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Every day we read of how profligate the SNP is with taxpayers’ money, but it beggars belief that the SNP government managed to spend £1 billion on a new prison at Barlinnie (your report, 3 November). The original estimate for the prison rebuild was £100 million, and the final cost is expected to exceed the cost of building the fabulous five-star Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. Having said that, it sounds like conditions in the prison may well be similar to those in Atlantis. Do we get an apology from the SNP about this misuse of money which could have gone to help struggling businesses, to the NHS, to fund local government, or in a moment of madness to reduce the tax burden on Scots? Of course not, the SNP can do no wrong as their sheep will testify as they enter the polling booths next year. Instead, they defend the expenditure when they should be hanging their heads in shame and apologising. And a plea to the army of SNP keyboard warriors – don’t say things are worse in the UK. The SNP were supposed to show how independence could work by demonstrating their competence in running Scotland, not by struggling to be best of the worst. Brian Barbour, Haddington, East Lothian Penny for the Guy I absolutely agree with William Lonseskie’s observation (Letters, 1 November) that any fireworks display, whether public or at home, must conform to already existing safety rules which are stringent; huge responsibility falls on organisers’ shoulders. Properly supervised displays of the “ooh” and “aah” variety are fantastic entertainment. But the regulations are clear and must be followed. On 5 November, every year, thousands all over the United Kingdom burn their guys on top of as big a bonfire as they can build. To be historically accurate though, the guy atop the bonfire should be in four quarters. The real Guy Fawkes – a Catholic – was discovered trying to place several barrels of gun powder intending to blow up the (then) Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King on 5 November 1605. James I of England, VI of Scotland, sentenced Fawkes to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The other conspirators were tortured then hanged at the Tower of London. Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason and plot. But don’t take risks this evening. Doug Morrison, Tenterden, Kent Don’t bank on it I am sure that there are plenty of readers shocked at the recent announcements concerning bank closures. I notice that one is the bank in Gairloch, which is one that I use every time I am in that town. Unless someone can correct me, I believe that the closest branch to Gairloch, once the local branch has closed, will be in Inverness. Now, Inverness is more than 50 miles away, which means that any business in Gairloch – or any individual – who wants to get cash, will face a 100-mile round trip, plus the cost of petrol! I always thought that banks were supposed to perform some useful social purpose but, clearly, I must have been misled. Surely, this is something that the not very decorative but otherwise, seemingly pointless SNP should be preventing? Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh Thinking time I am delighted that there are now two voters who accept that the current election system is flawed when polls suggest that a party can win half the seats with only one-third of the votes. I do accept the points made by Cllr Willie Robertson (Letters, 4 November), but It has to be recognised that his suggested reforms will take years of debate at Holyrood – too long for the 2026 election. My proposals could be implemented at the stroke of a pen since Scots used the Westminster boundaries in 2024 so there would be no extra problems or paperwork for election officials. Additional List MSPs should be an easy task to implement and the outcome will be a voting system that more closely aligns seats to votes cast. That will allow the total system to be reviewed in the next session at Holyrood if voters demand such a change and, with five years until the next election, that should allow time for Cllr Robertson’s ideas to be given debate time ahead of IndyRef2! Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway Scales of support Alistair Carmichael’s analysis in his article “SNP have short-changed Northern Isles fishermen” (Perspective, 31 October) is absolutely correct in that there is fundamental lack of understanding by Central Belt politicians at Holyrood of how important our fishing industry is to both the Scottish and UK economy. The allocation of eight per cent awarded to the sector from the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund when balanced against the value of Scottish landings as part of UK total is completely illogical. The industry has huge potential and is extremely innovative but deserves much better support from both our parliaments. David G McIntyre, Edinburgh Dramatic change Mhairi Black will be superb in her new-found career choice as an actress. After all, she spent nine years at Westminster pretending to be my local MP. Mark Boyle, Johnstone, Renfrewshire What lessons? Martin O’Gorman (Letters, 3 November) echoes the words of Cameron Wyllie that “Scotland needs to learn from England” but did not specify what we should learn relevant to improving education in Scotland. Should we demand less rigour from administrators in reporting pupil-staff incidents in our schools (which have hugely increased across the UK and beyond since the advent of social media and the restrictions of Covid)? Should we immediately abandon children who may be borderline with regard to special-needs assessments and automatically exclude them from mainstream schools? Should we preferentially select schools for PISA testing in order to appear higher in international comparisons (although UK scores have still fallen in all three subjects of mathematics, science and reading)? Should we ignore the recommendations of the OECD, which has endorsed CfE, in pursuing a more holistic approach to education (along with other countries such as Australia, Singapore and now more recently Wales)? Should we ignore the advice of education gurus around the world that in order to build a more cohesive society it is imperative that education systems seek to produce well-rounded as well as competent citizens (rather than academic automatons relatively unprepared for life’s challenges)? Cameron Wyllie states “this is not a political matter” yet presents a Conservative view of “doing what’s right for young people in Scotland” that some would consider should now be extinct along with the dodo and the dinosaurs. This is not to say that headteachers should not be given more authority to tailor national policies to suit their particular schools, and it appears that in recent years the Scottish Government has moved in that direction. The evidence suggests that overall, progress, not regress, in Scottish education is what is required. Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian Ballroom blitz Donald Trump is behaving more and more like a dictator with every day that passes. Having destroyed the East Wing of the White House in a blatant act of vandalism, he is now building a luxurious ballroom at the cost of $300 million. Trump is turning self-delusion into an art form. He is acting as if he intends to stay beyond 2028. Meanwhile, his policies are creating what has been called a luxury gap, in which the billionaires enjoy tax cuts, while the poor get poorer, to the point that there are huge queues for food banks. We are reaching the point where the working poor and the unemployed simply revolt. The US government is shut down for the longest period in history, just aggravating the situation. Barack Obama, surveying the severe damage that is being done in America, says, “it is no place for palaces”. He recommends that Trump’s successor pull down the obscene ballroom and rebuild the East Wing. It’s the very least that can be done. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Called to account It is entirely right and proper that treasurers’ bank accounts are properly mandated and that the volunteers who operate such accounts are validated and held to account. What then, for those accounts when a volunteer leaves the post and the remaining signatories on the account fail to update the bank mandate? Having left such a position more than ten years ago now, I find myself still able to access private financial information from an account where a new mandate removing me has failed to be completed several times. This is information I do not want to know, nor should I. I do not think I’m alone in this situation. The banks should recognise this as a financial flaw in their systems. Could the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) insist that new mandates are drawn up on a regular basis, especially for organisations that depend on volunteers who by their very nature are often transient? So much for GDPR and FCA rules and regulations! Susan Dewhurst, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to lettersts@scotsman.com including name, address and phone number – we won’t print full details. 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