ask whether anyone could explain the physics of how it remained in flight. The response from one of the top mathematicians in the room was “the gravitational attraction of the moon”. This drew laughter from the students and a wonderful, engaging, diffident smile from Dr Higgs – a smile that has remained with all those who knew him.

Dr Francis Roberts, Edinburgh

Baby blues

Clark Cross (Letters, 10 Aprll) suggests that “two is plenty”. That would be nearly enough to maintain the UK population if every woman had two children but that is not the case; the average number of children here is 1.9 while the replacement number is 2.1. Not just the UK, in developed countries the number of children per woman is below replacement. Inevitably, local populations will decline, only being held up by immigration.

I am guilty of having only two children but it would have been more responsible to have more than one. This can only be addressed by introducing a financial incentive. Which government would bite that bullet?

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

Trump card

Why is that failed UK right-wing politicians, including Nugel Farage, Liz Truss and David Cameron, inevitably find themselves gravitating towards, and even cheerleading for, failed US ex-President Donald Trump?

Going by recent UK election polls and his impending court cases, it seems Mr Trump’s engagement diary is going to be rather busy over the next year.

D Mitchell, Edinburgh

Strange bedfellows

So, Humza Yousaf is pleading with Scottish voters not to vote Green in the coming election as a vote for the Greens would be a “wasted vote”. And Ross Greer, the Green MSP, says that his party will “attack” the SNP on its record on climate change. Really sums up the strength and maturity of their coalition very succinctly, I think.

Jim Houston, Edinburgh

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line – be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.