Readers' letters: It’s England for us, thanks to Sturgeon!

“I wish to thank Ms Sturgeon for guiding me for where to take my money. Alas, it is not to the benefit of Scottish tourism and our economy.”

It’s England for us, thanks to Sturgeon!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicola Sturgeon for deciding where my family holiday will be in the upcoming October school holidays.

As a proud Scot who has a love for the scenery and all the wonderful staycations we have had in the past around this great country, I am compelled to take my family to England.

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Suffice to say, as a family we wanted a location where we will not be troubled by face coverings. I’m sure VisitScotland (and all associated industries) will despair this was our salient reason, but it is the truth.

Trying my best to keep the elephant out of the room and not make things “political”, Scotland has horrendous rates with face coverings mandatory while England has far lower rates at present without face covering needs.

My family has had enough. So we are going where we can be “free”, where we are treated as adults (and “youngsters”!) on the same island (the “borders” for which a virus cannot differentiate).

Andy May, Edinburgh.

Hitting landlords could cut housing

So Keir Starmer suggests taxing private landlords to pay for social care, while in Scotland it seems the SNP likely will dance to Patrick Harvie of the Greens tune by capping rents.All well and good, you may think - surely landlords are greedy Rachman-types ripping off tenants in slum-like conditions? But what if many landlords own just a couple of well-maintained flats, which they've worked hard to buy to supplement their lacklustre state pensions?

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And what happens if, as a consequence, landlords feel their cash would be better invested in the stock market and choose to sell up? Tenants are evicted, their properties bought by owner-occupiers and the pool of rental properties for the less well-off - those Starmer and Harvie seek to assist - is significantly reduced.

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

Sloths find happy home at Holyrood

I read with interest of the arrival of Mo and Fe, the two sloths which have arrived at Edinburgh Zoo (News, September 14).

I must, however, take issue with your headline referring to them as Scotland’s only sloths. We already have many Scottish sloths sitting in Holyrood.

Lethargic, sluggish, snoozing for about 15 hours a day, they spend much of their time “in the canopy” remaining hidden from predators. It is safer for sloths to remain motionless to protect themselves from predators - the electorate.

Jane Lax, Aberlour.

City must rethink its transport strategy

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It is clear to me that the City of Edinburgh council’s continuing decimation of the road network can no longer be attributed to emissions nor congestion, it is about restricting the ability to move freely and conduct business in the city.

Mature, forward thinking administrations around the world know the value of good transport infrastructure helping business minimise cost and permitting people to go about their daily lives at minimum inconvenience.

Sadly City of Edinburgh council is not anywhere near a mature, forward thinking business focused administration, in fact they are the opposite.

Maybe the incumbents in the administration will one day realise why they are in the position they are in and it is to assist in the running of the city for the benefit of its residents, not to implement their collective ideology, which has been ever present as a result of years of sycophantic recruitment.

David Hair, Edinburgh.

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