Readers' letters: You weren’t elected First Minister, Nicola

Nicola Sturgeon says we must have a general election because the people of Scotland didn’t vote for Rishi Sunak.

There are those in Scotland who might think she only got the job of First Minister because no-one else wanted it, she certainly wasn’t elected.

Then, when she faced her first public test in the election of 2016, over two thirds of the electorate in her constituency didn’t vote for her.

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It does tend to look like one set of rules for her and another set for everyone else.

Bruce Proctor, Stonehaven.

What are the SNP leaders waiting for?

Sir Keir Starmer is getting ‘leadership’ lessons from Sir Tony Blair and Gordon the ‘Vow’ Brown. Any wonder Scots are underwhelmed at the prospect of a Labour government?

A Labour government won’t change the fact that we pay the highest energy charges in the UK, even though we’re self-sufficient in energy production.

Scottish renewable energy is exported to the privatised National Grid, which we then have to buy back at extortionate prices, while private energy companies rake in billions.

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And the recent Scottish Government energy summit showed how powerless it is to protect Scots from corporate profiteering.

A pledge to increase smart meter coverage just won’t cut it - 65 per cent of seniors will use less heating this winter, that puts them at risk for illness and death.

It beggars belief the SNP has joined with Labour to call for a general election that won’t even happen because the Tories know they’d be wiped out and they are into self-preservation.

Unless the SNP leadership moves to end a union that is literally killing us, we’ll be stuck with the Tories for at least two more years followed by a Brexit-supporting, neoliberal Labour party.

It’s hard to understand what they are waiting for.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Edinburgh.

We need to focus on the child care system

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This week marks Care Experienced Week, aiming to celebrate the care experienced community.

Those in this category represent some of the most vulnerable members of our society, experiencing considerably fewer life chances than their peers, with poorer health and educational outcomes.

They are, however, involved with a care system that is complex and fragmented.

Such a system highlights the challenges that still lie ahead in delivering ‘The Promise’, which seeks to improve the lives of children and young people who are care experienced, ensuring that they will feel loved, safe and respected.

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Scottish Government actions in this area, including the recently published Implementation Plan, which aims to significantly reduce the number of children in care and move from crisis intervention to early intervention to support them, are to be applauded.

However, we still hear of too many young people who are not receiving the appropriate individualised assistance they so desperately need and sadly fall off a cliff edge as they leave care, driven by age criteria.

As a society we need to ensure that momentum is maintained and funding increased, with the Scottish Government, local government, care community and others working together to deliver the necessary transformational change in our care system.

Kenny Graham, Lynn Bell, Stephen McGhee, Niall Kelly, The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition

Write to the Edinburgh Evening News

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