Brexit trade deals must help Scotland - your views

"The content and quality of trade deals affect local communities and should be an issue at every election”

Brexit trade deals must help Scotland

The Trade Justice Coalition Scotland brings together 22 Scottish organisations and includes trade unions, NGOs and local campaign groups which represent thousands of people across Scotland.

Currently we are very concerned about trade deals the UK government are negotiating in the aftermath of Brexit.

Trade deals have an imp-act on local communities and it is important that the UK government is not allowed to get away with agreeing deals which could damage our local public services such as the NHS - for example by allowing big companies an opportunity to make bids to run some of our NHS services.

It is also important to ensure that any trade deals the UK government reaches do not lower food safety standards and other regulations that protect public safety and the environment. It is vitally important that people know that the food they eat will not damage their health and wellbeing.

The Trade Justice Coalition is calling on people to ask their local candidates for the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections in writing or at meetings if they think that the NHS and food standards should be protected in any future Trade Deals which the UK government agrees with other countries - and whether, if elected, they will speak out in opposition to any deals that might threaten those things.

The content and quality of trade deals affect local communities and should be an issue at every election.

Please help the Trade Justice Coalition Scotland make it an issue at this year’s Scottish Parliament elections.

Arthur West, Member of Trade Justice Coalition Scotland.

Politicians are selling us short over sell-offs

I’m angry that many public services have been sold off in Scotland and England by the Tories and SNP.

Council housing, NHS, Royal Mail, parks, forests, blood banks, mental health services, energy companies, trains - the list goes on.

Then there’s money ‘stolen’ from local councils, so that, for example, Aberdeen can’t operate its bulk uplift collection properly.

In Edinburgh public spaces are ‘stolen’ by sell-outs to Underbelly, green belt spaces ‘stolen’ in undemocratic developer deals.

And then there is the massive corruption - billions of public money for useless PPE and track and trace systems going to ‘friends of friends’.

Is it time to stop voting for parties that support profiteers and parasites?

Anne Wimberley, Belmont Road, Edinburgh.

Does haidresser chat still cut it?

Most exciting news of the week? - hairdressers are back working again!

I wonder what their conversation starters are now, since their favourite opening line, “are you going anywhere nice for your holidays?” is sadly so irrelevant right now.

Perhaps, “have you had your vaccine yet?”, “what background do you use for your Zoom calls?” or “have you bought any new houseplants recently?” will be top of their icebreaker questions!

Judi Martin, Maryculter, Aberdeenshire.

Loch Lomond idiots

In spite of widely circulated news, idiots drive up from England, get stuck on an island in Loch Lomond and call out the police, who call out the lifeboat!

Why was he not charged for breaking lockdown rules and charged the cost of bringing out the lifeboat? It might have made him think in future…but with lamebrains like him, I doubt it.

Vivienne Stirling, Craigs Grove, Edinburgh.